Gianna's House Inc. president John Coughlin has been charged with receiving Medicaid kickbacks following an investigation by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's office.

Two Gianna's House sober homes are located on Main Street. A women's home is located at 420 Main Street, while a home for men is located at 426 Main Street. The nonprofit also operates sober houses in New Bedford and Sandwich.

Coughlin, 31, of Carver and three other individuals were allegedly involved with Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore of Brookline in what Coakley's office calls an "intricate 'kickback' scheme" in which MassHealth was fraudulently billed nearly $3.8 million, according to a statement from Coakley's office.

Kishore, who owns and manages Preventive Medicine Associates, allegedly used bribes or kickbacks to encourage sober house owners to require their residents to submit urine drug screenings a minimum of three times per week. The drug screens were performed by Preventive Medicine Associates' physician office labs, according to the statement.

Kishore allegedly used the relationships with sober house owners "to bill MassHealth for tens of thousands of 'medically necessary' urine drug screen testing of Medicaid eligible residents," the statement says. Drug screens are billed to MassHealth at anywhere from $100 to $200.

Kishore's Wareham facility, located at 166 Main Street, closed late last month.

The statement did not indicate what Coughlin received in return for his alleged participation.

Kishore was arrested on September 20 and pleaded "not guilty" to eight counts of receiving Medicaid kickbacks and eight counts of Medicaid false claims in Malden District Court on the 21st. Preventive Medicine Associates itself was charged with the same.

Coughlin will be summonsed for arraignment at a later date.

The investigation of the matter continues. It was part of a larger investigation of Medicaid fraud by Coakley's office. Ten people and three companies have been indicted thus far for allegedly "defrauding taxpayers and MassHealth of approximately $10 million," according to the Attorney General's office.

Separate from his Gianna's House homes, Coughlin is slated to open a sober house at an inn he is renting at 13 South Boulevard. The former Harborview Inn will cater to affluent recovering addicts.

The building went up in flames in late July, however. The fire started as a result of workers soldering pipes and was deemed accidental. A representative from Florida-based Hopewell Recovery, which will manage the property, said at the time that the home would be repaired and plans for the sober home would move forward.

It is unclear whether Coughlin's indictment would impact his plans for the inn or any of the Gianna's House locations. Coughlin did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.