New creditor report reveals sad truth about rogue dentist Dr David Hurst's patients - as his glamorous widow is accused of GHOSTING those who are owed thousands | Retrui News | Retrui
New creditor report reveals sad truth about rogue dentist Dr David Hurst's patients - as his glamorous widow is accused of GHOSTING those who are owed thousands
SOURCE:Daily Mail
A new report on the estate of celebrity dentist fraudster Dr David Hurst risks causing fresh pain for his creditors and patients a year after he died in a Perth casino.
A new report on the estate of celebrity dentist fraudster Dr David Hurst risks causing fresh pain for his creditors and patients a year after he died in a Perth casino as it reveals how much the gambling addict bled everyone dry.
The new liquidator of the late David Hurst's company has bluntly stated the 223 people owed almost $4.4million are unlikely to get a cent unless she takes aggressive steps to investigate the actions of the dentist's glamorous widow since his death.
A handsome conman, who was previously convicted for medical forgery in the UK, David Hurst left a trail of pain, devastation and empty wallets as he used patients money to bankroll a lavish lifestyle before dying in his Crown Perth Resort room on December 10 last year, aged 43.
Liquidator Jennifer Low, who took over from previous administrator Bryan Hughes, says there's just $3039.59 cash left after the sale of the business, Perth Dental Rooms.
This is because David Hurst - who siphoned off $7.1m from his Perth practice, rendering it insolvent, to pay for his gambling habit - was in debt to medical finance company Credabl, which has been paid $1.119m of secured credit.
At his stylish Perth clinic, Dr Hurst had always insisted patients pay fees up front, some forking out $60,000 for implants and other expensive procedures.
There is fresh pain in new creditor report on celebrity dentist Dr David Hurst a year after he died in a casino, as patients fear his glamorous widow Clara Hurst is ghosting them from inside her $8million home (above, Clara at the mansion earlier this month)
Even as he was siphoning $7.1million from his practice to fund his gambling addiction fraudster dentist David Hurst (above with his glamorous wife Clara) was buying a $223k Porsche, splurging $6.5m on a house and $200K plus on overseas travel
Liquidator Jennifer Low, who took over from previous administrator Bryan Hughes, says there's just $3039.59 cash left after the sale of the business, Perth Dental Rooms
And what hurts them most, according to one of those owed tens of thousands, is that Clara Hurst is renovating her $8m Perth mansion while they are left with mouths full of broken teeth, filed-down stubs or unfinished, botched implant jobs by Ms Hurst's late husband.
The Daily Mail can reveal that since relocating to Australia in 2013 - a year after David received a suspended prison sentence for 69 counts of theft in the UK - the Hursts acquired an impressive property portfolio in some of Perth's ritziest suburbs as he built his practice.
In 2014, they bought a five-bedroom house with a pool in East Fremantle which they sold for $1.3m, and later bought a $3m home in swanky beachside Cottesloe, then a rare, vacant block in elite Peppermint Grove for $4.2m.
They sold that in mid-2023 just before buying the $6.5m Spanish Revival style mansion straddling five property lots in exclusive Cottesloe which Clara is currently refurbishing.
The sprawling property includes a pool, a library, gym, guest wing, tennis court and sauna.
Clara maintains the ongoing renovation of her Claremont property is being solely funded by her own means. The Mail does not suggest otherwise, nor that she had any knowledge her late husband was swindling his patients' money.
But their hopes of clawing any of it back rest on Clara, who is the executor of her late husband's estate, which has been declared bankrupt.
Since it went into administration, Clara has distanced herself from the Hurst Group and Hurst Family Trust, meaning the narrative has focused mostly on David Hurst.
Early on in the liquidation process, Bryan Hughes managed to successfully lodge an insurance claim for one patient.
Clara Hurst is the executor of her late husband's estate which has been declared bankrupt, but as she renovates her $8m Claremont mansion and communicates via her lawyer, aggrieved patients of crooked David Hurst's dental practice want answers
Since relocating to Australia in 2013 - a year after David received a suspended prison sentence for 69 counts of theft in the UK - the Hursts acquired an impressive property portfolio, including this $4.2m vacant block in ritzy Peppermint Grove
The palatial mansion in exclusive Claremont, which is being renovated, straddles five property lots and includes a pool, a library, gym, guest wing, tennis court and sauna
Mr Hughes then said the insurer would not process any more claims because probate had not been granted yet and he had no legal authority to act on behalf of the company.
At that time Mr Hughes said that once probate was granted, Clara Hurst would be in a position to lodge claims on behalf of the patients.
However since getting probate, Ms Hurst has not lodged any further claims.
According to one creditor, the cost for each insurance claim would be an excess of about $500 which patients would be willing to pay if it meant the possibility of recovering thousands in lost treatment funds.
The biggest unsecured creditor in the Hurst dental debacle is Aria Dental in Perth, which stepped in to treat patients as an emergency measure in the wake of David Hurst's death.
At the request of Perth Dental Rooms and Clara Hurst, prosthodontist Dr Michael Zaninovich provided urgent care to patients.
He treated more than 60 patients at a cost of $465,858, but has received no payment for the work.
Among those patients left in limbo were those who responded to social media ads and flooded into Perth Dental as new clients, paying upfront even as David and Clara Hurst bought a $223,320 Porsche Cayenne 3, splurged $6.5million on the Claremont house, and spent more than $200,000 on overseas travel.
The new liquidator of the late David Hurst's company has bluntly stated the 223 people owed almost $4.4million are likely to get not a cent unless she takes aggressive action to investigate
Once one of Perth high society's most admired couples, the Hursts holidayed in Beverly Hills, Aspen and Hawaii and at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, but it was done on stolen money
Aggrieved patients of the late thieving dentist left with unfinished or botched dental work, Amanda McQuillan and Annette Young stand outside the $8m mansion of the deceased's widow Clara Hurst
Back then one of Perth high society's most admired couples, the Hursts holidayed in Beverly Hills, Aspen and Hawaii alongside wealthy Perth duo Guy and Kristine Hodgson, and also stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, according to a Facebook post just four months before David's death on December 10, 2024.
The Porsche is mentioned in the latest creditors' report as having been sold at a loss for $179,538.12, leaving a shortfall of almost $69,000 for one creditor.
Earlier this month, the Daily Mail tried to speak with Clara Hurst after she drove her Range Rover SUV through the electronic gates of her palatial house, seeking answers on behalf of patients.
As the new December 2025 Report to Creditors states, the previous liquidator recovered $424,000 from Ms Hurst that had been transferred from the Hurst dental company to her personal mortgage account soon after her husband's death.
Patient creditors say she 'went quiet' after her husband's death and then would only communicate via her lawyer.
'We have heard nothing from her and feel like she has ghosted us all, but it's watching all those renovations going on that really hurts,' one told the Daily Mail.
When Clara spoke through the intricately scrolled wrought-iron gates of her home this month, she said she couldn't respond to questions and to 'please respect my privacy', which she repeated over and over.
Clara Hurst says she sympathises with patients left in the lurch by her thieving husband but that it's up to the liquidators to recover any money, which Hurst company administrators fear may amount to zero funds
After David Hurst received a suspended prison sentence for 69 counts of theft by forging patient forms in the UK, the Hursts relocated to Australia and began buying properties like this $1.4m five-bedroom house with a pool in East Fremantle
Aria Dental confirmed Annette Young's treatment had been mishandled and that Dr Hurst had used low-quality materials from overseas. (Pictured: a scan of Annette's botched dental work)
She had earlier said in a statement that: 'In my capacity as executor of the estate I have received numerous potential claims in relation to my late husband's dental practice.
'I can confirm that I have diligently acted as the executor in informing all relevant parties of any potential claim against the estate of my late husband,' she said.
'I have great sympathy for the patients who have been left untreated after my husband’s passing, and I hope that the professionals in charge of winding up his business can continue to diligently work to recover value for them.'
Since it came to light how David Hurst's calculated thievery ruined people's lives and drained their retirement funds, his actual dental skills and professional ability to carry out complicated work has also been thrown into question.
Prosthodontist Dr Michael Zaninovich provided urgent care to Hurst's patients at a cost of $465,858, but has received no payment for the work
In one of the warm and fuzzy videos flogging his services on social media, the dentist sits confidently before the camera talking about the 'free consultation' to 'design your smile digitally with 3D print models'.
The camera pans through his plush rooms under soft lighting as Dr Hurst details in a soothing voice the 'wealth of experience' and 'state of the art' equipment that awaits any patient successfully lured to his designer workspace in one of Perth's heritage buildings.
The since-abandoned practice did not bungle every cosmetic tooth job it did, but left enough broken mouths to raise doubt about whether Hurst was even qualified enough to do specialist work.
Optimally, cosmetic implants are done by a qualified oral surgeon, periodontist or prosthodontist who took extra degrees and training on top of basic dentistry qualifications.
As David Hurst was a liar and a cheat, patients are questioning if he also forged his qualifications.
In her latest report for the hundreds of victims owed millions Hurst Group liquidator Jennifer Low says she would like to conduct 'a full and proper investigation' of the late David Hurst.
She would also investigate the Hurst company transactions, and 'the management of the company in that period from the date of (his) death until the company went into voluntary administration'.