◆ A Peoria, Arizona, physician pleaded guilty to health care fraud that cost government and private payers $3.7 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said April 4.^[1] Linh Cao Nguyen, M.D., admitted he was involved in a scheme to defraud Medicare, TRICARE, Arizona Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare by submitting thousands of false claims and creating phony patient records to avoid detection. “Generally, the fraudulent claims identified a medical doctor as the treating provider when, in fact, another provider such as a nurse practitioner, social worker, unlicensed psychology intern, or wound care nurse provided the service independently,” the U.S. attorney’s office said. Because the services were billed as if they were provided by a physician, Nguyen falsely inflated the amount his company would be paid. Nguyen agreed to pay $1 restitution to the private insurers and faces a max of 10 years in prison.