Docs: $158,000 in gold stolen by IU Dental School employee

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana University dental school employee allegedly ordered and stole over $150,000 in gold dental equipment before selling it to an Avon cash for gold store.

Michael Frazer, 33, was arrested this week and charged in Marion County court with felony fraud and theft. Employed as a purchasing agent, Frazer was in charge of ordering dental supplies for the IU School of Dentistry.

Indiana University police were alerted in early March about an audit that revealed a “fraudulent ordering scheme” within the school. Court documents allege the scheme involved Frazer, who had reportedly ordered gold alloy dental products at least 34 times since 2020.

“The gold is believed to have been stolen by the employee, resulting in a financial loss to the school of $158,967.57,” court documents read.

Police said Frazer’s 34 orders were not properly tracked in IU accounting books and that over 2,700 grams worth of gold products were never logged into the school’s inventory system. These orders, which ranged from $1,100 to $16,000, were all reportedly picked up in person by Frazer or delivered to his desk.

Detectives tracked an order made by Frazer on March 5 and followed it to his office on March 7. After being confronted about his unlogged gold purchases, Frazer reportedly asked to “speak in private” and tried to shut his office door.

After this, police said Frazer admitted to ordering gold and taking it for his own personal use. Frazer reportedly told officers he would wait for the gold to be delivered, then drive to a gold-buying store in Avon and sell the dental supplies for cash.

At this point, officers read Frazer his Miranda Rights and arrested him for fraud and theft. He was later taken to the Marion County jail, where he is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.

Detectives later spoke with employees at the Avon gold-buying business Frazer mentioned. After being shown a picture of Frazer, one employee “immediately recognized him” as a frequent gold seller. The employee said Frazer was “always really nice” and never gave any indication the gold he brought in was stolen.

An initial hearing in Frazer’s case was held on Tuesday afternoon in Marion Superior Court 28. A jury trial is now scheduled to begin on May 22 in front of Judge James K. Snyder.

If convicted on both counts, Frazer could face up to 18 years in prison. Level 4 felony fraud is punishable in Indiana by two to 12 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, while level 5 felony theft is punishable by one to six years in prison and a fine of $10,000.