A California doctor accused of scamming Covid relief programs of more than $150 million lost most of the money with bad options trades, according to the US Justice Department.
(Bloomberg) — A California doctor accused of scamming Covid relief programs of more than $150 million lost most of the money with bad options trades, according to the US Justice Department.
Dr. Anthony Hao Dinh, 63, engaged in high-risk options trading with the proceeds of his alleged fraud, and he lost more than $100 million in less than a year and a half — from November 2020 to February 2022, an FBI agent said in an affidavit seeking an arrest warrant. The April 10 complaint was unsealed Thursday by a magistrate judge in Los Angeles federal court.
Details of the trades weren’t made in the affidavit and some filings remain sealed. Dinh’s lawyer Eliot F. Krieger didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Dinh, who lives in Newport Coast, a community south of Los Angeles, was arrested on April 12 and released on a $7 million bond, the US said. He’s scheduled to appear for arraignment on May 22.
The prosecution is part of a wider crackdown on Covid health care fraud the Justice Department. On Thursday, the government announced charges against 18 individuals involved in various frauds that resulted in more than $490 million of false billings.
Dinh is accused of submitting claims for treatment of patients who were billed for insured services he either didn’t provide or were medically unnecessary. He and two others allegedly submitted more than 70 fraudulent loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.
The doctor used some of the proceeds from the alleged fraud to buy a $1.1 million home in 2021, which he transferred to his wife last year, according to the government. He also used some of the money to pay credit cards and property taxes, the US said.
The case is US v. Dinh, 23-mj-01699, US District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles)
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