FBI puts $150K bounty on Houston fraud fugitive
Published 1:55 pm Wednesday, June 24, 2026
HOUSTON — The FBI is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Emylee Thai, accused of participating in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme and fleeing the United States while awaiting trial.
According to federal authorities, Thai was charged in a July 11, 2022, indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks, and payment of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.
Prosecutors allege that beginning in 2019, Thai, who owned a laboratory, paid marketers to refer doctors’ orders and DNA samples from Medicare beneficiaries to her laboratory in exchange for a share of the reimbursements. Authorities allege the genetic testing was often medically unnecessary and frequently was not used in patients’ medical treatment.
Federal investigators said Thai’s laboratory billed Medicare approximately $142 million for genetic testing and received about $95 million in payments on those claims.
Following her arrest, Thai was released on bond under several pretrial conditions, including wearing a GPS monitoring device. Authorities said Thai’s monitoring device was removed Dec. 8, 2022, and efforts to contact her were unsuccessful.
A federal arrest warrant was issued Dec. 9, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas after Thai was charged with tampering with a GPS device.
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Investigators later determined Thai allegedly fled the country aboard a private aircraft to Vietnam while using a false identity.
A second federal arrest warrant was issued July 6, 2023, after Thai was charged with destruction and alteration of records in a federal investigation.
The FBI is urging anyone with information about Thai’s whereabouts to come forward. Anyone with information concerning the case is asked to contact the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). A reward of up to $150,000 is being offered for information leading to Thai’s arrest and conviction.
Jakob Gurley is a multimedia journalist with the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at jakob.gurley@vicad.com.