Jury acquits Lake Norman oral surgeon accused of loan scheme by feds
A Lake Norman-area dentist who was arrested in November 2023 on allegations he defrauded the federal government out of a $3 million loan was found not guilty by a jury Friday of wire fraud and tax evasion, according to court documents.
Matthew Johnson, a Troutman resident, was accused of submitting false information to get a government loan. He was also accused of failing to pay more than $615,000 in federal taxes from 2013 to 2026.
“We are happy that the jury reached the right result on Friday and Mr. Johnson has been exonerated,” Johnson’s attorney, JP Davis, said in a statement Monday. “After years of running a successful oral surgery practice, Mr. Johnson experienced personal tragedy and health issues, then was taken advantage of by some of the people he trusted to manage his finances. A diligent, dedicated jury poured through all the evidence and found the truth where the government did not.
“Mr. Johnson is eternally grateful to them for their service and their wisdom.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Carolina’s Western District declined to comment.
The 59-year-old, who owned Johnson Oral Surgery in Mooresville and Mount Mourne Springs LLC, a real estate development company, was accused of submitting a false application for a loan backed by the Small Business Administration.
Johnson was also accused of falsely stating the status of his taxes, and submitting false documents with his application.
But he said in an interview Monday with The Charlotte Observer that he was, in fact, the victim of fraud. Johnson said a former employee embezzled from him and used his identity to commit fraud, including the crimes the government accused him of committing.
“I have a diagnosis of dementia, cognitive impairment, and it really started showing itself around 2017 ... and I needed this guy to help me because I just wanted to focus on my job,” Johnson said. “In the process that I trusted this man, he gained access to my bank accounts. He gained access to everything, personal information, and he took this information, and he used it to slowly rob me.”
He said he was grateful for his attorneys proving his innocence in court.
Johnson said he immediately thought of his 10-year-old son.
“I could look at my son and know that I’m going to be around and your daddy’s going to be here and he’s not going to go away,” Johnson said. “It gave me my life back.”
