PHOENIX, Ariz. – Rita Ntusa Anagho, 54, of San Tan Valley, Arizona, was sentenced on Monday to 14 years in prison for her role in fraudulently billing Arizona’s Medicaid agency more than $69 million in less than one year for addiction treatment therapy. Many of the patients that Anagho used to fuel her scheme were Native Americans covered by Arizona Medicaid under a specific program that reimbursed at higher rates than other Medicaid programs. In addition to the prison sentence, Anagho was ordered to pay almost $55 million in restitution, and to forfeit almost $9.5 million in fraud proceeds seized from seven bank accounts she controlled and almost $7 million in real estate properties.
“Ms. Anagho’s scheme manipulated a program that was intended to help Native Americans in Arizona,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “The fourteen-year sentence that she received is a sign of how serious and damaging health care fraud is to our society, and how important it is that we stop individuals who undermine the value of these programs.”
“The Fraud Division is determined to hold accountable individuals who exploit the Medicaid system and Native American health care programs,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This sentence sends a clear message—if you take advantage of vulnerable populations to steal from the American taxpayer, you will pay the price.”
According to court documents, Anagho owned and operated Tusa Integrated Clinic, LLC (Tusa), an addiction treatment center that fraudulently billed the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) over $69 million from approximately May 2022 through March 2023. AHCCCS paid Tusa approximately $54.9 million based on these false and fraudulent claims.
Anagho, a licensed nurse practitioner, coordinated and carried out this massive health care fraud scheme by exploiting vulnerable substance abuse treatment patients. Anagho enrolled patients whose health care coverage was provided by the AHCCCS in her clinic, specifically targeting those who were covered under the American Indian Health Care Program (AIHP) fee-for-service plan available to Native Americans. Anagho and her co-conspirators often deliberately sought such patients because the AIHP provided higher reimbursement rates than other AHCCCS health care plans. Anagho orchestrated this scheme to defraud AHCCCS by submitting false claims for purported addiction treatment services that were either not provided at all or not provided as billed.
Anagho and her co-conspirators also paid illegal kickbacks to owners of local sober homes for patients who were referred to her clinic. Anagho and others falsified the treatment notes and records related to the purported addiction treatment services to conceal the scheme. Anagho then laundered the proceeds of her fraud and obstructed the investigation of her crimes by instructing her former employees to create fake medical records when Tusa received a subpoena for documents.
In May 2025, Anagho pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud. FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case and received substantial assistance from the AHCCCS Office of Inspector General. Assistant Deputy Chief James V. Hayes and Trial Attorney Sarah Edwards of the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams for the District of Arizona prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph F. Bozdech for the District of Arizona assisted with forfeiture matters.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
CASE NUMBER: 24-CR-01044-PHX-MTLRELEASE NUMBER: 2026-160_Anagho# # #For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.