Man likely to be deported for illegally practicing dentistry

June 27, 2011

Jim Dalrymple

PROVO -- A man accused of illegally practicing dentistry and selling drugs has pleaded guilty to a felony charge and likely will be deported.

Carlos Counter, 55, was arrested in May after an undercover officer went to his office and saw him selling Lortab pills. Counter was charged with unlawful conduct, a third-degree felony, for illegally practicing dentistry, and pleaded guilty June 14. In exchange for the plea prosecutors dropped an additional felony charge for distributing drugs.

Assistant attorney general Jake Taylor said that Counter received a suspended prison sentence and 50 days in jail. Taylor added that Counter likely will be deported to his native Mexico when the jail sentence is completed.

According to court documents, Counter was practicing dentistry in an unmarked Orem building that looked like a residence. Inside, the documents state, there was a waiting area and dental chair, and it “appeared to be set up like a dental examination room.â€