Fake Dentist Vanishes — FBI On Alert

Gloved hand holding a dental mirror over instrument tray — Photo: Dragana Gordic / Shutterstock

A man the Federal Bureau of Investigation says posed as a dentist in five states is now on the run after cutting off his court-ordered ankle monitor.

Story Snapshot

Federal agents say Carlos Andres Rendon Bermudez ran an unlicensed dental scheme in multiple states and Puerto Rico.
Department of Justice prosecutors indicted him in Puerto Rico as part of a national health care fraud crackdown.
A federal judge ordered home incarceration with a Global Positioning System ankle monitor, which authorities say he cut off before fleeing.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking the public for help finding him after reports he was last seen near the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

FBI hunt for an unlicensed “dentist” who disappeared

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents say 32‑year‑old Carlos Andres Rendon Bermudez is wanted for violating his pretrial release in a federal health care fraud case based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Prosecutors say he was first arrested on June 22, 2026, in Ohio and then placed on home incarceration with a Global Positioning System (GPS) ankle monitor while he awaited trial. Authorities report that the device was later cut off, and he is now considered a fugitive.

Federal investigators say Rendon Bermudez had been indicted for allegedly claiming to be a licensed dentist and performing dental work on patients despite having no valid license in the United States. According to an official notice, he is accused of treating people in Ohio, Texas, New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico. The FBI has posted his photo and description on its wanted pages and social channels, urging anyone with information to contact the agency’s tip line.

What federal prosecutors say he did to patients

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico charged Rendon Bermudez and an associate as part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The indictment accuses him of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, and misbranding of medical devices, all tied to a scheme to perform dental services without proper licensing. Prosecutors also charged him with making false statements to federal agents during the investigation.

According to the indictment, Rendon Bermudez allegedly carried out a wide range of dental procedures on patients even though he was not a licensed dentist. Federal officials say those procedures included putting on braces, whitening teeth, cleaning teeth, applying veneers, and treating cavities. The charging documents also say he used an electric grinding tool on patients’ teeth, gave them anesthesia, and provided prescription antibiotics after the work. A co‑defendant in Puerto Rico is accused of setting up appointments, advertising the services on social media, and falsely telling patients that he was a trained, licensed dentist.

From indictment to fugitive — how the case escalated

Local Spanish‑language reporting says Rendon Bermudez’s alleged unlicensed dental work harmed patients in several states over a period of years, leaving some with serious dental damage. Those reports match the federal indictment’s description of invasive work, such as tooth grinding and veneer placement, that would normally require a licensed professional and strict safety standards. This pattern fits wider concerns about health care fraud, where people pretend to be medical professionals to bill for work or collect cash outside the legal system.

The Department of Justice’s national health care fraud crackdowns often highlight “takedowns” with big arrest and indictment numbers, which can make complex cases sound simple. Here, the facts are clear on one key point: a federal grand jury decided there was enough evidence to charge Rendon Bermudez, and a judge trusted him with release under strict conditions. When he allegedly cut off his monitor and fled, he turned a fraud case into a manhunt and added a fresh layer of public anger about people gaming the system.

Why this case hits a nerve for everyday Americans

Many Americans already feel that the health system is rigged against them, with soaring costs, confusing insurance rules, and government agencies that seem slow to stop abuse until people are already hurt. Stories like this feed that distrust. Working families who can barely afford basic dental care read that someone without a license allegedly offered cheap procedures, caused harm, and then slipped away from federal supervision. It looks like another example of both a scammer and the system failing at the same time.

For conservatives and liberals alike, the case also raises hard questions about priorities inside the federal bureaucracy. On one hand, the Department of Justice and FBI did act, indicting Rendon Bermudez and trying to bring him to trial. On the other hand, he allegedly managed to cut off a government‑issued GPS device and reach the edge of Central America before a new public alert went out. That gap between strong headlines and weak follow‑through is exactly what fuels talk about an out‑of‑touch “elite” system that protects itself better than it protects regular people.