An Arizona pastor has been indicted alongside 16 others in a sweeping Medicaid fraud case, accused of serving to funnel hundreds of thousands in state healthcare funds by faux rehab claims and laundering the proceeds by his church, state officers introduced.
A grand jury indicted 17 people and two organizations, together with Hope of Life Worldwide Church and its pastor, Theodore Mucuranyana. Authorities allege that from August 2022 to July 2023, co-defendants Need Rusingizwa and Fabrice Mvuyekure used their enterprise, Comfortable Home Behavioral Well being, to submit greater than $60 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims, in response to AZ Central.
Prosecutors allege that the corporate billed for companies to sufferers who have been deceased, incarcerated or hospitalized—and funneled greater than $5 million to the church because the investigation loomed.
Most defendants have been scheduled to be arraigned between Might 20 and Might 27. Mucuranyana and the church face cash laundering fees, whereas Comfortable Home has been suspended from the Arizona Well being Care Value Containment System. Belongings together with luxurious items and properties are actually topic to seizure as a part of ongoing investigations.
The pastor’s lawyer informed 12 Information that he knew “nothing” in regards to the alleged fraud.
Since Lawyer Common Kris Mayes took workplace in early 2023, over 100 folks throughout 14 instances have been charged following accusations of exploiting the system—largely by billing for nonexistent alcohol and drug rehabilitation companies,
Officers say extra indictments may comply with as investigations proceed into how widespread the misuse of state funds could also be.
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