A 48-year-old Peoria man is facing federal health care fraud and money laundering charges after prosecutors say he billed Arizona's Medicaid program more than $33 million for behavioral health services that were never actually provided, then used the proceeds to buy a Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV and two homes.
Maurice Marcell Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 8 in Phoenix, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office and as reported by AZ Family. Williams owned and operated Thinking and Learning Together 2, LLC, which reported itself as a behavioral treatment provider, but the indictment alleges he failed to disclose both his ownership of the company and a prior criminal conviction on his initial application to become a Medicaid provider. Prosecutors allege he specifically targeted people covered under the American Indian Health Care Program's fee-for-service plan, a Medicaid option open to Native Americans, and billed the program more than $33 million starting in May 2022. AHCCCS ultimately paid out roughly $19.7 million based on those false claims, the indictment alleges.
The case was investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the AHCCCS Office of Inspector General, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aron Ketchel is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Williams faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the 11 counts against him.
Rolls-Royce, Real Estate, and Brokerage Accounts Targeted
Beyond the two residential properties and the luxury SUV, the federal indictment's forfeiture allegations also target brokerage accounts owned by Williams as prosecutors work to claw back the alleged proceeds, according to the Department of Justice. The Justice Department announced the charges alongside broader federal initiatives, including the National Fraud Enforcement Division created on April 7, 2026, and President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.
Part of a Multibillion-Dollar Statewide Crisis
Williams' case lands amid a much larger reckoning over Medicaid fraud in Arizona. Law enforcement and health officials estimate that total billing fraud targeting the state's American Indian Health Program reached $2.5 billion between 2019 and 2023, according to ProPublica. By May 2025, more than 100 individuals had been indicted in connection with the sober living fraud web, yet state authorities had recouped only about $125 million — roughly 5% of the total stolen funds, per the same reporting.
The program was especially vulnerable to exploitation because federal rules structured it as a fee-for-service plan, allowing providers to bill AHCCCS directly without going through managed care organization networks, ProPublica has reported. That structural gap let bad actors submit tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent claims with minimal upfront oversight. The human cost has been severe: investigations by ProPublica and the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting found that at least 40 Indigenous residents died in fraudulent sober living homes and treatment facilities while state officials struggled to stop the billing schemes.
State Crackdown and Agency Fallout
Arizona has since moved to tighten oversight. The Arizona Attorney General's Office reported in May 2026 that billing under the targeted behavioral health codes dropped by 92% following the state's enforcement crackdown and provider suspensions launched in May 2023. AHCCCS also instituted new regulatory requirements, including mandatory fingerprinting, criminal background checks for behavioral health providers, capped reimbursement rates, and identity verification through ID.me.
The scandal has also reshaped leadership at the agency itself. AHCCCS Director Carmen Heredia resigned in May 2025 following intense political pressure and legislative criticism over the agency's delayed response to the fraud crisis and its abrupt suspension of hundreds of providers, according to ProPublica.
Williams' case follows a string of similar prosecutions in the state. Hoodline previously reported on a provider ordered to pay $2 million in restitution after exploiting the same American Indian Health Program for $21 million in false claims, and on the 3.5-year prison sentence secured by the Arizona Attorney General's Office against another operator who set up fake clinics to bill AHCCCS millions.
