Sober Home Task Force arrests
Table of Content
- UPDATE: Sober home task force arrests six; total now tops 40
- Sign up for the South Florida Sports Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information.
- Palm Beach County State Attorney announces arrests in major drug treatment fraud case
- Homeless shelters preparing for more people as cold front rolls into SWFL
Some patients in these homes go completely unmonitored, leaving addicts to their own devices. Just last October, a sober home named Open Arms had two addicts overdose in the facility, just hours apart. An investigation revealed the unstaffed home was filthy, with mattresses stripped of sheets and some smeared with blood. The owner had a history of credit card fraud and other criminal enterprises.
Florida’s patient-brokering law makes it illegal to pay or accept “any commission, bonus, rebate, kickback, or bribe, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind,” for the referral of patients. But the industry, fueled by insurance payments, grew so lucrative that treatment centers found ways to make such payments to ensure a steady flow of patients. Tomasso operated Pathways 2 Recovery in Boca Raton, Inspirations Recovery in Greenacres and Acceptance Recovery Center in Delray Beach. He allegedly paid more than $68,000 to the owner of Infinity House sober home for illegal patient referrals. People who were staying at Infinity House would be referred enroll in one of Tomasso’s treatment programs. The owner of Infinity House has not yet been charged, but investigators say that they have spoken with him.
UPDATE: Sober home task force arrests six; total now tops 40
Tomosso’s arrest is just one in a series of crackdowns by the Sober Home Task Force and other law enforcement in Florida. Several sober homeowners who were charged with patient brokering are now going to trial in Palm Beach County. The county's Sober Home Task Force began looking into Pure Thoughts in 2017 after receiving a complaint that its managers allowed drug use at their sober homes and gave free rent to some patients. Former employees and clients said select patients even received treatment or bonuses, such as gym memberships and free Uber rides, based on how much their insurance policies paid.
Just before Thanksgiving last week, authorities in Palm Beach County, Florida made arrests of two more sober home managers. Accused of participating in a scheme of patient brokering, the arrests are just a few in a string of alleged patient brokering schemes that have become almost commonplace across the state. Dave, 39, owner of The Wellness Center in West Palm Beach, required addicts living in his sober homes to enroll in his treatment program and also paid their rent and gave them cigarettes and gift cards, according to court records.
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Some addicts won’t get another chance after their first chance is hampered by fake recovery houses and fraud. The state of Florida has allocated money to crack down on fraudulent and illegal treatment practices. Patient brokering has become so common that Palm Beach County created and funded a multi-agency Sober Homes Task Force, designed to target and cut down on illegal business practices in the recovery industry. ARCADIA, Fla. — Arcadia police have arrested a man in connection to a homicide from Wednesday afternoon.
She will serve five years in prison on the manslaughter and patient-brokering charges, with credit for the 898 days – nearly 2.5 years – she has spent in the Palm Beach County Jail awaiting trial. Once she is released, she will spend five years on probation, according to court documents. Tomasso operated Pathways 2 Recovery in Boca Raton, Inspirations Recovery in Greenacres and Acceptance Recovery Center in Delray Beach from the offices of Global Recovery Resources, another business owned by Tomasso. Norquist, 26, of Boynton Beach and his brother Patrick, 32, of Delray Beach, are charged with brokering patients from their Delray Beach sober home, The Halfway House, to Whole Life Recovery. Dave is charged with violating a statute against patient brokering. In the probable cause affidavit, a witness told authorities Dave paid residents in cigarettes and gift cards for attending therapy sessions.
Palm Beach County State Attorney announces arrests in major drug treatment fraud case
LaFrance, 25, came to Florida several years ago for treatment, according to her mother. LaFrance pleaded guilty to four counts of patient brokering and one count of attempted patient brokering. She was sentenced to 18 months of probation and must cooperate with investigators.
Arrested Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 on 16 counts of aiding patient brokering. Prosecutors are pursuing 7 counts against Eric and 12 counts against Patrick. Among those arrested in this investigation was a Palm Beach County family accused of patient brokering.
Homeless shelters preparing for more people as cold front rolls into SWFL
The state did not press charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering and misuse of personal information. Cleef, Kosarko and Torree all died of drug overdoses there during nine months between 2017 and 2018. Muhammad, 50, of Boca Raton, worked as the admissions director at Chapters Recovery, a substance-abuse treatment facility that also did business as Good Futures Recovery in Delray Beach.
James Durkin operated Hope Center Recovery, which did business as Relapse Prevention in Boynton Beach. According to court records, the couple used the credentials of a doctor who did not work for them to file insurance claims. James Durkin forged the doctor’s signature, according to court records. Jaclyn Durkin deposited two checks, according to court records. Her husband deposited others, for a combined total of $37,487. As part of a plea deal on Feb. 15, Fowler pleaded guilty to seven others.
Seeking help for drug addictions, Anthony Van Cleef, Mike Kosarko and Andrew Torre came to Pure Thoughts at Turtle Creek, which Jennifer Swanson operated with her husband, Bradley Gaver. All treatment calls are accepted by drug and alcohol centers advertising with the Call Affiliate LLC network. Aside from perpetrating fraud, these types of business arrangements also can have severe consequences on the addicts they are purporting to help. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. The Sober Homes Task Force was created in October 2016, leading to 85 arrests to date.
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced the arrests of 15 people in a multi-state drug treatment fraud investigation on Tuesday. Kandler, 41, was the owner of Chapters Recovery, formerly known as Good Future Recovery. According to the arrest report, Kandler paid $325,000 to three sober home operators who enrolled residents living in their sober homes in treatment programs at Chapters Recovery. On April 19, he pleaded guilty to four counts of aiding patient brokering.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A crackdown on sober home corruption in Palm Beach County has resulted in another half dozen arrests. Torre’s mother referred to this arrangement in a lawsuit against Pure Thoughts as “The Florida Shuffle,” court documents show. "These individuals exploited people in drug recovery for their own financial gain, leading to three tragic deaths of people under their care," State Attorney Dave Aronberg said in a prepared statement.
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