By Steve Neavling
The U.S. Justice Department has charged a Pakistani national in connection with a sweeping $650 million fraud scheme that exploited Arizona’s Medicaid program for Native Americans, billing the state for addiction treatment services that were never provided or medically unnecessary.
Federal prosecutors say Farrukh Ali conspired with at least 41 substance abuse clinics to submit bogus claims to Arizona’s American Indian Health Program (AIHP), a Medicaid service that provides higher reimbursements for treating Native American patients, NPR reports. Many of the people targeted were recruited from Native reservations or homeless shelters and were never given legitimate treatment, according to court records.
Ali, who is believed to be in Pakistan and remains at large, owned and operated ProMD Solutions LLC, a medical billing and credentialing company registered in Arizona but based overseas. From 2021 to 2023, prosecutors say Ali helped addiction clinics enroll in the state’s Medicaid system, then submitted inflated or false claims on their behalf in exchange for a 5% cut of what the clinics were paid.
To keep a steady flow of billable patients, clinic operators allegedly paid kickbacks to sober home owners who lured people in with promises of treatment and free housing. Justice Department officials said many of the patients suffered from alcohol, opioid, or methamphetamine addiction, and were sometimes recruited with entire families from reservations or encampments.
“These criminals didn’t just steal someone else’s money. They stole from you,” said Matthew Galeotti, who heads the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers.”
The charges against Ali were announced as part of the department’s 2025 national health care fraud takedown, which includes nearly 200 cases involving an estimated $14.6 billion in intended losses — the largest crackdown in the agency’s history. Ali faces charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.
