A Phoenix pastor and his church are among 22 individuals and businesses that have been charged for allegedly defrauding Arizona’s Medicaid program out of $60 million, according to an indictment released from the Arizona attorney general’s office on Tuesday.
Pastor Theodore Mucuranyana and his congregation, Hope Of Life International Church, in Glendale, Arizona, were indicted last month on a combined 10 felony counts of money laundering.
Other defendants face additional charges of theft, conspiracy, fraudulent schemes and artifices, patient referral fraud, and forgery, the attorney general’s office said. Kristin Mayes is the state’s attorney general.
Mucuranyana and his church have been accused of working with the other defendants to divert millions in state funds intended for mental health treatment and addiction rehabilitation through fake rehab claims. The claims either went to services that were never provided or to patients who were deceased, incarcerated, or hospitalized.
Mucuranyana and Hope of Life also allegedly laundered the proceeds through the church and a behavioral health business.
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The business, Happy House Behavioral Health LLC, and owners Desire Rusingizwa and Fabrice Mvuyekure allegedly acted as the ringleaders of the scam between August 2022 and January 2024.
The indictment accused Mucuranyana and his church of conspiring with Happy House to get paid for providing fake “sober living” housing.
According to the indictment, Happy House laundered two checks, one for $5 million and the other for $500,000, through Hope of Life International Church in the summer of 2023.
Then in December 2023, the church wired $2 million to an unnamed “entity” in Rwanda.
Happy House also leased a building on the Hope of Life’s church grounds.
Mucuranyana and Hope of Life, alongside Rusingizwa and Mvuyekure, entered not guilty pleas in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday, according to court records. A pretrial conference will be held in July.
Pastor contends state is deflecting blame
Pastor Mucuranyana’s attorney, Joshua Kolsrud, called the indictment of his client and Hope of Life “unjust.” In a declaración, he said that the pastor is “a respected community leader with no criminal history.”
Instead, he contends that the attorney general’s office is attempting to “escape accountability for failing to detect an alleged fraud that triggered over $60 million in payouts within a year.”
He continued, “Instead of addressing this regulatory failure, the prosecution pursues baseless charges against uninvolved parties to deflect blame.”
Kolsrud argued that the charges are rooted in politics, not evidence, but did not clarify what these politics are.
“Targeting a church and its leadership without proof sets a dangerous precedent and erodes public trust in the justice system,” he added.
Kolsrud told 12 News that Mucuranyana had just been trying to rent his property and had “nothing to do with this case.”
Hope Of Life International Church is a part of the Assemblies of God and focuses on serving east African migrants in the Phoenix area, according to its sitio web. “Through the Word of God, we help them find the light in Christ and be transformed as genuine Christians,” the church noted online.
Mucuranyana was last seen preaching for the church a month ago, according to a video on YouTube.
El Informe Roys (TRR) reached out to Hope of Life International Church for comment but did not hear back prior to publication.
Latest in a string of Medicaid fraud
The attorney general’s office noted that this incident is one of the largest fraud cases to date in a string of cases of scams against sober-living homes in Arizona. These houses are intended to provide accommodation and support to individuals struggling with addiction.
The cases have typically targeted Native Americans who are enrolled in the American Indian Health Plan, the Associated Press reportado. The health plan was originally intended to support tribal members who lived in remote areas and needed access to rehabilitation services.
The plan had little oversight, according to AZ Central. Scammers exploited this and flooded the system with fraudulent claims for hundreds of hours of rehabilitation services that were never provided. Sometimes scammers would force patients to take drugs to remain in a rehabilitation home.
In 2023, Mayes called the widespread fraud a “stunning fail of government,” according to AZ Central. As of last month, more than 100 individuals and companies have faced similar fraud charges.
De acuerdo a 12 News, the attorney general’s office has gotten back $150 million in cash and assets of the estimated $2 billion allegedly defrauded through these scams.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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5 Responses
“hundreds of hours of rehabilitation services that were never provided.”, the very definition of FRAUD. Scary when a “pastor” uses deceased people to steal Federal money. Interesting to see if the church had of elders overseeing the finances.
How in the world do today’s (21st century) Christians have no clue of the eightys scamvanglists and not see the writing on the wall. What scripture is being abused to where your afraid to look at some pastor or church and yell “con job run away”. This fear that god will get you if you dare point a finger at these grifters and shout that they are evil is beyond my comprehension
The Threat of Eternal Hell can be quite a motivator to shut up, sit in the pew, and see/hear/know nothing.
This illegitimate AG is as corrupt as they come. Doubtful this Pastor is guilty of anything, except being a high profile target. We shall see.
This is the “waste, fraud, and abuse” the Federal Government should be pursuing. Not Medicade recipients that constitute a small fraction of fraud. Yes, there is individual fraud, but organized criminal fraud id far higher and constitutes the loss of billions of $. Lets identify the worst offenders and rigorously pursue them. That is where the government should focus their efforts on. That would serve as a far greater deterrent than their current policies.