Who is Ebony McBean? Raleigh woman accused of performing unlicensed dental work and taking thousands

Ebony Nicohole McBean, accused of practising dental care without a license in Raleigh, was arrested after 3 months of issuing a warrant.

Published on: Feb 16, 2026 7:11 AM IST

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Ebony Nicohole McBean, 42, was arrested by Raleigh police this week on charges related to practising dental services without a license and defrauding patients.

Ebony Nicohole McBean, accused of practising dental care without a license in Raleigh, arrested after 3 months of issuing warrant. (Pixabay | For representational purpose only)

Who is Ebony Nicohole McBean?

According to WRAL News, McBean is accused of operating The Smiling Face Company in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she allegedly provided dental and orthodontic services without proper credentials.

However, McBean claimed to have worked as an orthodontic assistant for 15 years on Yelp.

Patients had raised questions after spending thousands to get braces about refunds, future service and patient records. One patient detailed to WRAL that McBean charged about $5,820 for braces on their teeth, despite having no dental license.

Two other patients, Nichelle Boone and Shayla Gist, also reported being charged $4,250 for braces services and $4,000 from Gist after putting braces on her son's teeth, respectively, in October. Gist has also reported that for the past three months, her kid has been in so much discomfort from his braces that he no longer wants to wear them.

McBean allegedly informed all her victims that she was employed by Dr Ramsey, with whom she would consult for the installation and upkeep of orthodontic procedures on each of her patients.

However, McBean has no connection whatsoever to Ramsey, according to the arrest warrants. Dr Darren Ramsey was the company's dental medical director and the provider mentioned on invoices, according to WRAL News. On the board's webpage, Ramsey's license was listed as being on probation.

Charges and bond

McBean’s arrest on February 14 came more than three months after warrants were first issued in November 2025, and she faces one count of practising medicine without a licence and three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretence.

One day after informing patients, the Smiling Face Company closed its doors in October due to the negative feedback it received from its clientele.

McBean is out on bail after he posted a $3,000 bond on Saturday morning, around 6 a.m., WRAL News reported.

She is scheduled to appear in court on these charges at 1;30 p.m. on Monday, February 16.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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