YUMA — A Yuma physician who prosecutors say treated Arizona’s Medicaid program like a private ATM was sentenced Friday to 7½ years in prison after a conviction tied to more than $36 million in fraudulent billings, Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office said.
Irfan Fazil was convicted Sept. 4 on four felony counts: fraudulent schemes and artifices, illegal control of an enterprise, theft, and illegal procurement of a dangerous drug. Investigators focused on 27 AHCCCS patients with the highest billing volumes and found patterns that could not have reflected real care — including one patient billed for more than 1,700 X-rays in a six-month span, the AG’s office said. Had those scans actually been performed, officials noted, the radiation exposure alone would have posed serious harm.
Prosecutors alleged Fazil diverted the stolen funds into luxury purchases that included real estate, multiple aircraft, jewelry, cryptocurrency and gold bars. “Dr. Fazil abused his position as a physician to steal more than $36 million from a taxpayer funded program that exists to provide health care to Arizona’s most vulnerable residents,” Mayes said in a statement reported by KJZZ. “He billed for thousands of X-rays and other medical treatments that could not possibly have been performed and treated AHCCCS as his personal bank account.”
The case also included a conviction for writing controlled-substance prescriptions for his wife and picking the medication up himself at a pharmacy. Fazil has surrendered his medical license and DEA registration and must repay the full $36 million in restitution. After prison, he faces seven years of probation, according to the sentencing announced Oct. 2.
AHCCCS — the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System — is the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents. State officials framed the prosecution as both a recovery of public money and a warning to providers who inflate or invent claims against the safety-net system.