A denturist with offices in North Bend and Carnation faces felony charges for allegedly defrauding the taxpayer-funded Medicaid program for more than $4,000.

State investigators say Nelda Marie Hyatt billed for false teeth that she never provided to five clients across King, Clallam, and Snohomish counties.

Hyatt’s in-home dental service is licensed in Redmond.

None of the former patients who have complained about Hyatt are from the Snoqualmie Valley.

Phyllis Wicks, a Redmond woman in her mid-80s, said that after Hyatt billed Medicaid for $2,000, the denturist gave her “George Washington teeth.”

Wicks said she suffered for years because Hyatt never returned with a working replacement, and the state’s Department of Social and Health Services would not authorize a new set because records showed a completed sale.

Hyatt did not respond to the Valley Record’s request for an interview by press time.

She was scheduled to be arraigned in Thurston County Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

If convicted, Hyatt faces up to five years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

“We take Medicaid fraud very seriously in this state,” said Dan Sytman, a spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office. “This is a program for low-income folks, and it’s taxpayer-funded.”

In August 2004, Oregon’s Denturist Program charged Hyatt with unprofessional conduct, and her license was suspended in that state for three years.