STARTS RIGHT NOW. WE BEGIN WITH BREAKING NEWS. A NEW FEDERAL INDICTMENT ACCUSES SEVERAL HEALTH CARE WORKERS AT NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OF A YEARS LONG SCHEME INVOLVING PATIENT ABUSE AND FRAUD. >> INCLUDED IN THE INDICTMENT IS ALSO FORMER DOCTOR BRIAN HIATT. HE’S FACING MORE THAN 100 LAWSUITS TIED TO THAT MISTREATMENT AND FRAUD. PROSECUTORS SAY THE GROUP CONSPIRED TO HOLD PATIENTS AGAINST THEIR WILL USING THREATS AND CHEMICAL RESTRAINTS, WHILE BILLING INSURANCE FOR SERVICES THAT WERE NEVER PROVIDED. COURT DOCUMENTS SAY THIS TOOK PLACE BETWEEN 2018 AND 2022. THE DEFENDANTS NO
Doctor, nurses, staff, arrested in Springdale patient abuse, kidnapping conspiracy case
Updated: 5:02 PM CDT Mar 30, 2026
Former Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist Brian Hyatt, who has previously been accused of Medicaid fraud, was arrested again over the weekend.According to jail records, 53-year-old Hyatt was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on March 28 and is on a federal hold. A grand jury indictment shows that multiple employees and associates with the Northwest Arkansas behavioral health unit have been accused of conspiring to abuse patients, unlawfully detain them and fraudulently bill government and private insurance programs, according to court documents. The indictment, filed March 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, names Brian Hyatt, Devon Talbert, Lindsey Hess, Miranda Newburn, Georgette Rice, Robert Green, Owen Benjamin and Collyn Harlan as defendants. Prosecutors allege the defendants participated in a conspiracy from about February 2018 through May 2022 at the Northwest Medical Center’s behavioral health unit in Springdale. According to the indictment, Hyatt owned a psychiatric services clinic, oversaw care at the facility and worked with others, including nurses and staff, to carry out the alleged scheme. The grand jury alleged that the group conspired “to confine, inveigle, decoy, kidnap, abduct, and hold” patients for financial gain, using threats and chemical restraints to control patients. Video: FBI investigates Brian Hyatt: Former patients allege sedation, abuse, and falsified records (Sept. 2025):Prosecutors say the purpose of the conspiracy was to obtain money from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers by keeping patients longer than medically necessary and billing for services not provided. The indictment claims staff ignored patient rights and professional obligations, including requirements to report abuse, and instead used coercion and punishment to prevent them from leaving the facility. According to court documents, defendants allegedly administered medications such as Haldol, Ativan, Thorazine and Zyprexa without medical necessity and for staff convenience or discipline. The indictment further alleges that employees falsified or altered medical records to justify treatment decisions and obscure patients’ true conditions. In some cases, patients were placed on involuntary holds without proper legal procedures, denied access to phones, or threatened with extended confinement, according to the indictment. In addition to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, the indictment includes a separate count alleging conspiracy to unlawfully dispense controlled substances, specifically involving medications containing lorazepam. Federal prosecutors allege the defendants prescribed and administered controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —
Former Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist Brian Hyatt, who has previously been accused of Medicaid fraud, was arrested again over the weekend.
According to jail records, 53-year-old Hyatt was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on March 28 and is on a federal hold.
A grand jury indictment shows that multiple employees and associates with the Northwest Arkansas behavioral health unit have been accused of conspiring to abuse patients, unlawfully detain them and fraudulently bill government and private insurance programs, according to court documents.
The indictment, filed March 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, names Brian Hyatt, Devon Talbert, Lindsey Hess, Miranda Newburn, Georgette Rice, Robert Green, Owen Benjamin and Collyn Harlan as defendants.
According to the indictment, Hyatt owned a psychiatric services clinic, oversaw care at the facility and worked with others, including nurses and staff, to carry out the alleged scheme.
The grand jury alleged that the group conspired “to confine, inveigle, decoy, kidnap, abduct, and hold” patients for financial gain, using threats and chemical restraints to control patients.
Video: FBI investigates Brian Hyatt: Former patients allege sedation, abuse, and falsified records (Sept. 2025):
Prosecutors say the purpose of the conspiracy was to obtain money from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers by keeping patients longer than medically necessary and billing for services not provided.
The indictment claims staff ignored patient rights and professional obligations, including requirements to report abuse, and instead used coercion and punishment to prevent them from leaving the facility.
According to court documents, defendants allegedly administered medications such as Haldol, Ativan, Thorazine and Zyprexa without medical necessity and for staff convenience or discipline.
The indictment further alleges that employees falsified or altered medical records to justify treatment decisions and obscure patients’ true conditions.
In some cases, patients were placed on involuntary holds without proper legal procedures, denied access to phones, or threatened with extended confinement, according to the indictment.
In addition to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, the indictment includes a separate count alleging conspiracy to unlawfully dispense controlled substances, specifically involving medications containing lorazepam.
Federal prosecutors allege the defendants prescribed and administered controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.