An Arizona doctor who ran a mobile medical practice in Tucson is facing multiple federal charges, accused of falsifying dozens of insurance billings over the last five years.
Dr. Linh Cao Nguyen, 48, of Peoria, also is accused of stealing another doctor’s identity to disguise his own wrongdoing during an alleged fraud spree that ran from early 2017 until July of this year.
A federal grand jury in Tucson returned a 51-count indictment against Nguyen on Oct. 20, the U.S. Justice Department announced in an Oct. 22 news release.
Nguyen’s mobile practice, which also operated in Phoenix, dispatched health-care providers with different types of expertise to care for patients in their homes or in living facilities.
The indictment says the practice operated under several names but mainly used three in Arizona: MD 24 House Call Physician’s Network; MD24 House Call, Inc. and EcoHealth Neuropathy.
The document lists nearly 50 episodes of fraudulent billing but does not specify the city in which each alleged incident took place.
The indictment says Nguyen routinely inflated billings to medical insurers by claiming patients received high-level care from a physician when they’d actually been treated for lesser conditions by patient technicians, nurse practitioners or social workers.
Nguyen also submitted billings that were entirely fictitious, in some cases using the name of another doctor to submit the claims, the indictment says.
Prosecutors say five public and private insurers were defrauded including Medicare, the Tricare program that covers military veterans, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare and Arizona’s Medicaid program for low-income patients.
During the five-year time frame covered by the indictment, Nguyen billed Medicare alone for $50 million and received $33 million in Medicare funds, the DOJ said.
The indictment says Nguyen maintained two sets of office staff — one in Phoenix and another that allegedly submitted false billing information remotely from Vietnam.
The indictment does not list an attorney of record for Nguyen.
According to the website of the Arizona Medical Board, which licenses physicians in the state, Nguyen is in good standing and has not been disciplined for misconduct.
Eight days before the grand jury indictment, the medical board renewed Nguyen’s license until 2024.
