Dead used in PBS rort: Pharmacist allegedly raked in $7m from fake scripts
A Ferrari-loving Sydney pharmacist has sought to have his luxury car collection returned after it was seized as part of a probe into allegations he rorted $7m from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The luxury items - including two Ferraris, two Lamborghinis, a McLaren and several BMWs - were seized from Huynh’s palatial Dural home during a raid by federal police in November 2023 amid an investigation into alleged PBS fraud.
Huynh’s lawyers launched legal action in the Federal Court of Australia last year seeking to have the cars, along with a collection of 48 expensive watches and $65,000 in cash, returned to Huynh.
In a letter to police, Huynh’s lawyer Bryan Wrench said it was “unclear” why the items were seized and claimed they had no relevance to the ongoing investigation.
In asking for them to be returned, Mr Wrench claimed the AFP’s retention of the goods was causing a financial loss to his client, including the inability of Huynh to rent the luxury cars out for profit.
“The cash has been unable to be invested; the vehicles and watches have been unable to be maintained,” he wrote.
“It is not clear where and how those items are being stored and what steps (if any) the AFP are taking to ensure the items are not damaged or diminished in any way.
“The vehicles are also of a nature that can be rented out for profit. Our client is unable to do so while the AFP retains possession of the items.”
Court documents reveal the collection of watches seized by police included an Audemars Piguet worth $67,700, along with 12 Rolex-branded timepieces and a special edition Hublot Big Bang Ferrari watch.
The Federal Court ultimately rejected Huynh’s bid to have the goods returned, finding it did not have the jurisdiction to determine the application.
Meanwhile, a property seizure record tendered during the court proceedings reveals officers located and bagged several “high value” receipts for expensive purchases at luxury stores including Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.
Another item seized was a receipt for $6193 for Surry Hills restaurant Raita Noda Chef’s Kitchen, dated July 1, 2023.
The AFP recently announced it had launched a civil case in the NSW Supreme Court seeking to freeze Huynh’s assets, including the cars, the Dural home, bank accounts and the pharmacy.
Ferrari-loving pharmacist rorted $7m using fake scripts, court told
And it can be revealed authorities raided Ben Huynh’s Cabramatta Day and Night Pharmacy in June 2019 – four years before his eventual arrest – amid concerns of PBS irregularities, but ultimately took no action against him
Details of the allegations can be revealed for the first time after The Sunday Telegraph obtained documents lodged with the Federal Court as part of Huynh’s unsuccessful attempt to claw back a multimillion-dollar car collection seized by authorities during his arrest in November 2023.
The documents include a statement by the Crown outlining the nature of the fraud allegations against Huynh, who is facing criminal charges of dishonestly causing a loss to a Commonwealth entity and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
They reveal authorities will allege Huynh used the unique prescriber numbers of almost 50 unsuspecting GPs and personal details of hundreds of patients to generate fake scripts in the pharmacy’s computer system, giving the impression drugs had been dispensed, before lodging PBS claims for each script with the federal government.
According to the court documents, the GPs involved, including one doctor whose details were allegedly used more than 3,300 times over three years to net Huynh $1.03m in PBS benefits, later told investigators they had never seen the patients or prescribed the medications for which claims had been lodged.
Huynh is accused of making more than 27,000 false prescription claims over a nine-year period from 2014 to 2023.
It is alleged Huynh netted $7.3m in funds, which were paid into a company bank account controlled solely by Huynh, but which prosecutors claim was spent by the 58-year-old father-of-two on personal luxuries, including his love of super cars.
During the November 2023 raid on Huynh’s home, Australian Federal Police seized two Ferraris, two Lamborghinis, a McLaren and several BMWs from Huynh’s house, along with almost 50 high-end watches - including an Audemars Piguet worth $67,700.
They also allegedly located “high value” receipts for expensive dinners both home and abroad and shopping sprees at Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.
Meanwhile, millions of dollars in payments were made to the company bank account to automotive businesses including $1.1m to Autosports Leichhardt, while Huynh’s wife, Le Thach, also pocketed $2.08m from the account, court documents state.
Neither Ms Thach nor her children are accused of any wrongdoing.
According to court documents, Huynh first came to the attention of authorities in December 2017, when an investigator noticed anomalies in the number and type of claims being made by the pharmacy for drugs including muscle relaxants, epilepsy medication, prescription steroid cream, seizure tablets and osteoporosis tablets.
An investigation of one such drug - a blood pressure medication - found Huynh’s pharmacy alone accounted for almost 50 per cent of all claims made for the drug across Australia.
Health authorities raided the pharmacy in June 2019 but ultimately did not lay any charges.
Court documents reveal the number and value of PBS claims made by Huynh plummeted immediately after the 2019 raid and did not pick up again until well into 2020, only returning to pre-2019 numbers just before his 2023 arrest.
Authorities claim in court documents the stark difference supports the “irresistible inference” Huynh had been making false claims, then ceased amid fears he was going to be detected.
Meanwhile, digital pharmacy records obtained by investigators allegedly recorded further anomalies, including the dispensing of nearly 7,000 medications at nighttime when the pharmacy wasn’t even open, and claims made for PBS drugs that were either found to have been out of stock at the time or in one case, no longer even available in Australia.
Huynh, who remains on bail to live at his Dural mansion, is yet to enter pleas to the charges.
The case will return to court on June 6.
NSW Budget: $500m cash boost for safer, stronger courts
A $500m pledge from the Minns Government will the criminal justice system will get more lawyers and prison guards and special rooms in courthouses to prevent domestic violence victims coming face-to-face with their attackers. See the breakdown here.
Read more
Second time lucky? Candidate gunning for police top job again
Back in 2021, Mick Willing was widely considered to be the frontrunner to be the next NSW Police Commissioner, only to be overlooked in favour of Karen Webb. Now, he’s thinking about throwing his hat in the ring again.
Read more