4 Arizonans bilked Medicare of $600M in wound-care scheme, feds say

Seven Arizonans, including four accused of preying on elderly patients with bogus wound care, were among 193 people charged with health care fraud in a recent sweep, the U.S. Department of Justice announced .

The four Arizona individuals are accused of bilking Medicare out of more than $600 million via a scheme operated by the companies Apex Mobile Medical LLC, Apex Medical LLC, Viking Medical Consultants LLC and APX Mobile Medical LLC, federal officials say.

Medicare is a government health insurance program that primarily covers people age 65 and older.

Officials say the scheme involved giving elderly Medicare patients medically unnecessary and expensive amniotic allografts to treat superficial wounds that did not need treatment. Some patients died within days or the same day they received the allografts, a federal indictment said. An amniotic allograft uses human amniotic fluid or membrane to heal wounds.

The two-week sweep was a coordinated nationwide action that included law enforcement partners in Arizona. Nationally, investigators seized more than $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold and other assets. Those accused of fraud defrauded $1.6 billion in health care dollars, much of it from the taxpayer-funded Medicaid and Medicare programs, the Department of Justice alleged.

Among the 193 people charged in the sweep were 76 licensed medical professionals, including two nurse practitioners licensed in Arizona, according to the Justice Department and court documents.

“Healthcare fraud victimizes patients, endangers the health of vulnerable people, and plunders healthcare programs,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a news release. “This wide-ranging collaboration demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to rooting out predatory healthcare fraud, protecting patients, and ensuring critical healthcare funds go where they are needed most.”

Three charged in connection with Arizona Medicaid fraud schemes

The other three Arizonans charged as part of the sweep are accused of being part of massive Medicaid fraud schemes that took advantage of vulnerable people needing treatment for substance use disorder and bilked taxpayers of up to $2.5 billion.

Medicaid is a government health insurance program that primarily covers low-income and vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities.

Rita Anagho, 52, of San Tan Valley, is accused of a scheme involving an outpatient substance abuse clinic called Tusa Integrated Clinic that was a registered provider with Arizona's Medicaid agency and billed the agency for services that never were provided, a federal indictment said.

Arizona's Medicaid program is called the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS (pronounced access).

According to the indictment, Anagho “primarily targeted” the AHCCCS American Indian Health Program in her alleged scheme. The indictment says Tusa Integrated Clinic submitted fraudulent claims and received $55.3 million in payments from AHCCCS between May 2022 and March 2023.

Anagho paid some $30 million in kickbacks to owners of homes whose residents, in return, sought clinical treatment at Anagho’s facility, the indictment said.

The treatment Anagho gave clients was not given by qualified people and was substandard, the indictment said.

Anagho also faces felony charges in Maricopa County Superior Court related to the scheme.

She was indicted along with 11 other individuals in March 2023, the same month AHCCCS suspended her from being able to bill the state.

Anagho, according to a Maricopa County Superior Court filing, was accused of falsely signing off on patient notes in exchange for payment.

Prosecutors in June also filed three separate criminal cases against Anagho and the Tusa clinic, each of which contained a conspiracy charge.

The other two Arizonans charged during the sweep and accused of being part of the massive Medicaid fraud scams are Adam Mutwol, 45, of Tempe, and David Koleosho, 44, of Gilbert. Mutwol and Koleosho are accused of defrauding AHCCCS of $57 million through their outpatient treatment center called Community Hope Wellness Center, the indictment said.

The Community Hope Wellness Center, which was registered with AHCCCS, offered and paid kickbacks and bribes to owners of residences that housed substance abuse treatment patients, in exchange for these residence owners referring patients for treatment to the treatment center, officials said.

The Arizona Republic recently published a four-part series about the fraud that included evidence that officials in the state's Medicaid agency could have stopped it years before authorities took action.

2 Arizona nurse practitioners face charges in wound scheme

Scottsdale residents Alexandra Gehrke, 38, and Jeffrey King, 49, face charges of conspiracy, health care fraud, receiving kickbacks and money laundering in connection with expensive amniotic allografts to treat wounds.

The pair, who married in 2024 according to the indictment, were accused of targeting elderly Medicare patients between 2022 and 2024, many of whom were terminally ill and in hospice care, with wound care they didn't need.

Gehrke and King "caused unnecessary and extremely expensive amniotic grafts to be applied to these vulnerable patients’ wounds indiscriminately," the Department of Justice news release said.

Medicare paid Gehrke and King, through their companies Apex Mobile Medical LLC, Apex Medical LLC, Viking Medical Consultants LLC, and APX Mobile Medical LLC, more than $600 million in 16 months, the indictment said.

Federal officials said the payments averaged more than $1 million per patient for unnecessary grafts.

The indictment said Gehrke and King received additional money from their scheme — more than $330 million in illegal kickbacks from their graft distributor in exchange for purchasing, ordering and arranging for the purchase of grafts billed to Medicare.

When Gehrke and King were arrested, federal officials say they seized luxury vehicles, gold, and bank accounts totaling more than $70 million.

Two other Arizonans accused in connection with the alleged wound care schemes are both nurse practitioners — Carlos Ching, 55, of Phoenix, and Bethany Jameson, 53, of Gilbert. Both were charged via an "information" rather than an indictment.

The Department of Justice said an information is a written accusation made by a public prosecutor, or presented by a competent public officer on their oath of office, without the intervention of a grand jury.

APX was accused of paying Ching to apply medically unnecessary wound allografts to Medicare patients procured through kickbacks and bribes.

The federal information against Ching said Medicare paid APX more than $65 million from fraudulent billings for allografts applied by Ching.

Medicare paid Ching, through his company H3 Medical Clinic LLC, more than $4 million for medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare beneficiaries he procured through kickbacks and bribes applied, federal officials say.

Jameson was charged of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the APX scheme.

The federal information against Jameson said Apex Mobile Medical and APX paid Jameson to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare beneficiaries who were procured via kickbacks and bribes.

The indictment said Medicare paid more than $49 million to Apex Mobile Medical and APX between November 2022 and August 2023 for allografts applied by Jameson.

Republic reporter Richard Ruelas contributed to this article .

Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at stephanie.innes@gannett.com or at 480-313-3775. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @stephanieinn es

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 4 Arizonans bilked Medicare of $600M in wound-care scheme, feds say