Local phoenix news8/9/2023 ![]() ![]() Law enforcement and community leaders say scam sober homes are skirting Phoenix regulations that facilities with six or more residents must register with the city and may not operate within 1,320 feet of any other group home. Fraudsters bill the state Medicaid for services never delivered to at-risk Native Americans. The FBI is asking victims to come forward, but agents stress that their investigation, for now, is focused on the fraudulent use of federal funds, not human trafficking or kidnapping.Ī Phoenix, Arizona, resident provided VOA this video doorbell footage which shows a young man returning to a sober living home whose operators force him to sleep outside at night. “Medicaid and health care plans are a huge, multi-billion-dollar industry, and these fraudsters are costing taxpayers millions of dollars,” said Ferrari. She told VOA that hundreds of fraudulent sober homes have popped up across Phoenix in the past year alone. Special Agent Antoinette Ferrari investigates financial crimes for the FBI’s Phoenix field office. “They don’t get any treatment and are given drugs or alcohol to keep them dependent so they can stay in these so-called ‘programs’ longer,” said the organizer of a Phoenix neighborhood watch group who spoke with VOA and asked not to be identified for fear of retribution by gangs running the fraud. Fraudsters bill for benefits never delivered to at-risk Native Americans. Scam sober homes in Phoenix use Native Americans to enroll for healthcare benefits under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, which partners with the federal Indian Health Service to pay for behavioral health services for members of federally recognized tribes. A resident of a fraudulent sober living home in Phoenix, Arizona, passed out on a residential sidewalk. ![]()
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