Two Tucson residents have been indicted in an alleged conspiracy to embezzle millions of dollars from a tribal healthcare provider, spending the money on homes, cars, and credit card bills, federal officials say.
The schemes, which began in 2015 and lasted through this year, ended with a 40-count indictment against Kevin McKenzie, 47, and Corina Martinez, 41, according to a news release Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona.
The pair face a litany of offenses, including conspiracy to embezzle from a tribal organization, embezzlement, theft from a federally funded program, and others.
FBI Investigators who conducted the investigation into the duo said McKenzie used his status as Chief Operating Officer and CEO of Apache Behavior Services (ABHS) to funnel money to himself.
It’s alleged that he also worked with Martinez through her company, Evolved Healthcare, Inc. to enter into a phony “referral” contract with ABHS to further embezzle funds.
These proceeds were then split between both parties.
Among McKenzie’s purchases was a $128,000 Rolls Royce Ghost and a $952,000 home for his family, the release said.
Martinez is the sister of McKenzie’s longtime domestic partner, the Associated Press reported.
Defense attorney Louis Fidel said in a statement to AP that McKenzie “strongly denies the allegations against him, and we intend to vigorously defend the case.” He said McKenzie’s work on the reservation over the years had benefited many tribal members who previously were underserved.
Martinez “has spent many years providing behavioral health services to those in need,” her attorney, Joshua Hamilton, said in a separate statement to AP.
Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Tucson was set on Jan. 5 for Martinez and on Jan. 12 for McKenzie.
The case appears unrelated to widespread Medicaid scams have bilked the state of Arizona out of hundreds of millions of federal dollars. Thousands of Native Americans who traveled from reservations and even other states to seek help for alcohol and drug addictions at Phoenix area rehabilitation facilities have often been left homeless by the billing schemes.
In those cases, fraudulent charges for reimbursement were submitted mostly through the American Indian Health Program, a Medicaid health plan that allows providers to bill directly for reimbursement of services rendered to Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
