SURPRISE, Ariz. — Bradlee Russell had spent nearly three years trying to get his life back on track.
The 27-year-old struggled with drug addiction, going in and out of rehab homes throughout the Valley.
“Bradlee was a good kid with a big heart,” Tracy Bilyeu, Russell's mother, said.
Despite her son's dark path, Bilyeu said she never stopped loving him. The two were in constant contact even when Russell was in the sober living homes.
However, when Russell was placed in another group home in Surprise, Bilyeu claimed he did not get the care he needed.
“There was nobody there supervising any of them,” Bilyeu said. “There was drug paraphernalia all over the place.”
At this time, Bilyeu said Russell contacted a drug dealer who would bring him drugs while living at the group home.
“It’s just a horrible situation,” she said.
This sober living home is far from the only one facing accusations.
In May, state lawmakers suspended more than 100 providers, cutting off their payments from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System after Attorney General Kris Mayes announced it's estimated that hundreds of millions of dollars were defrauded by these group homes.
"Some of these scammers didn't even bill AHCCCS for people they were in contact with. They simply purchased lists of names and dates of birth of people and used those to bill AHCCCS," Mayes said during a press conference.
This has been going on for years. With some rehab homes targeting vulnerable Native Americans off the street. Bringing them hours away from their homes where instead of getting the treatment they need, they are given alcohol and drugs.
While the Arizona governor and other officials have focused on this aspect, Bilyeu wants it known that it's not just one group being preyed upon.
"It's everybody. They are taking advantage of everybody right now," Bilyeu said.
As for her son, Russell passed away in March from a drug overdose, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office.
"My son wasn't a perfect child, but he was my son and he deserved better than that," she said.
Calling on more oversight from the state to prevent this from happening to other families.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Una madre del valle está devastada luego de que su hijo muriera en una casa de rehabilitación
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