Arrest warrant issued for doctor who once ran Arkansas state medical board

An arrest warrant alleging Medicaid fraud was filed Monday for an Arkansas psychiatrist who once ran the state’s medical board, according to a court document from Pulaski County, Arkansas, obtained by NBC News.

An affidavit filed with the arrest warrant alleges that Dr. Brian Hyatt billed Medicaid for its most expensive billing codes while he was running the locked behavioral unit at the Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, even though investigators concluded that he was rarely in the building.

It’s unclear whether Hyatt is in custody.

More than 40 former patients have also accused Hyatt in civil lawsuits of having imprisoned them against their will while he was running the locked behavioral health unit from February 2018 through May 2022. 

Hyatt’s contract with the hospital was abruptly terminated when Medicaid fraud allegations first surfaced in May 2022. He stepped down as chairman of the State Medical Board this March and then resigned from the board altogether in May.

The affidavit lays out an alleged scheme in which Hyatt is accused of billing Medicaid for treatment he didn’t provide. The affidavit is signed by a Medicaid fraud control unit investigator for state Attorney General Tim Griffin. Griffin’s office declined to comment on the case.

A confidential informant told the attorney general’s office that Hyatt had “little or no contact with patients” and “did not want the patients to know his name,” according to the affidavit.

The confidential informant also told investigators that Hyatt’s unit allegedly used “chemical restraints when patients were not an imminent danger to themselves or others.”

Attorney Aaron Cash, who is representing dozens of clients who have sued Hyatt for wrongful imprisonment, told NBC News, “Our clients were relieved to learn the news about Dr. Hyatt’s arrest warrant and are thankful to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their work in helping find justice for the many other victims of his scheme.”

Hyatt’s civil attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment by phone or email, and a criminal defense attorney wasn’t listed in court filings. There was no response to an email and a voice mail message sent to his practice.

An attorney for Hyatt had provided a statement to Arkansas Business. “Dr. Hyatt continues to maintain his innocence and denies the allegations made against him,” the statement said. “Despite his career as an outstanding clinician, Dr. Hyatt has become the target of a vicious, orchestrated attack on his character and service. He looks forward to defending himself in court.”

In July, Northwest Arkansas Medical Center told NBC News, “We believe hospital personnel complied in all respects with Arkansas law, which heavily relies on the treating physician’s assessment of the patient, including in decisions related to involuntary commitment.” 

When Hyatt began running the unit in 2018 there were 29 beds. By 2022 Hyatt had expanded the unit to 77 beds. In an interview with state investigators, Hyatt said of his interactions with patients, “I would see everybody and look in on everybody,” according to the affidavit.

But the attorney general’s office used footage from 40 security cameras to track Hyatt’s time over 46 days in the unit and found that he spent 70% of his time in his office and just less than 1% or fewer than 10 minutes seeing patients.

In April the hospital agreed to pay back $1.1 million in a settlement with the Arkansas Attorney General’s office.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Arkansas and the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General previously confirmed an ongoing investigation of Hyatt. Agents from the DEA raided his office’s practice in May.