He quit his bank job. He took an online traditional medicine course. He borrowed someone else’s practitioner certificate. Then he built a four-department company, ran nearly 87,000 orders, and pocketed the equivalent of 9.2 million US dollars — while his customers developed necrosis.
Vietnamese police dismantled the operation in February 2026. The target: Hoàng Minh Đường Traditional Medicine Clinic (Phòng chẩn trị y học cổ truyền Hoàng Minh Đường), a company that had been running a sophisticated fraud scheme out of Thanh Hóa province (roughly 150 km south of Hanoi) since 2023, under the guise of selling a time-honored herbal joint remedy.
THE BANK EMPLOYEE WHO BECAME A HEALER
Hoàng Văn Toàn, born in 1986, was the ringleader. After leaving banking, he enrolled in an online traditional medicine course and borrowed a practitioner’s license from a third party to give the operation a legal veneer. He recruited co-conspirator Lê Đình Tiến, born in 1996, to help run the enterprise.
The structure was corporate in its precision. Four departments handled distinct functions: in-person medical consultations, online consultations via social media, marketing and advertising, and administration. Sales staff underwent psychological script training. They posed as licensed physicians and traditional healers — lương y in Vietnamese — and made unqualified promises of 100% recovery.
MUD IN A ZIP BAG
The flagship product, marketed as “Thảo dược đắp xương khớp Hoàng Minh Đường” — a joint-pain herbal compress — was presented as a three-generation family recipe. Investigators found the reality: plant stems and leaves of unknown origin, chopped and ground in unsanitary conditions, then sealed in zip-lock bags.
The operators spent billions of dong on Facebook and TikTok advertising, deliberately targeting the elderly and low-income workers. To build false credibility, they spliced footage from reputable television broadcasts and invoked the name of a traditional medicine association without authorization.
When customers complained of side effects — itching, blistering — the operators’ response was to include Tetracycline, a prescription antibiotic, in the next shipment. No prescription. No medical supervision. Just a pill thrown in a bag.
SWELLING, NECROSIS, AND A CRIMINAL CHARGE
Multiple patients developed edema and necrosis after using the product. On February 4, 2026, police conducted emergency searches at two sites: the Bá Thước commune in Thanh Hóa province and the Thanh Xuân district of Hanoi. Authorities seized manufacturing equipment, computers, phones, and the sales scripts used to deceive customers.
On February 10, 2026, the Security Investigation Agency of Thanh Hóa Provincial Police formally charged Hoàng Văn Toàn, Lê Đình Tiến, and ten associates under Article 174 of Vietnam’s Penal Code for fraud and misappropriation of assets. Colonel Lê Ngọc Anh, Deputy Director of the Provincial Police, personally oversaw the investigation.
A LICENSED FRONT WITH A PHANTOM OWNER
The clinic had held a valid operating license since October 15, 2012, issued under the name of Hoàng Thị Nhung as the designated technical officer. Hoàng Văn Toàn did not appear in any official registry.
Thanh Hóa’s Department of Health had flagged the operation by early 2025 and launched a surprise inspection on August 24, 2025. Investigators found multiple violations: unauthorized advertising, unlicensed online consultations, unapproved use of the herbal product, and the fraudulent use of professional titles. The clinic was fined 82 million dong — roughly CAD $3,000 (about US$2,200) — before criminal charges followed.
From 2023 to 2025, the company completed nearly 87,000 orders and amassed over 227 billion dong in illicit revenue. Vietnam’s traditional medicine market is large and inconsistently regulated. Police are urging the public not to purchase unregistered remedies through social media, and to report suspicious cases to authorities.
Source: Bao Lam Dong, March 13, 2026
