Body Brokers – Ethics in Treatment

Addiction Treatment Facilities’ Medical Director Sentenced in $112 Million Addiction Treatment Fraud Scheme

Posted on July 8, 2022July 8, 2022 by Gregory Gooden

Addiction Treatment Facilities’ Medical Director Sentenced in $112 Million Addiction Treatment Fraud Scheme
A Florida doctor was sentenced today to 54 months in prison for engaging in a scheme that fraudulently billed approximately $112 million for substance abuse services that were never provided or were medically unnecessary.

FTC Hits R360 and its Owner With $3.8 Million Civil Penalty Judgment for Preying on People Seeking Treatment for Addiction

Posted on May 19, 2022May 19, 2022 by Gregory Gooden

FTC Hits R360 and its Owner With $3.8 Million Civil Penalty Judgment for Preying on People Seeking Treatment for Addiction
The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against R360 LLC and its owner, Steven Doumar, for deceiving people seeking help for addiction about the evaluation and selection criteria for the treatment centers in their network. The case is the FTC’s first under the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018.

Two Women Admit Roles in Multi-State Recovery Home Patient Brokering Scheme

Posted on May 11, 2022May 11, 2022 by Gregory Gooden

Two Women Admit Roles in Multi-State Recovery Home Patient Brokering Scheme
NEWARK, N.J. – A woman from California and a woman from Arkansas today admitted their roles in a multi-state patient brokering scheme in which they paid referral fees from their rehabilitation centers in exchange for patient referrals, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced. Lauren B.

South Florida Addiction Treatment Facility Operators Convicted in $112 Million Addiction Treatment Fraud Scheme

Posted on November 8, 2021November 8, 2021 by Gregory Gooden

South Florida Addiction Treatment Facility Operators Convicted in $112 Million Addiction Treatment Fraud Scheme
After a seven-week trial, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted two operators of two South Florida addiction treatment facilities for fraudulently billing approximately $112 million for services that were never provided or were medically unnecessary, and for paying kickbacks to patients through patient recruiters, and receiving kickbacks from testing laboratories.

From up to 62 years in jail to zero; plea deal in body brokering case raises anger and questions

Posted on May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 by Gregory Gooden

From up to 62 years in prison to zero; plea deal in body brokering case raises anger and questions
Dylan Walker faced up to 62 years behind bars, but won’t serve a single day in jail after pleading guilty to 62 counts of patient brokering. Walker also won’t pick up one bit of trash along the freeway, or spoon one ladle of soup in community service after signing a May 6 plea deal that reduced the felony charges against him to misdemeanors.

Big bust: 52 million dollar scheme.

Posted on July 4, 2020July 4, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

‘Real-life Frankensteins’: Doctor, 5 others charged in $52M scheme involving sober living patients undergoing surgery, OCDA says
A Beverly Hills surgeon, his girlfriend and four others were charged in connection with an elaborate scheme, paying patients at Southern California sober living homes to undergo medically unnecessary surgeries, medical testing and other procedures to bilk insurance companies out of nearly $52 million, officials said Friday.

The Florida Shuffle

Posted on March 3, 2020March 3, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

She wanted addiction treatment. She ended up in the relapse capital of America.
Brianna Jaynes wanted help for her addiction to painkillers and heroin. She ended up trapped in a cycle that focused on running up big insurance bills and landing profitable kickbacks – not addressing her drug problem. In 2015, when Jaynes was 20, she started her rehab search by calling a number she found through Google.

We got a nod! – Relapse for Cash: How Patient Brokers and Unscrupulous Rehabs Prey on Addicts Looking for Help

Posted on July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

Relapse for Cash: How Patient Brokers and Unscrupulous Rehabs Prey on Addicts Looking for Help | The Fix
If you think patient brokering, also known as “body brokering,” is just about “professionals” getting kickbacks for referring a client to a certain rehab, you are wrong. It’s much more complicated and sinister than that.

First person found guilty of patient brokering sentenced to 3 years

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

First person found guilty of patient brokering sentenced to 3 years
Nicholas Cirio, the first person to be convicted by a jury for patient brokering in Palm Beach County, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo. WEST PALM BEACH – The first person to go to trial and be convicted by a jury of patient brokering in Palm Beach County was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday morning.

“Mom, When They Look at Me, They See Dollar Signs”

Posted on February 27, 2019February 27, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

A disturbing new phase of the opioid crisis: How rehab recruiters are luring recovering addicts into a deadly cycle
The offer was too good to resist: Go to rehab for a week, get $1,000 in cash. It was early 2017, and Brianne, a 20-year-old from a woody Atlanta suburb, had come to South Florida to leave her heroin addiction behind.