The Phoenix facility where a comatose patient was raped and gave birth faced a criminal investigation two years ago over allegations it billed the state more than $4 million in bogus charges.

Regulators with Arizona's social-welfare agency wanted to remove developmentally disabled patients from Hacienda HealthCare in 2016 and terminate contracts that allowed the facility to provide services for the state.

But the criminal case was dropped in 2017, and no charges were filed. The state's Medicaid agency later sought an order to force Hacienda to turn over financial records – a battle that continues in the courts.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office accused Hacienda's former chief executive officer in 2016 of refusing to turn over financial documents required by law even as he demanded the state pay higher fees for services.

A Phoenix health facility under fire for causing a comatose patient to become pregnant had been scrutinized years earlier by state regulators who wanted to pull patients from the premises, Robert Anglen and Stephanie Innes reported for The Arizona Republic.