MESA, Ariz. — Two men from Las Vegas defrauded the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System out of approximately $9.4 million by falsely billing behavioral healthcare services, according to court documents.
The men were indicted by a federal grand jury on 30 counts related to conspiracy, health care fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Kenneth Harrison and Courtney Haywood, acting through their company "Aurtism, LLC," targeted AHCCCS-eligible Native American populations by recruiting them for behavioral health care services and either billing AHCCCS for services that were not provided or "grossly overbilling" for any services that were provided, court documents state.
Aurtism LLC was organized in 2019 as a "healthcare and social assistance" business, according to court documents. The name "Aurtism" is a combination of "autism" and "art." The organization was portrayed on social media as providing art therapy to assist autistic children.
In court documents, it is alleged that the defendants supplied AHCCCS with false registration documents designed to conceal the identity and criminal history of Harrison. Harrison has four criminal convictions: felony theft in 1997, misdemeanor burglary of a vehicle in 1998, felony injury to a child in 2000, and misdemeanor assault in 2000.
Aurtism was found to be one of the top providers billing AHCCCS through the American Indian Health Program in 2021. The AHCCCS Office of Inspector General investigation revealed Aurtism frequently billed for services that patients already received from other providers, billed patients who had died or were in jail, and billed patients who were in residential treatment facilities and were already receiving those treatments in the facilities, court documents state.
Of the $9.4 million Aurtism received from AHCCCS, $4.6 million went to Harrison — roughly 49%. Harrison allegedly used the funds to purchase the following:
- $2.7 million in residential real estate
- $763,000 in vehicles and related expenses
- $588,000 on retail purchases
- $339,000 on travel
Haywood received $3.4 million, which is 36% of the $9.4 million Aurtism received from AHCCCS. Haywood allegedly used the funds to purchase the following:
- $708,000 in residential real estate
- $200,000 to purchase a bar
- $271,000 on retail purchases
- $199,000 on travel
Of the money Aurtism received, 13% or roughly $1.2 million was spent on items claimed to be related to Aurtism, such as $322,000 for payroll and $107,000 for supplies.
A conviction for conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a conviction for health care fraud or money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a conviction for aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two years in prison. Each conviction also carries a maximum fine of up to twice the amount of financial loss to AHCCCS and mandates full restitution to AHCCCS, according to a news release from the FBI.
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