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19 count indictment handed down in latest AZ Medicaid fraud scheme

An Arizona grand jury has  indicted three people on nearly 20 felony fraud counts, accusing them of filing false billing invoices to AHCCCS, the state’s Medicaid agency. 

The indictment alleges that Shawnjerria Lucas and Lavita Verser along with an un-named third defendant billed AHCCCS more than $115 million in behavioral health services for more than a year. Prosecutors say an unspecified portion of those invoices were fraudulent. 

Two of the defendants owned and operated A Better You Wellness Center LLC in Phoenix. It is  licensed with Arizona as an outpatient treatment center that can conduct court-ordered evaluations, pain management services, DUI treatment and DUI screening. According to a letter filed in February, AHCCCS suspended payments pending a fraud investigation.

The facility was cited nine times in 2022, according to its license registry with the Arizona Department of Health Services. Those citations  involved safety issues ranging from fire inspection violations to failure to inform patients of their rights.

It’s one of several well-being operations targeted by the state of Arizona and Navajo Nation prosecutors in connection with widespread fraud targeting Native Americans throughout the Southwest.

Fronteras Desk senior editor Michel Marizco is an award-winning investigative reporter based in Flagstaff.