British dentist's cosmetics tycoon wife faces his patients' fury after he killed himself in Australia with £1.1m missing from his accounts
Dr David Hurst, who was originally from Glamorgan, Wales, left the UK for Australia after admitting 69 counts of theft from the NHS - receiving a suspended jail term in 2012.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he had submitted claims with forged patient declarations to steal £15,584 while he was working at Bridgend Dental Centre
But after leaving the UK in 2013 he was able to set up his own luxury dental practice in the west of the country - Perth Dental Rooms. This was despite being barred from practicing as a dentist in the UK in 2014, WalesOnline reports.
And when he died by suicide, aged 43, 132 horrified customers were left 'in limbo', after he insisted they paid upfront for their treatments but had yet to deliver on their procedures.
Hurst is alleged to have taken £1.1million out of the company before his death - while untreated patients were owed a total of £1.6million.
Now the dentist's widow has been left to step into his role as director and deal with the furious patients after the practice fell into liquidation shortly after his suicide on December 10 last year
Clara, a 43-year-old mother of two, is herself a former dentist whose soaring success in cosmetic injectables has seen her become a high society figure in the Australian city.
She owns the high-end Cottesloe salon Blanc and also co-founded prescription skincare brand The Secret, which offers customers medical-strength skincare by filling out a questionnaire of their skin type.
The Secret hit $1million in sales in six months and net sales of $2.65million by 2021. Earlier predictions indicated the business would reach $7million in revenue by 2023.
His widow has not publicly commented on her husband's criminal past nor the circumstances surrounding the collapse of his business - and there is no suggestion that she knew anything about his illegal activities.
Taking to social media in December, Perth Dental Rooms paid tribute to their former director in a post where the comments have been turned off.
Alongside assuring waiting patients that they would still be treated, they said: 'It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of our beloved principal dentist and owner, David Hurst.
'His unwavering dedication to our patients and the practice has left a lasting impact, and he will be profoundly missed by all who knew him.'
Hurst insisted all of his patients paid up front, Australia's Sunday Times reported, with some forking out tens of thousands for expensive procedures.
They now face losing their money after the company collapsed - leaving several with severe pain as they remain untreated.
'There are just victims everywhere you look in this horrible mess,' liquidator Bryan Hughes told the outlet.
'Drawing on patient prepayments in advance of earning them has left a very large financial deficit. That financial deficit is causing enormous personal suffering for many patients.'
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Hurst had fraudulently made a series of the highest value NHS claims between 2006 and 2007.
He paid back the full £15,584 to the NHS, alongside a further £12,991 in costs, WalesOnline reports.
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