Anagho, a resident of San Tan Valley, Arizona, owned and operated Tusa Integrated Clinic, which submitted fraudulent claims to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System between May 2022 and March 2023.
According to the US Department of Justice, the clinic received approximately $54.9 million from the government based on the fraudulent claims.
Authorities said Anagho targeted vulnerable substance abuse patients, particularly Native Americans enrolled in the American Indian Health Care Programme fee-for-service plan because it offered higher reimbursement rates for addiction treatment services.
She was accused of billing the government for treatments that were not provided and exaggerating other services to obtain higher payments.
Prosecutors also said Anagho worked with sober homes to refer patients to her clinic and shared proceeds from the scheme with their operators. She and her co-conspirators were further accused of paying illegal kickbacks to owners of several sober homes in exchange for patient referrals.
The fraud allegedly continued after Tusa Integrated Clinic was subpoenaed for its records, with Anagho instructing former employees to create fake medical records to make the fraudulent claims appear legitimate.
In addition to the 14-year prison sentence, the court ordered Anagho to pay $55 million in restitution.
Authorities also seized $9.5 million from seven bank accounts linked to her and ordered her to forfeit nearly $7 million worth of real estate to the US government.
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