Legal
Massachusetts Doctor Sentenced to 36 Months in Two Telemedicine Fraud Schemes Tied to More Than $40 Million in False Claims
Le Thu, a Boston physician, took kickbacks to approve telemedicine prescriptions and signed thousands of false orders for genetic tests and equipment for Medicare patients she never treated. She was sentenced to 36 months in prison and more than $27 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey said.
Quick answer
Le Thu, 71, a physician from Boston, was sentenced on October 6, 2026, to 36 months in prison and more than $27 million in restitution for two telemedicine fraud schemes. She took roughly $35 per prescription from a telemedicine company to approve equipment and drug orders, then signed thousands of false orders for genetic tests and equipment that billed Medicare more than $40 million. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced the sentence.
Key takeaways
- →Thu pleaded guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and to two counts of false statements in health care matters.
- →The first scheme, from 2014 to 2017, paid her about $35 for each equipment or compounded-drug order she approved, some of it billed to the military's TRICARE program.
- →The second, from 2017 to 2020, had her sign thousands of false orders for genetic tests and equipment for Medicare patients she never treated, billing Medicare more than $40 million, of which it paid more than $27 million.
- →Prosecutors said she was paid more than $200,000 for signing those orders, and the $27 million in restitution tracks Medicare's loss.
Le Thu never owned a telemedicine company or an equipment supplier. What she sold, federal prosecutors said, was her signature: approvals of prescriptions and orders for patients she had not examined and, in many cases, never spoke to. On October 6, 2026, a federal judge in Newark sentenced the 71-year-old Boston physician to 36 months in prison for two schemes built on that signature, which together put more than $40 million in false claims before Medicare and the military's TRICARE program.
The kickback scheme
The first scheme ran from May 2014 through April 2017. Thu agreed to take about $35 from a telemedicine company for each prescription she approved, and she approved hundreds of orders for durable medical equipment and compounded medications. She knew some of those orders would be billed to TRICARE, the Defense Department's health program, which paid pharmacies hundreds of thousands of dollars for compounded drugs obtained through the payments. The Anti-Kickback Statute she admitted violating makes it a crime to take anything of value to induce orders that a federal health program will pay for.
The false orders for genetic tests and equipment
The second scheme, from March 2017 through November 2020, was larger. For multiple telemedicine companies, Thu signed, and had people with no medical training sign in her name, thousands of orders for genetic tests and durable medical equipment for Medicare beneficiaries. The paperwork said she had applied her medical judgment and, in some cases, would use the genetic results to treat the patients. She had done neither, and had never interacted with them. Those orders drove more than $40 million in claims to Medicare, which paid more than $27 million. Thu's share for signing was more than $200,000.
Who investigated, and why the military was involved
The District of New Jersey prosecuted the case, with help from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts. Because TRICARE covers service members and their families, the Defense Department's Office of Inspector General and its Defense Criminal Investigative Service took part, alongside the FBI's Birmingham, Alabama, office, the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority's Office of Inspector General. The office's Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit handled the prosecution.
Why the prescriber is the one charged
Neither scheme needed a particular app or platform. Both needed a licensed prescriber willing to authorize orders without the examination that makes an order legitimate. That authority is the asset these operations buy, which is why a telehealth fraud case so often ends with the clinician who signed. For a company that routes orders through individual providers, a signature given without an exam becomes a liability that reaches the whole chain. For patients, equipment or genetic tests that show up after an unsolicited call, with no real visit behind them, remain a common marker of these schemes. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.
What the sentence settles
The sentence resolves the case against Thu, who pleaded guilty in May and June 2025, and does not reach any telemedicine company she worked with or decide anything about telemedicine as a practice. Alongside the 36 months in prison, the court imposed two years of supervised release and the restitution. The conduct ran from 2014 to 2020. Every figure, date, and charge here comes from the Justice Department's announcement and the filings in the case.
Frequently asked questions
What was Le Thu sentenced for?+
Thu, a 71-year-old physician from Boston, was sentenced for two telemedicine fraud schemes: taking kickbacks to approve prescriptions, and signing thousands of false orders for genetic tests and equipment for Medicare patients she never treated. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and to two counts of false statements in health care matters, and received 36 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and more than $27 million in restitution.
How much did the schemes cost taxpayers?+
The genetic test and equipment scheme caused more than $40 million in claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid more than $27 million. In the earlier kickback scheme, TRICARE paid pharmacies hundreds of thousands of dollars for compounded drugs obtained through the payments to Thu.
Was a telemedicine company charged?+
The announced sentence is against Thu, the physician who approved prescriptions and signed orders. The Justice Department described kickbacks from one telemedicine company and work on behalf of several others, but this sentence covers her conduct and does not report charges against any company.
Why did military and labor investigators work the case?+
TRICARE, a Defense Department program for service members and military families, was among the programs billed, so the Defense Department Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service took part. The FBI, the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority Office of Inspector General also investigated.
Does this change the rules for telehealth prescribing?+
No. It is a criminal sentence for one clinician based on her guilty pleas, not a new rule or a judgment about telemedicine as a practice. It applies existing law: an order has to come from a real clinical evaluation, and taking payments to generate orders billed to federal programs is a crime. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- 1.Massachusetts Doctor Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Participation in Multimillion-Dollar Medicare Fraud Scheme and for Violating the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute · U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey
- 2.Four People Indicted in International Telemedicine Health Care Fraud Kickback Scheme · U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey