STERLING – The dentist and former owner of Sauk Valley Orthodontics, who suddenly closed his practice nearly 2 years ago, leaving about 400 patients in the lurch, has "voluntarily and permanently" lost his Illinois license.

Neal Jones had offices at 811 E. Third St. in Sterling, and at 122 E. Everett St. in Dixon. Oct. 11, 2014, was the practice's last day, which some patients found out at their appointments that day. Those who had prepaid for treatment found out shortly after that they would not be getting refunds.

In reporting its disciplinary actions, taken in May, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said Jones' behavior, if proven true, constituted "dishonorable, unethical or unprofessional conduct."

According to the IDFPR consent order, which lays out the state agency's findings and the terms of its agreement with Jones:

After an investigation, the IDFPR filed a formal complaint July 24, 2015.

In it, the agency said Jones "exhibited gross or repeated billing irregularities when he and/or his agents collected payments from patients in advance of treatment and failed to complete treatment; failed to timely notify the patients and/or responsible parties of Sauk Valley Orthodontics before closing, leaving many in active orthodontic treatment, constituting abandonment of patients; and upon written request, failed to timely produce dental records."

Jones' response to the accusations was that at the time of the closure, he had filed for bankruptcy, no longer was treating patients, and had instructed staff to notify patients of the closure and transfer records.

Bankruptcy laws prohibited him from returning patient fees for unfinished treatment, and he also lost custody of patient records to the bankruptcy trustee, he said.

He neither admitted nor denied the IDFPR's findings, but acknowledged that the state Board of Dentistry could have found him in violation of the state Dental Practice Act – which would have opened him up to substantial state fines, as well as the loss of his license – and so he agreed to surrender his license rather than contest the findings.

The National Practitioner Data Bank, a repository of information that is confidential by federal law, will be notified of the action, which was finalized May 26, the consent order said.

According to its website, "NPDB data is used only for its mission of protecting the public and providing quality health care."

Jones, who bought Sauk Valley Orthodontics from Dr. Joseph Crisham in 2009, also owns Desert Vista Orthodontics in Sierra Vista, Arizona, where he still is practicing. His license there expires June 30, 2018; as of Wednesday, he had no disciplinary actions on record with that state.

At the time of the office closures, Jones' patients were being treated by Dr. Azita Abbasi, who was working part-time on contract for Jones.

Although it is customary for health professionals to notify clients several months in advance when closing or leaving a practice, Jones' staff said even they weren't notified until 2 days before, and then it was via text message.

The next day, they received a letter from Jones, asking them to notify clients, employee Tarryn Anders said at the time.

Staff wound up sending letters, dated Oct.15, 2014, telling patients of the closure and providing the names of five orthodontists to whom they could transfer their records.

Those who prepaid for treatment were notified by email later that they wouldn't be getting refunds. In response to one patient's email, Jones said that the business failed, and that it had declined to the point where it could have been closed a year earlier.

"No refunds occur when the office closes," Jones said in his emailed response. "We regret the loss of money, time, and frustration. Unfortunately, Bank of America will not be getting $800,000, as the company's closure put their loan in the fail column, too."

The IDFPR handles licensing, but has no power to recover money his clients paid. It does share licensing information with other states, then-spokeswoman Sue Hofer said.