An employee at the Indiana University School of Dentistry was arrested for allegedly stealing about $158,000 worth of gold alloy dental products from the dental school, according to multiple news reports published on March 12.
Michael Frazer, 33, a purchasing agent for the dental school, was arrested on March 7 and charged with fraud and theft. He was being held on a $20,000 bond.
Starting in August 2020 and continuing for approximately four years, Frazer allegedly ordered nearly $158,000 worth of gold products using the dental school's product ordering system. Once he received the items, Frazer reportedly would resell them at a store that would pay cash for gold, according to the articles.
University officials did not become aware of the theft until March 2025 when an audit was conducted. The audit revealed that Frazer allegedly placed 34 fraudulent orders for a variety of gold alloy dental products.
Dental school officials were perplexed by the orders because the university had an oversupply of gold in its inventory. Further investigation revealed that Frazer purportedly did not log any of these gold purchases into the school’s tracking systems.
University fiscal officers approved all of Frazer's orders since they didn't suspect any wrongdoing. The officers were unaware of the number of gold products used at the school each month.
On the day of his arrest, Frazer allegedly lied, saying he placed orders for another dental school employee and the products were placed in a safe. Officials asked to be taken to the safe. Frazer opened it, but there was no gold inside. Then, Frazer allegedly admitted to reselling the stolen gold, according to the stories.
Frazer told the authorities that he needed the cash to cover life expenses since his roommate was unemployed and he needed to help out his parents financially.
