A judge has sentenced a Phoenix man to 3.5 years in prison for attempting to supply Medicaid recipients to a behavioral health facility in exchange for money, authorities said Monday.

Attorney General Kris Mayes  announced that a Maricopa County Superior Court judge sentenced Corey Dion Beckhum to 3.5 years in prison.
 
Corey Dion Beckhum was found guilty June 26 by a Maricopa County Superior Court jury of one count of conspiracy to commit consideration for patient referral and one count of attempted consideration for patient referral, according to a release from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Beckhum was sentenced on July 25.
 
“Mr. Beckhum tried to profit off the suffering of vulnerable Arizonans by selling access to Medicaid patients like they were commodities,” Mayes said. “That’s not just illegal - it’s reprehensible.”

Beckhum was indicted in October 2023 following a joint investigation and undercover operation conducted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud and Abuse Section, and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System  Office of Inspector General.
 
Beckhum engaged in negotiations with undercover agents to establish a specific price he would be paid in exchange for each Medicaid recipient/patient, the release stated. He entered into a “deal” with the undercover agents and took steps to deliver the patients to the behavioral health clinic with the expectation of payment.
 
Special agents from the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud and Abuse Section found approximately 18 Medicaid recipients housed within purported sober living homes across the Valley.

“My office will continue to pursue and prosecute those who exploit our behavioral health system for personal gain,” Mayes said.

“We will not allow criminals to treat people in crisis as paydays.”

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