Federal prosecutors have charged another figure in Arizona’s sprawling sober living home scandal, accusing him of orchestrating a $650 million Medicaid fraud scheme that exploited vulnerable communities and drained taxpayer funds.
The defendant, a 41-year-old man from Pakistan, allegedly ran a medical billing company called ProMD Solutions.
According to the indictment, the company helped at least 41 fake or substandard addiction treatment clinics in Arizona submit fraudulent claims to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS — the state’s Medicaid program.
Authorities say the clinics enrolled by ProMD never provided real care. Instead, they billed the state for addiction treatment services that were either medically unnecessary or never delivered.
Many of the supposed patients were reportedly recruited from tribal lands and homeless encampments.
The fraud is part of a broader $2.8 billion investigation into Arizona’s sober living home industry, which has disproportionately targeted Native American communities seeking addiction treatment.
Prosecutors allege that the defendant personally profited from the scheme, receiving more than $24 million in stolen AHCCCS funds. He allegedly used $2.9 million to purchase a luxury home on a golf estate in Dubai.
Several others in Arizona were also charged as part of the Justice Department’s national health care fraud takedown.
Some medical professionals and business operators are accused of billing hundreds of millions of dollars to Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary or nonexistent treatments, often targeting elderly and terminally ill patients.
The Arizona cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice.
