Arizona couple sentenced for $12 million healthcare fraud scheme

An Arizona couple convicted of stealing millions from the state’s Medicaid program and spending it on property and luxury vehicles was sentenced to prison Monday, authorities said.

Thvoughn Lynden Curry, 34, was sentenced to 88 months in federal prison, while Alexis Daneen Curry, 34, was sentenced to 70 months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

The New River residents were also ordered to undergo three years of probation after their release and pay over $12 million in restitution to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS.

Earlier this year, the couple was convicted at trial of three counts of healthcare fraud, eight counts of transactional money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.

Why was the couple sentenced for healthcare fraud?

The Currys ran an outpatient behavioral health clinic in Mesa called 1 Family Clinic LLC, prosecutors said.

They submitted a fraudulent application to enroll the clinic as a provider with AHCCCS, which is Arizona’s Medicaid agency.

Prosecutors said the application listed Alexis Curry as the clinic’s sole owner and manager but did not disclose Thvoughn Curry’s role as an owner and managing employee, as required.

At the time, Thvoughn Curry had an active warrant for state felony fraud charges.

Prosecutors say patients were left unsupervised while couple bought luxuries

After AHCCCS approved the application, prosecutors said the couple began billing the program in a “uniform, nearly identical pattern” for services they did not provide from about February 2021 to March 2023.

According to court records, 1 Family Clinic billed an average of more than 12 hours of service per patient per day, even though the clinic was open far fewer hours. Prosecutors said the clinic also billed AHCCCS for licensed substance abuse therapy that it did not provide.

In total, the couple received more than $12 million under the pretense of providing legitimate healthcare services to low-income patients. Prosecutors said they spent much of the money on personal luxuries, including properties and a 2019 Lamborghini Urus that cost more than $300,000.

Meanwhile, patients were often left unsupervised. Several overdosed and suffered life-threatening medical emergencies, prosecutors said.

IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown said healthcare fraud like this is a “direct attack” on the state’s safety net.

“The Currys diverted millions from Arizona’s Medicaid program to line their own pockets, depleting vital resources from those who depend on these services,” Brown said in a news release. “These sentences reflect the seriousness of that harm and reinforce IRS-CI commitment to protecting the integrity of taxpayer funded healthcare programs.”

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