A Valley man was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison following guilty verdicts from a jury for what the Arizona Attorney General’s Office called “patient brokering” in steering people to various sober living homes.

Corey Dion Beckhum was convicted June 26 and sentenced July 25 on one count of conspiracy to commit consideration for patient referral and one count of attempted consideration for patient referral for an attempt to supply Medicaid recipients to behaviora health facilities in exchange for money, according to a press release from the AG’s office.

“Mr. Beckhum tried to profit off the suffering of vulnerable Arizonans by selling access to Medicaid patients like they were commodities,” said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes in the release. “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.

Officials said Beckhum negotiated with undercover agents on a specific price to be paid for each Medicaid patient. Once a deal was consumated, Beckhum started to deliver those patients and expected to be paid, the release said.

Arizona investigators cracked down on sober living homes in 2024 after several years of unlicensed groups expanding throughout the Valley and state. The issue particularly affected the Native American community.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Brett Harames and Assistant Attorney General Vineet Mehta Shaw.