A dental practice with an office in Cranberry Township is suing a former patient for posting online comments denouncing the business and discouraging people from patronizing the practice.

Three Rivers Dental Group, which has offices in Greentree, Greensburg and Cranberry Township, filed the suit Friday, Feb. 23, against Charles Szelestey, of Renfrew, in Butler County Common Pleas Court seeking unspecified damages in excess of $35,000.

The suit alleges Szelestey began posting disparaging comments about all three offices around mid-December, which was nearly a year after he was treated at the Cranberry Township office. He was never treated at the other two offices, according to the suit.

In a Dec. 13 social media post, Szelestey wrote, “do NOT go to Three Rivers Dental Group in Cranberry or Greentree,” according to the suit.

The suit includes a copy of a post dated Dec. 13 from CJ Leigh of Renfrew.

According to the suit, the post goes on to say, “They left me toothless and money-less. Jacked me up. Then, after spending $12k, my insurance rejected an appointment, so I owe them $110. The lady put me in a room and told me (I) could not leave or see the doctor until I paid $110 in CASH. I put my tooth in my pocket and walked out. They have an F with the BBB. I wish I would have looked them up. Guys, I could go on. PLEASE DO NOT GO HERE. BE AWARE.”

The Better Business Bureau gives all three offices an F rating and says each office is “Not BBB accredited,” on its website.

Also on Dec. 13, Szelestey linked his post to a Facebook page connected to the dental group’s trade name and responded to comments from other people. In one of those responses, he said “Three Rivers Dental Group is bad news all over the place. It’s down right dangerous,” according to the suit.

A few days later on another website, he posted a one star review of the Greentree office and a female dentist at the Cranberry Township office, even though he had not seen her for treatment in nearly a year, according to the suit.

Szelestey then updated his post about the Greentree office saying he does “not recommend this place” and “care quality is a solid zero” before posting the same review on the Cranberry office’s page the next day, according to the suit.

As he continued making posts about the practice on his Facebook page and various public online review websites, the Cranberry office contacted the websites and had many of the posts and reviews removed, but Szelestey posted similar content after the removals, according to the suit.

He responded to positive reviews posted by other people by sharing versions of negative comments he made previously, according to the suit.

In February, he began answering questions from prospective and current customers. He responded to a question about the practice’s offer of a free first dental implant by saying, “TRDG does not offer anything remotely close to this,” according to the suit.

“Defendant’s crusade of negative online reviews and social media posts has continued up until the date of this complaint, with the latest posts or disparaging ‘answers’ to prospective or current customers on Google occurring on Feb. 4, 2024,” according to the suit.

The suit includes counts of interference with actual and prospective business and defamation, and seeks an injunction against Szelestey.

Neither Szelestey or Three Rivers Dental Group’s Cranberry office could be reached for comment.

Court records reveal that two federal tax liens totaling $7,128,344.93 have been filed against Three Rivers Dental Management Systems LLC. The business owns a house at 103 Morningside Drive in Cranberry Township, according to county property records.

One of the liens, for $6.8 million, was filed against Lawrence Rudolph, the founder of Three Rivers Dental, and the second lien, for $250,400, was filed against Lori Milliron, a former hygienist and office manager.

Rudolph and Milliron were convicted in the 2016 shooting death of his wife, Bianca Rudolph, during an African safari.

The liens were obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Denver, Colo., where Rudolph had purchased life insurance policies worth nearly $5 million in his wife’s name. Rudolph and Milliron were tried in 2022 before a jury in U.S. District Court in Denver.

Rudolph is serving life in prison. His sentence includes paying $4.9 million in restitution to the insurance companies and a $2 million fine. Milliron was sentenced to 204 months in prison.