Seven individuals in Arizona face federal charges for their alleged roles in defrauding Medicare out of hundreds of millions of dollars in total.

The charges for the most part stem from submitting Medicare claims for patients who were not eligible for hospice care, as well as fraud related to behavioral health services. The arrests were the result of a two-week nationwide federal law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges for 193 individuals for a total of more than $2.75 billion in alleged false claims, as well as opioid abuse schemes.

“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in a statement. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”

In one case, Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King were charged for targeting Medicare hospice patients for medically unnecessary wound grafts. Medicare and other health care benefit programs paid the pair more $600 million based on the false and fraudulent claims, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Gehrke and King allegedly committed these acts via several health care companies that they owned — Apex Mobile Medical LLC, Apex Medical LLC, Viking Medical Consultants LLC and APX Mobile Medical LLC. Both defendants were arrested on June 17 at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix as they tried to board an international flight.

Two other individuals were arrested in conjunction with the alleged APX scheme. Bethany Jameson is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Justice Department has accused Jameson of being paid by Apex Mobile Medical and APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare beneficiaries that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. 

Carlos Ching of APX is also charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

In another case, Rita Anagho, owner of Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC, is accused of bilking $69.7 million from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), a Medicaid program, for behavioral health care services. Tusa allegedly targeted AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Program by billing for services that were never provided or not provided as represented.  

Two other defendants, Daud Koleosho and Adam Mutwol, owners of Community Hope Wellness Center LLC, are accused of similar crimes related to behavioral health, with fraudulent billing totaling approximately $57.7 million. They too primarily targeted the AIHP, according to the Justice Department.

“These cases involve not just massive fraud to steal public funds, but also exploitation of vulnerable victims and the misappropriation of resources earmarked for Native American communities,” said U.S. Attorney Restaino, in a statement. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners will pursue justice against those who perpetrate these sorts of schemes with the utmost vigor.”