Eric Riley, Healthcare Fraud, Arizona 2026

A pair of Mesa residents has been sentenced to prison for their roles in a Medicaid scam that raked in millions of dollars for fake services.

Eric Riley, 39, and Britney Gooch, 38, both of Mesa, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Krissa M. Lanham for defrauding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the state's Medicaid agency.

Riley was sentenced on Feb. 6, 2026, to 24 months of imprisonment, while Gooch received a 12-month and one-day sentence on Feb. 20, 2026.

The pair was also ordered to pay $3.3 million in restitution to AHCCCS.

Riley and Gooch defrauded AHCCCS through their company, New Horizons Behavioral Health, a behavioral health clinic in Mesa.

Through New Horizons, they exploited AHCCCS's American Indian Health Program between 2020 and 2022 by falsely billing for services that were not provided to program patients.

As a result of the fraudulent billing submissions, Riley and Gooch obtained approximately $3.3 million in illegitimate proceeds from AHCCCS.

“This case is about protecting American taxpayers, restoring the public’s trust, and safeguarding critical health care resources for the communities that truly need them,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine.

FBI Phoenix conducted the investigation with substantial assistance from the AHCCCS Office of Inspector General.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/mesa-residents-sentenced-prison-fraud-targeting-ahcccs