Arizona clinic owner receives prison sentence for massive Medicaid fraud scheme.
An Arizona addiction treatment clinic owner has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after admitting to a large Medicaid fraud scheme that prosecutors said involved more than $69 million in false claims. Rita Ntusa Anagho, 54, of San Tan Valley, owned and operated Tusa Integrated Clinic, an addiction treatment center that billed Arizona’s Medicaid agency, known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). According to court records and the U.S. Department of Justice, the clinic submitted more than $69 million in claims between May 2022 and March 2023 for addiction treatment services that were either never provided or were not delivered as billed. AHCCCS paid about $54.9 million on those claims.
Prosecutors said the scheme focused heavily on Native American patients enrolled in the American Indian Health Care Program, a Medicaid program that paid higher rates than other AHCCCS plans. Anagho and others allegedly sought out patients covered by that program because of the higher reimbursement rates.
The case involved more than false billing, too. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Anagho and people working with her also paid illegal kickbacks to owners of sober living homes in exchange for sending patients to the clinic. Treatment records were then changed or created to make it appear that services had been provided. The government also accused Anagho of taking steps to hide the fraud after investigators began looking into the clinic. When Tusa received a subpoena for medical records, Anagho allegedly directed former employees to create fake records. Prosecutors said money obtained through the scheme was also laundered.
Anagho pleaded guilty in May 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud. Along with the 14-year prison sentence, she was ordered to pay nearly $55 million in restitution. The government also obtained almost $9.5 million in proceeds from seven bank accounts under her control and nearly $7 million in real estate properties, according to the DOJ.
Federal officials said the case shows the financial damage that can result when Medicaid programs are targeted for fraudulent billing. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said the department is pursuing people accused of taking advantage of Medicaid and health care programs serving Native Americans.
The DOJ said its National Fraud Enforcement Division was created in April 2026 to focus on fraud against the American public. The department also operates a Health Care Fraud Strike Force program with nine strike forces across federal districts. Since the program began in 2007, the agency said its Health Care Fraud Strike Force has charged more than 6,200 defendants accused of collectively billing federal health care programs and private insurers for more than $45 billion.
The Arizona case involved a single clinic and a specific period of less than one year, but the charges demonstrate how federal investigators can trace large health care payments through billing records, bank accounts, property and patient records. The sentence and financial penalties against Anagho now represent the outcome of a case that began with fraudulent claims submitted through Arizona’s Medicaid system.
Sources:
Arizona clinic owner gets 14 years in $69M fraud
Arizona Medicaid Fraud: Peoria Man Indicted, Former Clinic Owner Sentenced to 14 Years
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