Couple Convicted in Federal Fraud Case Tied to Home-Printed Dentures for Homeless Clients

Edited by Dentaltown staff

A federal housing program was billed for dentures supposedly provided free to homeless individuals. But according to federal prosecutors, the couple behind the claims manufactured the dentures at home using an unsanitary 3D printer, then charged the homeless recipients for mouth scans and fittings.

A federal jury in Utica, New York, convicted Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, New Jersey, and her husband, Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, in what the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York called a sweeping nationwide scheme to steal federal funds meant for elderly, disabled, and homeless Americans. The office announced the verdict Oct. 2.

The denture piece involved HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program, which the couple asked to reimburse them for providing free dental prostheses to homeless individuals, prosecutors said. The release does not identify either defendant as a licensed dentist or dental technician.

Most of the case centered on Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey shell company that claimed to employ drivers across the country giving rides to elderly and disabled people and doing street outreach for the homeless. Prosecutors said it had no drivers and provided no services. From July 2019 through October 2025, the company sought more than $13 million in federal reimbursements using fake payroll and client records built on stolen identities.

Some of the riders listed had died before their supposed trips. Some of the drivers had never driven a car, and one held only a learner’s permit at the time.

Prosecutors said the couple actually collected more than $1.6 million from program administrators in Georgia, California, and North Carolina. The money funded more than $100,000 in Porsche rentals, more than $100,000 at luxury clothier Loro Piana in Manhattan, and a nearly yearlong 2024 travel run through Colombia, Aruba, and four months in Europe.

The investigation began in late 2024, when the Office of the New York State Comptroller flagged nearly $750,000 in suspicious invoices submitted to the state DOT and opened an audit. Watts was arrested in July 2025. Pino-Copete, who married Watts in Colombia in 2023, was charged that December.

Jail didn’t slow things down, according to prosecutors. While Watts was held at the Albany County Correctional Facility in September 2025, the couple worked together to submit false documents seeking $50,000 from the city of San Bernardino, California. Pino-Copete also showed Watts cash he’d collected from a homeless dental client at a Maryland flea market during a video call, a moment captured in a photo released by the DOJ. In messages recovered from their phones, Watts said of the officials reviewing the claims, “we are much smarter.”

The jury convicted both of wire fraud conspiracy, false document, and aggravated identity theft. Watts was also convicted of making a false statement, a second aggravated identity theft count, and five counts of wire fraud.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 21, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Brindisi. Each faces a mandatory minimum of two years and up to 20 years in prison, plus a restitution order of at least $1.9 million. Pino-Copete, who is not a U.S. citizen, also faces deportation after any prison term.

Sources:
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, “New Jersey Woman, Colombian Lover Convicted in $13 Million Federal Program Fraud Scheme,” Oct. 2, 2026: justice.gov/usao-ndny/couple-convicted-fraud-scheme
LiveNOW from FOX, “‘Operation Thunder Hole’ takes down woman, ‘Colombian Lover’ in $13M fraud scheme,” Oct. 5, 2026: livenowfox.com/news/operation-thunder-hole-fraud-scheme