The Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced 22 indictments in a sober living case officials say defrauded the state Medicaid system.

The 51-count indictment, filed in late April in Maricopa County Superior Court, featured charges of conspiracy, fraudulent schemes and artifices, illegal control of an enterprise, illegally conducting an enterprise, theft, money laundering, consideration for referral of a patient and forgery.

Those indicted were Happy House Behavioral Health LLC, Desire Rusingizwa and Fabrice Mvuyekure on all 51 counts. Rusingizwa and Mvuyekure were listed as the agents of record for the company, according to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Those indicted for fewer counts were Mojok Ajawin, Fabrice Irakoze, Jean Paul Iranzi, Lambert Kagaba, Deborah Birume Moise, John Biganiro Moise, Alexandra Aline Mudagiri, Jacques Mudege, Mugisha Mazimpaka Muhima, Theogene Assoumanti Ntwari, Liliane Nyambo, Josiane Umutoni, Theodore Mucuranyana, Agustine Bazira, Edward Nyandwi and three others whose names were not listed in the indictment.

Also indicted was Hope of Life International Church in Phoenix, which lists Rusingizwa, Bazira and Mucuranyana as on its board. Mucuranyana is listed as the church’s pastor.

The indictment alleges Happy House was paid more than $60 million by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s version of Medicaid, to provide sober living homes for various people on the program.

What happened instead was the company and those associated with it fraudulently referred clients through Happy House and then collected money through what the indictment alleges as fraudulent billing and referrals.

Independent Newsmedia reached out to the attorneys of record of those indicted, and those responding said their clients were innocent of charges.

Attorney Shaheen Torgoley, who is representing Rusingizwa, said his client is innocent of the charges.

“Mr. Rusingizwa asserts that he is innocent,” Torgoley wrote in an email. “He maintains that Happy House Behavioral Valley’s staff provided legitimate services by treating Arizonans diagnosed with alcohol abuse disorder (and often, concomitant substance abuse disorder). Mr. Rusingizwa is a pious family man with no criminal history whatsoever.  He looks forward to defending against these allegations in court”

A press release from the Kolsrud Law Offices, where attorney Joshua Kolsurd is representing Mucuranyana, a pastor, called the indictment “egregious prosecutorial overreach.”

“Criminal charges must be rooted in evidence, not politics,” the statement read. “Targeting a church and its leadership without proof sets a dangerous precedent and erodes public trust in the justice system.”

A press release from Hope of Life International Church, released through its attorney Julia Kolsrud, said the church was "dismayed" by charges that included money laundering for what it said was in connection to a donation made through Happy House, which is its tenant.

"To be clear: Hope of Life International Church had no knowledge of any alleged criminal activity being conducted by the sober living facility," the release stated. "The facility was legally licensed and operated under a lease agreement like any other tenant. At no point did the church have access to or oversight of its internal operations, financial practices, or management decisions. The church’s only relationship was that of a landlord and, later, as a recipient of a donation — a donation accepted in good faith, consistent with its mission and longstanding practice."