A Pasadena physician, Dr. Kevin Tien Do, has agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and subscribing to a false tax return, according to an announcement by the Justice Department. Dr. Do is accused of defrauding California's workers' compensation fund by continuing his work despite being suspended due to a previous health care fraud conviction.
Dr. Do, 59, admitted in his plea agreement that from October 2018 to February 2023, he conspired with others to defraud the state of millions through the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF), which aids injured workers with pre-existing disabilities. Despite being suspended from participating in California's workers' compensation program in October 2018, Dr. Do continued working for Liberty Medical Group Inc., producing reports billed to SIBTF.
The scheme involved listing other doctors’ names on billing forms instead of Dr. Do’s name after his suspension. This enabled Liberty Medical Group to continue receiving payments from SIBTF amounting to over $3 million for reports authored by Dr. Do.
Dr. Do also admitted that Liberty’s owner edited these medical reports without having any medical qualifications and was involved in the fraudulent activities alongside him. The plea agreement further revealed that Liberty’s true owner was a California attorney who later became an Orange County Superior Court judge during the conspiracy period.
Additionally, Dr. Do acknowledged failing to report all income received from Liberty on his tax returns, specifically omitting approximately $66,227 in 2021.
Once he enters his guilty plea, Dr. Do could face up to 20 years in federal prison for mail fraud and three years for tax fraud.
The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the California Department of Insurance with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorneys Charles E. Pell and Ryan J. Waters.