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10 Indicted in Arizona Sober-Living Kickback Case; Charges Remain Unresolved

Prosecutors allege a patient-brokering scheme paying $300 per client each week. None of the 10 has been tried or convicted, and the case is still pending.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 5:53 p.m. ET

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Ten people, including Vestine Mukarukundo, have been indicted in what the describes as a patient-brokering scheme. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved: the allegations have not been tested in court, none of the 10 has been convicted, and no outcome has been reached. Investigators with the say the group ran unlicensed sober-living homes and agreed to send 75 clients to a fake behavioral health facility in exchange for kickbacks of $300 per person each week. Those remain allegations by the state. Since 2021, the has brought 188 indictments related to the sober living scheme. One of those matters has been resolved. In 2023, James Demasi, who ran Thomas Suites and owned New Life Wellness centers, pleaded guilty to fraudulent schemes and illegal control of an enterprise on behalf of New Life Wellness. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to $25 million in restitution. That plea concerns Demasi and New Life Wellness and does not resolve the pending charges against the 10 people indicted in the alleged patient-brokering scheme. Victims' families say no trafficking, homicide, manslaughter, vulnerable adult abuse, or drug charges have been brought in connection with sober living. The charges against Mukarukundo and the nine others indicted with her are pending. This account reflects the case as of the charging stage; anyone reading it later should not assume a verdict, dismissal or settlement has followed, because none had been reported at the time of publication.

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Revision history

  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:53current

    First published.

  2. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:37current

    First published.

  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:41current

    First published.

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