SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) \u2014 A San Tan Valley woman will spend more than a decade behind bars for taking part in a fraud scheme that cost the state\u2019s Medicaid agency millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
Rita Ntusa Anagho, 54, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for fraudulently billing Arizona\u2019s Medicaid agency over $69 million for addiction treatment therapy \u2014 all in less than a year.<\/p>\n
Anagho owned and operated the Tusa Integrated Clinic, an addiction treatment center. Anagho, a licensed nurse practitioner, enrolled patients whose health care coverage was covered by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). <\/p>\n
She and other suspects specifically targeted AHCCCS patients who were covered under the American Indian Health Care Program (AIHP). They focused on Native American patients because the AIHP gave higher reimbursement rates than other AHCCCS health care plans, officials say.<\/p>\n
Anagho defrauded the AHCCCS by billing for addiction treatment that was never provided or not provided as billed. She and others involved in the scheme illegally paid sober home owners in exchange for patient referrals to her clinic. <\/p>\n
In total, AHCCCS paid Anagho\u2019s business nearly $55 million from May 2022 to March 2023. <\/p>\n
To cover it up, Anagho and others forged treatment records. Anagho told her former employees to create fake medical records when her business received a subpoena for documents.<\/p>\n
In May 2025, Anagho pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud. <\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Anagho\u2019s scheme manipulated a program that was intended to help Native Americans in Arizona,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona. \u201cThe fourteen-year sentence that she received is a sign of how serious and damaging health care fraud is to our society, and how important it is that we stop individuals who undermine the value of these programs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with prison time, Anagho must repay nearly $55 million, forfeit $9.5 million across seven bank accounts, and surrender almost $7 million in real estate.<\/p>\n
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