NWA doctor, medical workers charged with kidnapping conspiracy
by March 30, 2026 2:23 pm 2,254 views
A federal grand jury has handed down indictments charging a Northwest Arkansas doctor and other medical workers with participating for almost four years in a kidnapping conspiracy, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday (March 30).
Former chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board and former psychiatrist Brian Hyatt, 53, was allegedly engaged in the conspiracy from 2018 to May 2022 at the Northwest Medical Center Behavioral Health Unit (NWMC BHU) in Springdale, Arkansas, according to the DOJ.
The 28-page grand jury indictment was handed down March 11. Following were other individuals charged in the conspiracy.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Devon Talbert, 50
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Lindsey Hess Goucher, 40
Registered Nurse and Former Director of the NWMC BHU, Miranda Newburn, 43
Former Admissions and Assessment Referral Coordinator at the NWMC BHU, Robert Green, 35
Former NWMC BHU mental health tech, Georgette “Gigi” Rice, 58
Former NWMC BHU mental health tech, Owen Benjamin, 29
Former NWMC BHU mental health tech, Collyn Harlan, 31
The indictment alleges that the “individuals conspired to hold patients against their will utilizing a variety of means to include the unlawful administration of Haldol, Ativan, and Thorazine as chemical restraints, force, threats, intimidation, and the denial of phone privileges.”
The patients were held so that members of the conspiracy could bill for services that were not rendered and were not medically necessary, according to the DOJ. Also, the indictment alleges that the conspirators did not report patient abuse they participated in and witnessed as they were required to do.
If found guilty, the conspirators could face a maximum sentence of life in prison and up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
United States Attorney Kimberly Harris, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Wulff and Carly Marshall for the Western District of Arkansas and Special Assistant United States Attorney Leigh Patterson, of the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, are prosecuting the case.