In what the U.S. Attorney’s Office is calling the “largest fraud scheme” targeting a COVID-19 program for uninsured patients, an Orange County, California, doctor was charged Sept. 27 with an 18-count indictment for submitting false claims and receiving around $150 million in payments.
Mr. Dinh allegedly submitted false patient reports in response to a grand jury subpoena to cover up the false claims.
He faces up to 50 years in prison for all charges combined if he is convicted.
Mr. Dinh allegedly submitted over a quarter billion dollars in claims for unprovided or non-covered services by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program.
The millions he received—as an ear, nose, and throat specialist and facial plastic surgeon—were allegedly for services to insured patients, not rendered, or not medically necessary between July 2020 and March 2021 in his offices located in Westminster and Garden Grove.
The indictment also alleges that he submitted, or caused to be submitted, around 65 false loan applications for almost $8 million, which caused the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs to grant funds around $2.8 million.
Mr. Dinh is set to be arraigned on Oct. 30 at the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
Two others charged in the money laundering scheme in April were Mr. Dinh’s sister Hannah “Hang” Trinh Dinh, 65, of Lake Forest and Matthew Hoang Ho, 66, of Melbourne, Florida.
Ms. Dinh agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and helping submit false applications for PPP and EIDL for over $260,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.
Mr. Ho is scheduled for trial on Feb. 6, 2024, and was charged on May 2 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection to PPP and EIDL applications.
