PHOENIX — A San Tan Valley woman recently indicted for fraudulently billing nearly $70 million to Arizona's Medicaid program is accused of using a portion of the funds to buy a health care center in Pinal County, records show.
Rita Anagho, 52, is facing charges of health care fraud and money laundering for allegedly partaking in a million-dollar scheme to deprive funds from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.
The U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona said Anagho is accused of fraudulently obtaining about $55 million in AHCCCS payments through a Tempe-based outpatient treatment center she operated.
The indictment accuses Anagho of paying millions of dollars in "illegal kickbacks" to the owners of residences for people recovering from substance abuse to have those residents referred for treatment to Anagho's outpatient center.
The defendant could then bill AHCCCS for services purportedly given to the patients and if a patient was Native American then the provider could be paid a higher reimbursement rate.
Anagho's outpatient center is accused of billing for services that were nonexistent or substandard. When a grand jury asked to see patient files, the defendant allegedly instructed employees to "create false therapy notes" for sessions they did not conduct, federal officials said.
It's a type of scheme that has been well documented since Arizona began suspending a large number of health care providers accused of defrauding AHCCCS. Last year, state officials announced they were cutting off payments to over 100 providers.
Anagho's name is on the list of providers who have been suspended.
The indictment claims Anagho used the fraudulently-obtained funds to purchase real estate and vehicles.
One of the transactions allegedly involved Anagho wiring $5.8 million from an account the defendant controlled to purchase a hospital in Florence.
County records show the hospital was purchased in 2023 by Tusa Miyaka Global Foundation, a nonprofit that appears to have been formed in Arizona a couple of months before the property sale. Anagho is listed as the organization's president, according to corporation commission filings.
The small, Florence hospital abruptly closed its doors in 2012, according to the Florence Reminder. It reopened and started serving patients again in 2018 before the 2023 sale to Tusa Miyaka.
12News attempted to call the nonprofit multiple times on Friday but no one answered. The organization lists the Florence health care center as its address on Tusa Miyaka's website.
In addition to the federal indictment, Anagho is also facing state charges in Maricopa County Superior Court.
If convicted, federal officials intend to seek the forfeiture of the Florence hospital from the defendant, records show.
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