The Arizona Attorney General's Office is still investigating around 200 cases in the massive sober living homes Medicaid fraud scandal targeting Native Americans.

Why it matters: Shady sober living homes serving largely Native American patients promised addiction treatment that was never delivered and exploited people in dire need for profit.

• At least 40 people died in the homes, mostly of drug and alcohol abuse, while the state grappled with the situation, ProPublica and the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting reported last year.

The big picture: Since 2021, investigators have uncovered about $2.8 billion in fraudulent billing to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the state's Medicaid program, for bogus sober living home treatment services. Per the AG's office:

• In some cases, scammers brought people enrolled in the American Indian Health Program to sober living homes and billed AHCCCS for care that was never provided, often trading patients with other collaborators.
• Patients were sometimes plied with drugs and alcohol to keep them longer, and were sometimes prevented from leaving.
• In other cases, entities billed AHCCCS for nonexistent patients, dead people or children.

State of play: The AG's office expects "many more" indictments in the coming months stemming from some of the 200 current investigations of individuals and entities, spokesperson Richie Taylor told Axios.

• "These are sprawling schemes. Some of them are connected. Some of them are not," he said.

Zoom in: There have already been about 140 indictments resulting from AG's office investigations, Taylor said.

• About 89 of those indictments have resulted in convictions or settlements in which charges were dropped and restitution paid.

Catch up quick: A dramatic surge in billing for bogus services began in 2019.

• Then-AG Mark Brnovich secured the first indictments in the fraud epidemic in 2021.
• After AG Kris Mayes took office in early 2023, the state launched a crackdown, to which she attributes a 92% drop in use of the behavioral health billing code used to bilk AHCCCS.

What we're watching: In late 2024, attorneys filed a class-action lawsuit against the state on behalf of an estimated 7,000 victims, arguing that the government ignored signs of the massive crisis.

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🗳️ A court filing by Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap's attorney said Pinal County sheriff's deputies went to a staffer's house over the weekend to inform him that he's under investigation for theft. (KJZZ)

• County supervisors alleged that a security camera caught him and another staffer removing a scanner from the county elections office.

🍗 The general manager of Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken downtown said state Sen. Kiana Sears (D-Mesa) asked the restaurant to remake a $1,500 meal a lobbying firm bought for the Legislature because the chicken was "over cooked and dry."

• Sears allegedly asked to have it ready for pickup on a Saturday, when the Legislature is closed, legislative emails showed. (Arizona Agenda)
• Sears declined to comment on the incident to the Arizona Agenda.

🚨 Gov. Hobbs signed legislation making solicitation of prostitution a felony punishable by jail time. (Arizona's Family)

🥢 A Japanese food hall expected to open in Scottsdale in 2028 will feature at least 15 stalls focusing on different types of food. (AZcentral)

America's Taco Shop is making a long-awaited return to the Melrose District.

State of play: The one-time chain is opening this month at 4306 N. Seventh Ave., the former location of Melrose Kitchen.

• This'll be the first time America's Taco Shop has been open in the Melrose District since 2014.

Catch up quick: America Corrales and Terry Bortin opened their original location at Seventh Street north of McDowell Road in 2008.

• They followed with locations in the Melrose District, Tempe and Old Town Scottsdale.
• Rising rents and other issues led to the closure over the years of all but the Old Town location.

Zoom in: The Melrose location will open with limited hours, with plans to expand once they get settled in.

• "Happy to be back in the Melrose neighborhood, which is probably my favorite neighborhood that we've ever been in," Bortin tells Axios.
• At some point they'd also like to reopen in Tempe near ASU, Bortin says.

Jeremy's thought bubble: I was an America's Taco Shop regular when their old Melrose location was open, and I can't wait to go back for a carne asada burrito when the new restaurant opens its doors.

Get ready for some tacos