Kenneth Terrell Harrison, a 45-year-old resident of College Park, Georgia, has been sentenced to 52 months in prison for defrauding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid agency. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi on Monday. In addition to his prison term, Harrison will serve three years of supervised release and must pay $6,538,485.09 in restitution to AHCCCS.
According to court records, Harrison owned Aurtism, LLC, an outpatient behavioral health counseling service based in Mesa. He admitted that when Aurtism applied to become a medical provider for AHCCCS in 2019, he failed to disclose his ownership due to concerns that his prior criminal history would lead AHCCCS to deny the application.
Harrison also admitted to engaging in fraudulent billing practices against AHCCCS. Beginning in January 2020, he obtained identification numbers for AHCCCS enrollees—some who had visited the facility and others whose information was acquired fraudulently. Most of those billed were members of the American Indian Health Plan (AIHP). "Aurtism fraudulently billed AHCCCS for services that were never provided to the AHCCCS enrollees. Between January 2020 and October 2021, Aurtism fraudulently billed AHCCCS for $6,538,485.09."
During sentencing, the court highlighted the impact such fraud has on vulnerable populations within Arizona: "The Court noted the particular harm done to vulnerable populations in Arizona as a result of this type of fraud."
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Phoenix Division and IRS Criminal Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aron Ketchel prosecuted the case.
