DOJ Sentences Former Nurse Practitioner for $54M Arizona Medicaid Fraud

The U.S. Justice Department announced that Rita Ntusa Anagho, a former nurse practitioner, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. She fraudulently submitted over $69 million in bills through her company, Tusa Integrated Clinic, LLC, to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. Authorities stated that she collected $54 million from these fraudulent claims between May 2022 and March 2023. She was ordered to pay almost $55 million in restitution and forfeit millions in assets, including a hospital in Florence and a home in Queen Creek.

The fraud heavily relied on vulnerable patients covered by Arizona Medicaid under a specific high-reimbursement program. The massive fraudulent billing depleted state Medicaid funds, requiring increased regulatory oversight and recovery efforts.