Wife files for divorce from pediatric dentist accused of hurting children

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The accusations against pediatric dentist Dr. Howard Schneider are growing.

Action News was the first to tell you that he has raked in nearly $4 million in Medicaid payments since 2010.

And now his wife, Deborah Schneider, is asking where that money went.

On Friday, she filed for divorce, claiming her husband of 15 years blocked her from their accounts and dissipated the funds.

But attorney John Phillips, who's representing nearly 50 former patients, says Schneider is responding to requests for their records.

“We got a box of records for our cases today,” Phillips said.

Phillips says there are now three separate investigations into the practice, and says Mrs. Schneider may be under a microscope as well.

Family members, friends and former employees say she was the office manager for years, and was in charge of all Medicaid billing.

On Wednesday, the case attracted national attention from CNN's Anderson Cooper.

“The combination of the financial incentive to do more procedures, to be paid by tooth, exactly,” Cooper said.

And now Schneider's doors are closed to new patients and treatment staff is gone.

“She may be trying to strike while the iron is hot, because if Dr. Schneider's practice is drying up and if he is out of business for the rest of his life, there will be limited assets both personal and corporate,” Phillips said.

We reached out multiple times in person and on the phone but got no answers. The attorney general would not confirm if Mrs. Schneider is part of the investigation.

The Department of Justice also wouldn't confirm if it has launched its own investigation but Phillips says it has, and has requested copies of his clients' complaints.

He says they plan to meet to discuss the Schneider case in late July.

WJAX