A Brooklyn clinic owner has been convicted at trial in what prosecutors say was a $52 million health care fraud and narcotics racket that targeted people desperate for addiction treatment. A federal jury in the Eastern District of New York found Tony Brown-Arkah guilty this month on multiple counts, including health care fraud, illegal distribution of buprenorphine and pay-and-receive kickback offenses. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the jury returned guilty verdicts on May 22, 2026, and found that Brown-Arkah and his co-conspirators were responsible for more than $52 million in false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The convictions cover conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 12 counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, three counts of distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and two counts of receipt of kickbacks.
Trial coverage shows prosecutors leaned on witness testimony and records to argue that Brown-Arkah’s company, American Medical Centers, drew in patients with illegitimate Suboxone prescriptions and then billed federal programs for services that never happened, as reported by Becker's ASC. Reporters and court filings indicate that many of those prescriptions were signed by a nurse practitioner based in Florida who never saw the patients before authorizing the drugs.
How Prosecutors Say the Scheme Worked
At trial, prosecutors rolled out undercover video and other exhibits to show that clinic staff directed patients to a van parked outside, where dealers allegedly bought Suboxone prescriptions for cash. Patients were also steered into unnecessary urine and blood tests that generated additional billable claims. Those allegations appear in the court filing from the U.S. Department of Justice, which also describes monthly kickback payments from a laboratory and efforts to hide those payments through a shell company and a sham contract.
Task Force and Investigators
The case landed on the desks of a multi-agency task force with both federal and local players. Government filings cited by NADDI list the DEA, the HHS Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations-New York and IRS-Criminal Investigation as key investigators, with help from the NYPD and the New York City Human Resources Administration. Trial attorneys from the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Unit handled the prosecution.
What Happens Next
A federal judge will now decide Brown-Arkah’s fate under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Press coverage notes that the counts carry statutory maximums that include up to 10 years in prison on the health care fraud, narcotics and kickback charges and up to five years on some conspiracy charges. A sentencing date had not been set, according to reporting by Becker's ASC.
Legal observers say the conviction fits into a broader federal crackdown. The Justice Department has given its fraud teams more backing to take health care cases to trial, especially schemes involving federal benefits and diversion of treatment medications. As ArentFox Schiff has noted, the government has expanded task forces and rolled out new directives aimed at rooting out fraud in benefits programs.
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