PHOENIX — The CEO of a health care provider for the White Mountain Apache Tribe has been indicted for allegedly funneling millions of dollars to a shell company he owned.
On Dec. 14, a grand jury returned a 40-count indictment against Kevin McKenzie, 47, and Corina Martinez, 41, for an alleged embezzlement scheme involving Apache Behavioral Health Services, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona.
ABHS is tasked with providing services to members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona who are suffering from depression, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts, according to the ABHS website.
While serving in leadership roles between 2015 and 2023, McKenzie allegedly used two contracts to funnel money from ABHS into his pocket.
One contract paid $32 million to Helping Everyday Youth, which had an agreement with McKenzie to allocate $14 million to a company that the CEO owned, prosecutors said.
Investigators found no evidence of McKenzie's company providing legitimate services for ABHS, court records show.
Helping Everyday Youth, which provided counseling services at schools, had not performed any contracting work for ABHS since the relinquishment of HEDY employees to ABHS in 2015, according to the indictment filed against McKenzie.
McKenzie allegedly concealed the true nature of his "backdoor financial relationship" with HEDY to the ABHS's board of directors, court records show.
Another contract paid $15 million to a company associated with Martinez that did not perform any services for ABHS. Portions of the proceeds were allegedly split between McKenzie and Martinez.
Court records show Martinez is the sister of McKenzie's significant other.
The defendants are accused of spending large sums of money on a $925,000 home in Tucson, a $125,000 Rolls Royce and $800,000 in paying off credit card debt.
The charges listed in the indictment include embezzlement, wire fraud and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. McKenzie is also charged with attempted witness tampering.
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