A federal grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona, indicted Kenneth Harrison, 44, and Courtney Haywood, 38, of Las Vegas, Nevada, on 30 felony counts related to their Arizona-based company, Aurtism, LLC, which was used to steal over $9.4 million from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). The indictment was returned earlier this month. Harrison and Haywood went to federal court in Phoenix on Wednesday for the first time to answer the charges against them.
Harrison and Haywood are charged with conspiracy, healthcare fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. They are said to have used Aurtism to falsely bill AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Program for mental health services they said they provided to needy Native Americans in 2020 and 2021. The indictment says that Harrison and Haywood billed too much for patients that Aurelism actually saw, as well as for patients that Aurelism never saw, like those who got care in a residential facility, were in prison or jail, or had died. AHCCCS was charged more than $9.4 million by autism in less than two years.
Harrison spent the money he got from AHCCCS on real estate worth $2.7 million, luxury cars worth $763,000, and shopping and trips worth almost $1 million. Haywood bought homes, cars, clothes, and went on trips with most of the $3.4 million he got from the AHCCCS funds.
A maximum sentence of five years in prison is given for conspiracy charges. A maximum sentence of ten years in prison is given for healthcare fraud or money laundering charges. A required two years in prison is given for aggravated identity theft charges. For every finding, there is a maximum fine of twice the amount of money that AHCCCS lost and the person must pay AHCCCS back in full.
The investigation in this case was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with help from the IRS Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Phoenix.