Federal and state investigations launched over claims of prolonged detention and fraudulent billing practices.

Dr. Brian Hyatt, a psychiatrist working at an Arkansas medical facility, is under investigation by both federal and state authorities after being accused of unlawfully detaining 26 patients and participating in an insurance fraud scheme. The allegations suggest that Dr. Hyatt held patients beyond the legally allowed 72 hours, without the necessary court consent or petitions.

At least 25 patients have filed lawsuits claiming they were kept against their will for extended periods, some for weeks, without proper legal authority. The plaintiffs contend that Dr. Hyatt and his team were running a scheme designed to maximise insurance payouts by keeping patients in the hospital as long as possible, only to discharge them and bring in new patients for further billing.

Attorney Aaron Cash, representing one of the patients, remarked, “I think they were running a scheme to hold people as long as possible, to bill their insurance as much as possible, before kicking them out the door and filling the bed with someone else.”

In addition to the wrongful detention charges, Dr. Hyatt is accused of Medicaid fraud, with reports suggesting that he billed for the highest severity codes on all his patients and charged for treatments he did not directly administer. Dr. Hyatt has denied these accusations but offered his resignation to the Arkansas State Medical Board following a police search of his residence. In his resignation letter, he stated, “I am not resigning because of any wrongdoing on my part, but so that the Board may continue its important work without delay or distraction,” while also asserting his intention to defend himself in the proper legal forum.