PHOENIX, Ariz. – Dale Henson, 53, and his wife Zoila Henson, 53, both of Chandler, Arizona, were arrested on Wednesday for fraudulently billing the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System and for fraud involving receipt of COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds. The couple was charged earlier this month by the federal grand jury in a 58-count indictment.
The indictment alleges that the couple used their medical billing company to bill AHCCCS for services not actually rendered. AHCCCS is primarily federally funded, and it provides healthcare programs for Arizona’s low-income residents. The couple is alleged to have submitted $1.2 million in fraudulent bills to AHCCCS over a 9-month period in 2019-2020, and then to have used some of the proceeds to purchase a $1.3 residence in Gilbert, Arizona. The indictment also alleges the couple lied in their applications for COVID-19 pandemic-related loans and used the proceeds of the loan funds for personal expenses, such as the purchase of a residence in Mexico, where Zoila Henson is a citizen.
The charges include healthcare fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. A conviction for healthcare fraud or wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years, a conviction for money laundering carries a sentence of up to 10 years, and a conviction for aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory, consecutive 24-month prison sentence – in addition to hefty maximum fines for each offense.
An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Phoenix Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Monica Klapper, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR 21-000601-PHX-DJH
RELEASE NUMBER: 2021-054_Hensons
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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