PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A nurse practitioner will spend 3.5 years in prison for her role in a Medicaid fraud case tied to Arizona’s behavioral health care scandal.
Rita Anagho was sentenced May 6 in Maricopa County Superior Court after pleading guilty in the case, according to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Mayes’ office said Anagho operated TUSA Integrated Clinic and worked as the behavioral health professional for as many as 10 to 15 other behavioral health facilities. Many of those facilities have since been suspended or shut down.
Prosecutors said Anagho and TUSA billed Arizona’s Medicaid program, known as AHCCCS, for behavioral health services that patients never received.
The false claims included billing for children who received no care, people who were incarcerated and members who had died.
Anagho was also accused of pressuring AHCCCS members to switch health plans by…
These frauds exploit emotional vulnerability and trust rather than technical weaknesses.
- Romance Scams: Scammers build long-term online relationships with victims, eventually fabricating a “crisis” (medical emergency, legal trouble, or travel costs) that requires the victim to send money.
- Pig Butchering: A hybrid scam where the criminal builds a romantic or platonic relationship to eventually “tutor” the victim in a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment.