Trial of a ring of fake medical records, swindling over 6 billion VND in insurance
With the intention of appropriating money from insurance companies, Le Thi Ha An colluded with many people, created fake medical records and requested insurance companies to pay benefits, appropriating more than 6 billion VND. An was assisted by the defendant's mother and many doctors and nurses.
On September 30, after many days of prolonged deliberation, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced 60 defendants for the crimes of: Fraudulent appropriation of property, Health insurance fraud, and Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences.
The leader of this insurance fraud ring is defendant Le Thi Ha An (born in 1989, residing in Vinh Hung ward, Nghe An). Also on trial is defendant Thai Thi Mai (born in 1967, An's mother, a former nurse at Tan Ky District Medical Center).
This case has many defendants who are doctors, nurses... working at Tan Ky District Medical Center and Vinh Medical University Hospital.
The case file shows that Le Thi Ha An once participated in training insurance consultants for Manulife Vietnam Company Limited, so she knew that if an insurance participant suffered from a broken bone or burn, life insurance companies would pay large amounts of benefits.
With the intention of appropriating money from insurance companies, An contacted people who had purchased insurance contracts or persuaded others to purchase insurance contracts. Then, An would create fake medical records and request insurance companies to pay insurance benefits. When these people agreed, An asked them to give between 60 and 100 million VND to create fake medical records for them.
Le Thi Ha An colluded with her biological mother, Thai Thi Mai, and a number of doctors, nurses, and technicians at Vinh Medical University, including Nguyen Quoc Viet (born in 1984), Hoang Thi Hien (born in 1990), Nguyen Thi Ngoc (born in 1993)... to create fake medical records of "broken bones" and "burns".
After creating fake medical records, An transferred them to related subjects to use to request life insurance companies to pay insurance benefits.
To receive insurance benefits, the life insurance company required the patient to return to the medical center and clinic for a re-examination to confirm the results. To make the re-examination records consistent with the previously fabricated medical records, An colluded with the staff at the clinics.
The investigation agency determined that Le Thi Ha An had colluded with other subjects to create 37 fake medical records of "broken bones" and "burns", profiting from life insurance companies of more than 6.1 billion VND.
At the trial, the defendants admitted to committing the crimes as charged in the indictment. Defendant Le Thi Ha An admitted to using many tricks to commit insurance fraud.
Representatives of the insurance companies attending the court asked the defendants to return the money to them. The defendants expressed remorse and asked the court to consider reducing their sentences.
After considering the role of each defendant in the case, the panel sentenced defendant Le Thi Ha An to 16 years in prison, Thai Thi Mai to 7 years in prison, and Nguyen Quoc Viet to 6 years in prison for fraud and appropriation of property. The remaining defendants were sentenced to prison, suspended sentences, and some were fined.
