Bonifacio Guillena III, a former dentist in Silverthorne, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance at the Summit County Justice Center on Monday.
Guillena, 42, was a dentist at the Comfort Dental in Silverthorne. In March 2018, a former employee with the office contacted the Silverthorne Police Department and accused Guillena of operating a “pill mill.” A subsequent search of the premises and related documents revealed Guillena was illegally distributing prescriptions for controlled substances like Xanax, Percocet and Oxycodone.
Guillena was issued a license to practice dentistry in Colorado in 2014, and it was suspended on Dec. 1, 2017 by the state’s dental board. In May, 2018, Guillena surrendered his license to practice, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“Guillena was given a dental license to care for Coloradans but instead he used that privilege to do harm,” said Bruce Brown, Fifth Judicial District Attorney. “Prescription fraud encourages drug dependency, raises health care expenses and undermines the integrity of the profession.”
In addition to distributing fraudulent prescriptions, Guillena was also on probation at the time of his arrest for previous domestic violence incident. As part of his probation, he was ordered to perform urinalysis, but would cheat the exams using other people’s urine. The District Attorney’s Office initially charged Guillena with attempting to influence a public servant for cheating on his urine exams, though those charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Guillena faces up to six years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1 at 2 p.m.