Medic accused of breaking clients' bones to help fake insurance claims

Police in Phu Tho Province have issued an emergency detention order for 30-year-old Ta Minh Chau, a former staff member at the Cam Khe District Medical Center, along with Hoang Van Truong, Hoang Van Thang, Hoang Thi Hong Diep and Nguyen Anh Dung.

Ta Minh Chau at a police station in Phu Tho Province. Photo by police

Their operation allegedly involved administering anesthetics to insurance clients before intentionally breaking their bones with a hammer to create injuries consistent with real accidents. This scheme allowed the group to defraud multiple insurance companies of more than VND6 billion (US$240,000).

The five suspects are now under investigation for property appropriation, police said Friday.

According to the police, Chau leveraged his extensive background and knowledge of bone structure and life-insurance payout mechanisms, which often provide high compensation for fracture cases.

X-ray images of bone fractures created by To Minh Chau on his clients. Photo by police

He is accused of setting up a systematic fraud ring that covered every step of the scheme, from encouraging people to purchase insurance to falsifying medical records.

Chau allegedly personally administered anesthetic before using syringes and a claw hammer to inflict fractures designed to look exactly like injuries from real-life accidents.

Accomplices would then stage fake accident scenes, such as electric shocks or slipping into a stream, to legitimize the medical files and complete the insurance claim documents.

Using these methods, the ring defrauded several major life insurance companies, including Manulife, AIA, Dai-ichi Life, FWD, Sun Life, and Chubb Life. Manulife alone reportedly lost VND2.6 billion.

Phu Tho police described the operation as "organized and highly sophisticated," designed specifically to evade detection by law enforcement.

They condemned the methods as "cruel, inhumane, and showing blatant disregard for the health and lives of participants," noting that the group carefully targeted bone locations that would yield the highest insurance payouts.