- An Arkansas psychiatrist was the topic of a raid by the DEA on Tuesday, in line with federal prosecutors.
- Dr. Brian Hyatt is already beneath a state investigation and has additionally been sued by a minimum of 15 sufferers alleging false imprisonment.
- His former sufferers have accused him of holding them towards their will as a part of an insurance coverage fraud scheme.
Federal brokers on Tuesday launched a raid on an Arkansas psychiatrist who’s already beneath a state investigation for Medicaid fraud and has been accused of holding sufferers towards their will in an inpatient facility.
The US Legal professional’s Workplace for the Western District of Arkansas confirmed to Insider that the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant as a part of a federal investigation into Dr. Brian Hyatt of Rogers, Arkansas. The character of the investigation is unclear, as is the raid’s location.
“Generally, the execution of a search warrant is a vital step in any prolonged, ongoing investigation,” a spokeswoman advised Insider. “In mild of the truth that this investigation continues to be ongoing, we won’t make any further feedback.”
Dr. Brian Hyatt is on the middle of a minimum of 15 lawsuits from former sufferers who’ve alleged false imprisonment, medical malpractice, and a number of different allegations from his time overseeing Northwest Medical Heart’s behavioral-health companies unit in Springdale, Arkansas.
The sufferers, a few of whom have spoken to Insider, alleged that they have been illegally and wrongfully detained inside the ability with out trigger, for days and even weeks at a time. Some sufferers have been solely launched when sheriff’s deputies arrived on the facility with court docket orders to stroll the sufferers out.
They and their attorneys have accused Hyatt of holding sufferers prisoner as a part of an insurance coverage “scheme” to maximise their time within the facility and fraudulently over invoice their health-insurance carriers.
Hyatt is already beneath investigation by the Arkansas State Legal professional Basic’s Medicaid Fraud Management Unit, in line with a search warrant affidavit that has been made public.
State investigators had requested a search warrant for Hyatt’s cellphone information between 2019 and 2022, citing proof that Hyatt had fraudulently billed Medicaid, Medicare, and medical insurance firms regardless of having “no contact with sufferers.”
Hyatt’s attorneys and personal observe haven’t responded to Insider’s a number of emails, calls, and voicemails requesting remark between late March and Thursday.