A former Calgary practitioner at a once-top-earning clinic for dentist services is facing the prospect of prison after admitting to a decade of insurance fraud. Prosecutors argued Friday that Alena Smadych, 55, should serve up to three years behind bars for defrauding five insurance companies of more than $684,000 between 2013 and 2023.
Smadych previously owned All About Family Dental, once the highest-billing clinic for dentist procedures such as root canals in Canada. In an agreed statement of facts, she admitted to falsifying billings over a ten-year period. She pleaded guilty in June to submitting more than $125,000 in fraudulent claims to Sun Life and Blue Cross. Since then, three additional insurers have come forward, bringing the confirmed fraud total to $558,000 more.
At Friday’s hearing, prosecutor Greg Whiteside noted that Smadych has a prior fraud conviction from 2007. Although she received a pardon in 2018, he told the court that the new charges “effectively bring that conviction back to life” on her record. Whiteside recommended a two- to three-year sentence. Defence lawyer Alain Hepner asked for a two-year conditional sentence that would allow her to serve her time at home under strict conditions.
The case began in 2021 when Sun Life detected unusual billing patterns. Investigators later uncovered direct billing for repeat root canals and fillings, as well as year-end claim spikes. On Dec. 24, 2020, the clinic submitted $19,000 in claims for 17 patients, all billed under Smadych’s name. Investigators also found business ledgers distinguishing real dental work from fabricated procedures used to bill insurers.
A pre-sentence report by forensic psychologist Dr. Patrick Baillie found that Smadych initially minimized her role in the scheme. She did not fully accept responsibility until her third interview.
Addressing the court, Smadych said she felt “ashamed for my profession and for my family,” adding, “I am very sorry. I am not intending to be in the courtroom again on criminal charges.”
According to the College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta, she is no longer practising. Justice Gord Wong is expected to deliver his sentencing decision in January.
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