PHOENIX — A man who the Arizona Attorney General says used a fake diploma and portrayed himself as a psychologist has signed a plea agreement and will not be going to trial.
Scott Keeling agreed to plead “no contest” to two felony criminal charges, including fraudulent schemes. In exchange, three other felony charges will be dropped.
He is facing between one and 2.5 years in prison when he’s sentenced later this month.
Court records allege Keeling and two other Valley businessmen were
involved in an illegal scheme to defraud state Medicaid. The attorney general alleges Keeling ran a behavior therapy business in Phoenix and was unable to get approval to bill patients through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which is the state’s Medicaid system for people with limited incomes. Court records allege AHCCCS was instead billed through another business owned by John Blaylock, whose company then paid Keeling and another individual, Elio Gaegea, “a percentage of those proceeds.”
“The total alleged amount of fraudulent billing is approximately $5 million,” the attorney general alleges in court records.
Blaylock and Gaegea are also facing criminal charges and have pleaded not guilty.
At the recent court hearing, Keeling’s attorney, Herb Garcia, said Keeling maintains his innocence and had an attorney who looked over the business paperwork.
“He thought what he was doing was legal,” he said.
But Arizona Assistant Attorney General Brett Harames said the arrangement was illegal.
“You were engaged in, first of all, a fraud scheme there, and a patient-brokering scheme, which is a violation of Arizona criminal law,” he told Keeling at the court hearing.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Kevin Wein told Keeling he would likely face between nine and 10 years in prison if he were convicted on all five felony charges.
Keeling then took a break in the hearing to consult with his attorney. He returned and agreed to plead “no contest” to two felony charges, including fraudulent schemes. Three other felony charges will be dropped, according to the plea agreement.
Keeling is in a Maricopa County jail and not eligible for release while awaiting sentencing.
Court hearings for his two co-defendants are scheduled for later this month.
As ABC15 was the first to report, employees said they thought Keeling was a licensed psychologist. He drove a car with a vanity license plate that said, “Dr. Pysch.” His business cards said he was a doctor and a psychologist with a Ph.D.
Keeling’s plea agreement comes on top of additional charges he plead guilty to last year. In March, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to fraudulent schemes and possession of drug paraphernalia, both felonies.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter
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