An organization that’s provided dental services to uninsured children since 1912 has fallen victim to theft from one of its own staff members, court documents allege.
Investigators wrote, in a search warrant, that Deborah Kelli Atkinson-Moller, the Denver facilities coordinator of Kids in Need of Dentistry (KIND) took computers, medical records and rugs from offices and fled to California.
Denver police raided her Parker home July 6 and found 15 boxes of records belonging to KIND, computers, monitors, keyboards, patient records, two rugs belonging to KIND, two bongs with marijuana residue and one marijuana pipe, according to the warrant.
Police said they were searching for rugs from the office of one of the dentists.
Mary Allman-Koernig, KIND’s executive director, said Friday that the organization has been disturbed by the allegations but will continue its mission.
Atkinson-Moller, who has not been charged with any crime, could not be reached for comment.
KIND, which serves low-income children up to the age of 18, cooperates with other partners to operate five dental clinics in the Denver area and a mobile clinic, Miles for Smiles, in rural western Colorado.
The organization began 95 years ago when school officials went to local dentists about the number of children missing school because of toothaches. A group of local dentists volunteered their services and cooperated with Denver Public Schools to open a clinic.
In recent years, as the metro area grew, KIND established branches in Aurora, Englewood, Commerce City and Golden with the help of health departments in those areas.
Police investigators said that Atkinson-Moller told a confidant that she had been removing deposits, computers and equipment, as well as changing billing to Medicaid, CHIP and private billing. She also claimed to be changing records and keeping rugs from the Commerce City location, the warrant said.
KIND does not accept patients enrolled in Medicaid and relies heavily on volunteer dentists. More than 330 dentists volunteer and more than 40 dental hygienists and assistants also help.
Atkinson-Moller also told a confidant that she packed up as much of the stolen records and property from KIND as she could fit into a “carry-on” bag and brought those items with her when she flew to California to her second home, the warrant alleges. She said she hoped her husband could break the passwords on a KIND computer she had with her so she could use the computer for her own use, documents say.
Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office, said the DA’s office has received allegations about the events, and Detective John Lietz, of the Denver Police Department, said he has turned the investigation over to prosecutors.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
