The Biloxi Sun Herald
By Robin Fitzgerald
August 12, 2008

U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. has set bond for three defendants in an alleged “pill mill” case and will make a decision this afternoon regarding bond for Dr. Thomas Trieu.

Dr. Victoria Van, pharmacist Nick Tran and the doctors’ former office manager, Richard Trieu, smiled at dozens of friends and relatives who attended the hearings this morning.

The government did not object to bond for the three and Guirola granted bond with conditions for their release. Van, Tran and Richard Trieu each agreed to a $100,000 unsecured bond, which won’t have to be paid unless they fail to appear in court or to surrender if found guilty.

The defendants have been in custody 72 days since DEA agents shut down the Family Medical Center Biloxi and the adjoining business, Tran’s Pharmacy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie, arguing against bond for Dr. Trieu, said the doctor “is accused of being a drug dealer,” but agreed with the judge on a couple of points. As long as the doctor isn’t allowed to write prescriptions pending the results of the case, he is not a danger to the community, Meynardie said.

However, Meynardie claims the government will seek in excess of 100 additional counts against Trieu in a superceding indictment to be presented to a grand jury in September. Nine to 12 deaths that allegedly involved prescriptions written by Trieu are under review by district attorneys in Harrison and Jackson counties, Meynardie said. No federal charges have been filed involving the alleged drug-related deaths.

The four are accused of conspiring to prescribe and dispense controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice. Their arrests came after an undercover investigation in which DEA agents posed as patients, faking coughs, anxiety and back pain, according to testimony.

Guirola said he will give his decision on bond for Dr. Trieu in a hearing today at 1:30 p.m.

Van, 41, will be able to return home to her children, toddlers ages 2 and 3.

“We are very thankful to God,” said her sister, Lana Van, a pharmacist from Anaheim, Calif. “We don’t know the reason why these accusations have been made, but we believe my sister and her husband are innocent. They are good, honorable people who have it in their hearts to help people, not hurt them.”

Van’s attorney, Michael Crosby, said, “It’s moments like these that make me proud to be a lawyer. Dr. Van’s children have suffered greatly by not having physical contact with their mother.”

Van is charged with four counts in a 22-count indictment. Her charges include counts of conspiracy and forfeiture and two prescriptions written for a patient she claims was one of her husband’s patients who had run out of refills.

Richard Trieu’s pregnant wife and other friends and family of the defendants attended to show their support. Among them was Dr. Thomas Stebbins, a global ambassador for Evangelism Explosion International, a ministry led by Dr. James Kennedy, renowned in Christian evangelical circles.

Stebbins is among those who were willing to testify on Dr. Trieu’s behalf. Relatives said Stebbins has known the doctors for several years, dating back to Van’s work with Christian ministry projects at impoverished areas of the nation and overseas.

California attorney Wayne Gross, whose clients include actor Wesley Snipes, told the judge that defendants accused of white-collar crimes typically receive bond to await resolution of charges. Gross, one of Dr. Trieu’s attorneys and a former federal prosecutor, told the judge that even with the threat of additional charges, his client cannot be denied bond “for uncharged conduct.”

Sun Herald is following developments in court and gives an update this afternoon and in Wednesday’s editions.