Md. woman claims arrested man drew blood from her for money after responding to Craigslist ad

WASHINGTON - A Rockville man is facing charges for practicing medicine without a license in the District after he is accused collecting blood from people for money at an apartment in Southwest D.C.

After his arrest, a woman in Prince George's County reached out to us after she recognized him from FOX 5's report. She claims he drew blood from her after she answered an ad on Craigslist.

Now, the woman and her neighbor say the suspect, Khoa Hoang Nguyen, came to them in Maryland to collect their blood and are worried about suffering possible side effects.

"I'm really upset about that," the woman said. "I don't know if he injected me with something or the needle was dirty or what the case may be or if it is coincidental."

She shared photos with FOX 5 of a rash that showed up on her right arm within hours of a man drawing her blood on May 11. She still has some red patches on her arm. Her doctor could not determine what caused it, but gave her antibiotic ointment and is sending her to a specialist.

She said she saw our report Thursday about Nguyen and immediately recognized him as the man who came out to visit her after. She said he paid her $30 to draw her blood and swab her nose.

"I'm on a fixed income so it had appealed to me and I guess it appealed to a lot of the poor," the woman said.

Her neighbor and his family also decided to participate. He said the man did not tell him what the blood was for.

"He didn't say anything," the neighbor said. "He didn't even ask for a name … He stuck a long piece deep inside of my nose and then kept it."

Nguyen was arrested Wednesday for drawing blood from dozens of people at a public housing apartment on P Street in Southwest D.C.

D.C.'s Department of Health said Nguyen does not have a license to practice medicine in the District. He told police he was working for Boston Biosource, which according to its website provides specimens for research. It is the same company noted in the Craigslist ad.

The Maryland woman told FOX 5 when the man arrived to draw her blood, she became so suspicious she had her neighbor take a photo of him from behind. When he left, she called Boston Biosource herself.

"When I called, it seemed to me that he answered the phone and he just said hello, and then I hung the phone up and called back," she recalled. "There was a recording, a voicemail for Biosource with a different voice."

FOX 5 also reached out to the company and has not received a response. A D.C. police report indicates they could not get in touch with anyone at Boston Biosource either.

Nguyen pleaded not guilty to the charge in the District and was released on his own recognizance Thursday. He ran away from reporters after leaving court.

We alerted D.C. police and Prince George's County police about this latest development and they both said they will look into it.

Neighbor says many people waited outside DC apartment to have blood drawn for money