A Stamford dental office manager recently pleaded guilty to defrauding insurance companies.

Elena Ilizarov pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud stemming from her use of a person’s identity and identifying information to submit fraudulent bills to private insurance companies offering dental insurance.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Ilizarov was the office manager for Advanced Dentistry, a dental practice located in Stamford. Between 2005 and 2016, Ilizarov billed private dental insurance companies for services allegedly performed by an identity theft victim for patients of Advanced Dentistry, when the victim did not in fact perform those services. The identity theft victim was a dentist who had been affiliated with Advanced Dentistry for a short period of time and retired fully from dentistry in 2011.

Advanced Dentistry received approximately $581,729 paid by private insurance companies between 2011 and 2015 for services allegedly provided by the retired dentist.

In 2015 and 2016, Ilizarov renewed the retired dentist’s Connecticut dental license and controlled substance registrations, paying for the renewals with her personal credit card. She also applied for, and received, liability insurance in the name of the retired dentist for several years.

Ilizarov faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, if convicted. She was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on June 21, 2016 and has been released on a $500,000 bond.