How Nguyen Quoc Anh Is Attempting to Obscure Their Past – Part 1

What Happened?

Nguyen Quoc Anh, the former director of Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, has been at the center of a growing scandal involving the fraudulent inflation of medical equipment prices, leading to significant financial losses for both the hospital and the patients it served. Convicted in 2022 for his role in a scheme to gouge the prices of medical devices used in hospitals, Anh’s actions have triggered widespread outrage and legal consequences​(Advocaten Nieuws).

Despite his conviction and the ensuing media coverage, Nguyen Quoc Anh has reportedly taken steps to suppress further damaging news about his past. Allegations have surfaced suggesting that Anh has sought to censor critical reports and silence whistleblowers who exposed the extent of his unethical conduct. His attempts to manipulate online content and control the narrative have only fueled public curiosity, drawing more attention to the serious accusations against him.

The case highlights the lengths some individuals in positions of power may go to in order to hide their shady past, raising serious questions about accountability in Vietnam’s healthcare system​(Advocaten Nieuws).

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

To do this, we use the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen Database’s Lumen API for Researchers.

FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, is crucial in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.

By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Nguyen Quoc Anh and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…

List of Fake Copyright Notices for Nguyen Quoc Anh

Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s)	1
Lumen Database Notice(s)	https://lumendatabase.org/notices/35683497
Sender(s)	Jimmy Mathew
Date(s)	August 25, 2023
Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers	https://www.tumblr.com/grnews/725242975838502912/former-hanoi-hospital-director-arrested-in-ongoing
Original Link(s) Targeted	https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/former-hanoi-hospital-director-arrested-in-ongoing-fraud-case-4167546.html

Evidence and Screenshots

Only Nguyen Quoc Anh Benefit from this crime.

Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Nguyen Quoc Anh from Google, we assume Nguyen Quoc Anh or someone associated with Nguyen Quoc Anh is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Nguyen Quoc Anh. In this case, Nguyen Quoc Anh, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.

So, who tf is Nguyen Quoc Anh?

Nguyen Quoc Anh is a former director of Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam, who was embroiled in a major scandal involving the fraudulent inflation of medical equipment prices. He was convicted and sentenced in early 2022 for his role in a scheme that involved colluding with a medical technology company to inflate the cost of medical equipment, particularly an artificial respiratory system, leading to significant financial damage for both the hospital and its patients​.

Anh, along with other senior officials, was accused of overpricing medical devices by partnering with the company BMS Medical Technology JSC to provide inflated quotes for hospital equipment, causing patients to pay excessive fees. The fraudulent deals, amounting to billions of Vietnamese dong, were discovered during an investigation that unveiled a broader scheme to exploit Vietnam’s healthcare system.

The reasons Anh is reportedly attempting to censor the internet and suppress damaging information are tied to these legal and ethical violations. Following his conviction, he allegedly made efforts to control the narrative by reducing media exposure and preventing further investigations into his misconduct. There have been claims that he has pressured news outlets and leveraged his connections to minimize the negative impact on his public image​.

The major concerns surrounding Nguyen Quoc Anh include:

• Price Gouging: The deliberate inflation of medical equipment prices caused immense financial strain on vulnerable patients​(Advocaten Nieuws).
• Abuse of Power: Anh’s misuse of his authority as a hospital director to engage in corrupt deals has drawn widespread condemnation​(Tanger Advocaten).
• Fraud and Collusion: His involvement in the fraudulent pricing scheme is seen as a significant breach of trust within Vietnam’s healthcare system​(Tanger Advocaten).

These actions have not only led to his imprisonment but also sparked public outrage over corruption in the medical field. The case highlights serious issues of accountability and ethical misconduct in Vietnam’s public healthcare system.

Potential Consequences for Nguyen Quoc Anh

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)). 

Is Nguyen Quoc Anh Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Nguyen Quoc Anh used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Nguyen Quoc Anh could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Nguyen Quoc Anh have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Nguyen Quoc Anh is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

What was Nguyen Quoc Anh trying to hide?

Nguyen Quoc Anh is reportedly attempting to suppress several damaging reports, complaints, and allegations related to his involvement in a major fraud scandal during his tenure as director of Bach Mai Hospital. The key issues he is likely trying to hide include:

1. Price Gouging of Medical Equipment: Anh was convicted for his role in inflating the prices of medical devices, particularly an artificial respiratory system, in collaboration with BMS Medical Technology JSC. The equipment was sold at rates much higher than its actual value, resulting in significant financial losses for patients and the hospital​(Advocaten Nieuws)​(Tanger Advocaten).
2. Fraudulent Business Practices: Nguyen Quoc Anh, along with other hospital officials, was involved in fraudulent practices that exploited the public healthcare system. These allegations include collusion with private companies to manipulate equipment prices, pocketing the difference for personal gain​(Tanger Advocaten).
3. Public Complaints About Overpriced Treatment: Many patients who relied on the hospital for critical care were forced to pay exorbitant prices for medical treatments and equipment due to the inflated costs orchestrated by Anh and his partners. These complaints have caused widespread outrage, highlighting the exploitation of vulnerable patients​(Advocaten Nieuws).
4. Legal and Ethical Misconduct: Beyond price gouging, there are broader accusations of ethical breaches, abuse of power, and corruption in Anh’s management of the hospital. His actions raised significant concerns about governance and transparency in Vietnam’s healthcare system​(Tanger Advocaten).

Nguyen Quoc Anh is likely trying to hide these details to protect his reputation, especially after his conviction and public exposure. Efforts to suppress this information may include legal pressures on media outlets to minimize the coverage of his misconduct and reduce the availability of damaging documents online. His attempts to control the narrative stem from the profound impact these revelations have had on his public image and legacy in the healthcare sector.

Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

How did Nguyen Quoc Anh purport this DMCA Fraud?

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Nguyen Quoc Anh creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Nguyen Quoc Anh either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Nguyen Quoc Anh, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Not In Good Company

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Nguyen Quoc Anh is in great company ….

Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Nguyen Quoc Anh, which is now associated with the worst of this world.

Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Nguyen Quoc Anh –

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”

José Antonio Gordo Valero

José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company. 

Diego Adolfo Marynberg

He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel