KINGMAN, Ariz. – Not guilty pleas were entered during arraignment proceedings that droned on for more than an hour on July 2 in a Kingman health care criminal case. The Slimming Grace Primary Care business, manager Danni Owens and six employees are named in indictments handed up in an Arizona Attorney General’s Office investigation that charged 42 defendants, across five Arizona counties.
Owens, 39, Kingman, was the only person arrested in the local case and she pleaded not guilty to charges in a nine-count indictment during her June 17 arraignment. Owens is out of custody and was present as Judge Ryan Esplin arraigned the business and six of its employees right before the holiday weekend.
Owens is represented by Phoenix defense attorney Andrew Brevington and local co-counsel Lee Novak. They have filed a motion to review her release conditions that sidelines her from her job.
“She can’t work right now and she needs to do that to meet expenses and keep attorneys on her case,” Novak said. Esplin ruled that Robert Tokar, the Assistant Arizona Attorney General prosecuting the case, must respond to the release condition modification motion by July 10.
A June 24 news release by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes accused the business, Owens and the charged employees with conspiracy to commit fraud, forgery, sale of misbranded drugs and identity theft. It alleged that the defendants placed prescriptions under patients’ names without consent, administered prescription medications without valid consultations and fraudulently portrayed themselves as licensed medical professionals.
Judge Esplin told the six employees that they are eligible for probation but potentially face long prison terms if convicted of 11 charges.
Owens’ co-defendants include Bree Lobley, 39; Ahlia Wong, 22; Heather Smith, 30; and Natalie Rebollozo, 27, all of Kingman. Also charged are Tanya Boehm, 32, Lake Havasu City and Bailee Tusick, 30, Phoenix.
The business, Owens, Boehm, Rebollozo and Tusick have retained private attorneys while the others are being provided indigent defense counsel.
A pretrial conference for all defendants is scheduled July 30.
