For release on September 3, 2013
CONTACT PERSON:
Judy Lee
Deputy District Attorney
Public Integrity Unit
(408) 792-2798
A former Valley Medical Center radiologist has been charged with embezzling more than $46,000 in federal grant money meant to reimburse the hospital for a research study of cancer patients.
Evidence shows that Dr. Tri Minh Do spent some of the stolen money on credit card bills and his parent’s mortgage.
Do, 45, of San Jose, has been charged with felony misappropriation of public funds. He faces a maximum of four years in prison, if convicted. Do self-surrendered last week and was released. Arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 13.
“I would hope that every penny for cancer research is spent on the treatment and survival of patients,’’ prosecutor Judy Lee said. “Mr. Do is charged with diverting thousands of dollars of these funds.”
The embezzlement was uncovered late last year soon after the doctor was no longer employed at VMC. It was then that the hospital discovered a series of unexpected reimbursement checks from the American College of Radiology (ACR.) ACR officials later confirmed that they had been sending reimbursement checks for a year. Normally, grant reimbursements are made to a hospital - and not an individual doctor.
An D.A. investigation showed that Do, who was in charge of running the study, had deposited tens of thousands of dollars in the reimbursement checks from ACR into his own personal account. Funds, the investigation showed, were used for several payments including for Verizon, Visa, and Chase bills.
###