Advocates told Arizona lawmakers how the sham rehab programs take advantage of state insurance payments and sometimes abandon people.
Reva Stewart got a call from a relative on the Navajo Nation telling her that Stewart's cousin was missing and asking her to keep an eye out for her in the Phoenix area, which is where the relative believed the cousin to be.
They talked about how scammers target the most vulnerable individuals in tribal communities, people who are unsheltered, battling substance and alcohol abuse, or suffering from various mental illnesses and who are often found walking throughout towns close to the Navajo Nation, like Farmington and Gallup. The people are picked up, promised help at sober living centers or rehab centers, and taken to complete paperwork.
Though some people have gone willingly, some are also coerced or forced, Stewart said. She and Coleen Chatter, both enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, have been working to bring this to the attention of authorities and tribal leaders for months. Some advocates believe the scams are contributing to the growing number of missing Indigenous people.
“These unsheltered Native people have told us they have escaped from these homes,” said Stewart. “Some are literally locked inside these homes from the outside. Some of these Native people had to escape over the walls. Some homes we looked at have cameras all over the place.” In August, Hatathlie said the mother got a call from her son and he told his mom he was actually picked up at this grocery store by employees of a rehab center. He said they brought him to Phoenix and he was not able to contact anyone. When he was finally allowed to contact his parents, he said he wanted to stay in the center.“All in all, these are the types of stories I’d prefer to hear,” said Hatathlie. “However, I do know of two scenarios where the parents had to say their final goodbyes.
“Some of these homes and centers are bringing these individuals and housing them in hotels, in really low-paying hotels, and then shepherded to private medical facilities," said Hatathlie."They get their bill of health and everything and then shipped back to the central location where they become certified with AHCCCS and they sign up for DES food stamps. Not only is it human trafficking, it's a fraud.
“We encourage residents not to get into vehicles with individuals they do not know, even for a short ride,” stated the social media post.
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