A Peoria, Arizona man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he billed the state’s Medicaid program more than $33 million in fraudulent claims over just one year, then used the money to buy homes and a Rolls-Royce. His name is Maurice Marcell Williams, and he’s 48.
A federal grand jury in Phoenix returned an 11-count indictment against Williams on September 8, 2026, on charges of health care fraud and money laundering. U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine announced the charges during a joint press conference in San Diego.
The Business Behind the Scheme
Williams owned and operated Thinking and Learning Together 2, LLC, known as TLT, a company that presented itself as a behavioral health treatment provider based in Phoenix. According to the indictment, Williams hid his ownership of TLT, along with a prior criminal conviction, when he filled out his initial application with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, known as AHCCCS, which runs Medicaid in the state.
That’s a pretty basic requirement to lie about, disclosing who actually owns a business applying to bill a state health program, but prosecutors say that’s exactly what he did.
Who Was Targeted
Prosecutors say Williams specifically targeted AHCCCS members enrolled in the American Indian Health Program’s fee-for-service plan, a program meant to serve Native American patients. He allegedly billed AHCCCS for services that were never actually provided to these members.
The indictment reportedly points out that the program itself had weak safeguards in place. It’s alleged the AIHP system routinely issued payments without doing pre-payment medical record reviews or enforcing coding limitations, which made it an easier target for this kind of scheme.
The Numbers
Between May 2022 and May 2023, just one year, Williams billed AHCCCS more than $33 million. AHCCCS ended up paying out approximately $19.7 million of that based on the false and fraudulent claims. Some reporting cites the total closer to $20 million, but the core indictment figure is $19.7 million paid against $33 million billed.
Where the Money Allegedly Went
According to prosecutors, Williams used the fraudulently obtained funds to buy two residential properties and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV. The indictment includes forfeiture allegations seeking to claim both properties, the Rolls-Royce, and brokerage accounts tied to Williams as part of the case.
What He’s Facing
Williams faces 11 total counts between health care fraud and money laundering. A conviction on either charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison for each count, meaning the total exposure, if convicted on everything, could add up to a lengthy sentence.
Part of a Bigger Problem in Arizona
This case isn’t happening in isolation. AHCCCS fraud, especially schemes targeting the American Indian Health Program, has been a recurring issue in Arizona for the past few years. Back in 2024, the Department of Justice charged seven people in Arizona as part of a national health care fraud enforcement action, with individual schemes in that sweep involving tens of millions of dollars each, including one case alleging $69.7 million in fraudulent billing through a single company.
The pattern in these cases tends to look similar: recruiting Native American patients, sometimes switching them onto the AIHP plan regardless of whether they qualified, and then billing for treatment that was inflated or never delivered at all.
Where the Case Stands
Right now, everything in the indictment remains an allegation, and Williams is presumed innocent unless the government proves its case in court. Given how much scrutiny AHCCCS fraud cases have drawn from federal prosecutors in Arizona lately, this is likely to be one of several similar cases making their way through the courts in the months ahead.