Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Wednesday that a former medical employee in Mohave County has been sentenced to prison for impersonating a doctor and defrauding insurance companies out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Jose Andres Lopez was sentenced by the Mohave County Superior Court to 3.5 years in prison, followed by seven years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution. Lopez pleaded guilty to Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices and Money Laundering in the Second Degree.
Between 2017 and 2021, Lopez worked at a medical clinic where he gained access to the physician’s electronic records and prescription systems. Prosecutors said he used those credentials to issue unauthorized prescriptions for himself and another employee. Lopez also fabricated multiple patient records showing he received physical therapy treatments, which were never provided, to bolster a personal injury insurance claim. Those false records led two insurance carriers to pay him roughly $45,000.
“This case demonstrates our office’s ongoing commitment to protecting Arizona’s healthcare system from fraud and abuse,” Attorney General Mayes said. “Our Health Care Fraud and Abuse Division is one of the best in the nation, and their relentless work ensures taxpayer and AHCCCS dollars are safeguarded.”
Lopez was also previously sentenced in Maricopa County in a related case for providing false income information to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) to obtain benefits.
Both cases were investigated by the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud and Abuse Section and prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Vineet Mehta Shaw.
