Le Thu, a 71-year-old doctor from Boston, was sentenced on October 6 to 36 months in federal prison for taking kickbacks to approve prescriptions and for signing thousands of false orders billed to Medicare. A judge in Newark also ordered her to pay more than $27 million in restitution. New Jersey federal prosecutors announced it October 8.
Prosecutors say the false orders led to more than $40 million in claims to Medicare, and that Medicare paid more than $27 million of them. That second number is the restitution figure.
Two schemes that ran for six years
The Justice Department’s release describes two separate pieces of conduct. The first ran from May 2014 to April 2017. During those years, prosecutors say, Thu took kickbacks from a telemedicine company in exchange for approving hundreds of prescriptions for durable medical equipment and compounded medications. The payment was about $35 for each approved prescription. She knew some of the prescriptions would be used to bill TRICARE, the Defense Department’s health care program for service members, retirees and their families. TRICARE paid pharmacies hundreds of thousands of dollars for compounded medications that came through the kickbacks.
The second ran from March 2017 to November 2020. Thu worked for several telemedicine companies that handled orders for genetic tests and durable medical equipment for people on Medicare. Prosecutors say she signed, or let people with no medical training sign, orders that made it look as if she had used medical judgment. She had not treated or even spoken with the patients, according to the release. She signed thousands of these orders, which the release says contained statements she knew were false and material to Medicare, and received more than $200,000 in payments.
The release says Thu had not treated or spoken with the patients whose names were on the orders. For people on Medicare or TRICARE, that is the part to take away: a claim can be billed in a patient’s name for a test or piece of equipment ordered by a doctor the patient never met. Anyone who sees a charge from a provider they have never met has a statement worth checking.
The release gives no date for Thu to report to prison, so the next filing in her case may arrive without much warning.
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What Thu admitted in court
Thu pleaded guilty in two steps. In May 2025 she admitted one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the law that bars payments for steering government health program business. In June 2025 she pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging false statements related to health care matters. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced her on all counts.
The case was investigated by the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General and its Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s inspector general. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O’Leary of the Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit handled the prosecution. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced the sentence.
$40 million billed, $27 million paid
The two figures measure different things. The $40 million is the total of claims submitted to Medicare on the strength of the false orders. The $27 million is what Medicare actually paid on those claims, and it is the amount the court ordered Thu to pay back. Prosecutors did not say how much of it may be recovered or when.
The kickback payments to Thu were small by comparison. About $35 for a prescription, and a little over $200,000 across the second scheme, set against tens of millions in claims.
The TRICARE piece is smaller in dollars but separate in kind. The release says TRICARE paid pharmacies hundreds of thousands of dollars for compounded medications tied to the kickbacks, which is a different program with a different payer than Medicare.
Reading a Medicare statement for orders you never made
Medicare.gov tells beneficiaries to match the dates and services on their statements against their own calendar and to confirm that each listed service was received and billed correctly. A secure Medicare.gov account shows Original Medicare claims soon after they are processed, so a bad charge can be caught sooner. The site says suspected fraud can be reported to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), and it states that Medicare will never call to sell anything.
The things to look for are the same ones this case turned on: a genetic test or piece of equipment nobody ordered, a doctor’s name the patient does not recognize, or a supplier that appears with no visit behind it. Keep the statement and any package or paperwork that came with the item, and note the date and who called or mailed.
The inspector general’s office at the Department of Health and Human Services takes complaints at oig.hhs.gov and by phone at 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Its page asks for the names and contact details of the person or business involved, a short account of what happened and when, and any bills or records that back it up.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
