A Georgia man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme against Arizona’s Medicaid system.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi sentenced Kenneth Terrell Harrison, 45, of College Park, Georgia, to 52 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. Harrison was also ordered to pay more than $6.5 million in restitution to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS).
According to court documents, Harrison owned a Mesa-based behavioral health counseling service, Aurtism, LLC, which became an AHCCCS-approved provider in 2019. Prosecutors said Harrison concealed his ownership role due to his prior criminal history.
Beginning in January 2020, Harrison began fraudulently billing AHCCCS by using patient identification numbers—some obtained legitimately, others stolen—to submit claims for services that were never rendered. Most of the victims were enrolled in the American Indian Health Plan (AIHP). Over a 22-month span, Aurtism submitted more than $6.5 million in false claims.
At sentencing, Judge Liburdi underscored the impact on Arizona’s most vulnerable communities, calling the fraud especially harmful.
The FBI’s Phoenix Division and IRS Criminal Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office led the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aron Ketchel of the District of Arizona.
