INQUIRER.net Stock Photo
LOS ANGELES – A Filipino American physician and her husband, who operate a clinic in Anchorage, Alaska, have been charged with health care fraud and tax evasion.
Dr. Claribel K. Chua Tan, a 60-year-old rheumatologist, and her husband, Daniel Tan, 69, were indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month.
The indictment accuses the couple of a $10 million fraud scheme over a 13-year period from 2010 to 2023, according to a July 22 press release from the US Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska.
READ: PAL stops elderly Fil-Am with COPD from flying sans oxygen tank
“The indictment alleges that the couple defrauded health care benefit programs by causing the submission of false claims that misrepresented the type and dosage of medication, and the scope of medical services provided to patients,” the press release said.
False medical records
The couple was also accused of creating false medical records and deceiving patients about “the necessity of receiving medications” at the clinic and “what substances (Dr. Tan) injected into their bodies,” court records show.
READ: Meet the first Filipino American judge in the US
Federal prosecutors said the Tans received over $10 million in “fraudulently obtained funds.” In a separate civil action, the Justice Department seized $8.5 million of those funds from the defendants’ accounts.
The Tans also allegedly evaded income taxes from 2014 to 2017 by providing false information to their tax preparer and not filing any returns from 2018 through 2021, prosecutors said.
READ: Fake doctor nabbed in Cebu City after botched facial enhancement
Health care fraud
If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for health care fraud, five years for each count of tax evasion and one year for each count of failing to file a tax return.
The Tans were released on conditions they surrender their passports, undergo supervision by a federal probation officer and not leave Alaska without permission, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Prosecutors cited concerns the couple might be a flight risk as they reportedly have a home in the Philippines, according to a federal agent’s sworn affidavit in support of a seizure warrant.
Dr. Tan’s online profile shows she obtained her medical degree from the UP College of Medicine.