An Arizona doctor has copped to cooking the books in a multi-million dollar health insurance fraud case. Linh Cao Nguyen, a Peoria physician, entered a guilty plea on March 19 to hoodwinking healthcare benefit programs out of a hefty $3.7 million bucks.
During his fraudulent spree, Nguyen sent in thousands of phony claims; while lighting the wallets of Medicare, TRICARE, AHCCCS, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and UnitedHealthcare, according to details released by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona. The crafty doc falsely billed for services as if he had personally treated patients, when it was actually nurse practitioners or other less expensive healthcare workers doing the legwork, this way inflating the pay he pocketed, Nguyen confessed to being the wizard behind the curtains, cooking up patient records to help kid cover-up his dirty money scheme.
Nguyen has been caught in the act and is now facing the consequences of his fraudulent activities on the healthcare system. Being a fraudulent doctor, he may face imprisonment of up to 10 years along with a fine of a quarter-million dollars. In addition to that, he has agreed to pay restitution of over a million dollars to his victims.
A team consisting of the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, and the Defense Department, worked together to catch Nguyen. Their successful investigation serves as a warning to others who may be considering committing similar crimes. Nguyen will face his sentencing on May 28 before United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker, which will determine his future. This leaves him with a little time to reflect on his actions that have cost him dearly.
