"He Shouldn't Have Been Able to Open Facilities," Says Receiver in Addiction Recovery Fraud Case

"He Shouldn't Have Been Able to Open Facilities," Says Receiver in Addiction Recovery Fraud Case

U.S. District Court Judge William Smith has appointed a receiver in the case of Recovery Connection Centers of America, after the addiction facilities were shuttered this month in what the FBI called the most brazen and egregious examples of health care fraud they have seen in Rhode Island. 

On March 17, Smith appointed attorney Stephen Del Sesto for the purposes of “patient health matters, employee matters, payment of creditors, preservation of documents and business items, and corporate winding down” of the chain that had two facilities in Rhode Island — but 15 in total across three states. 

GoLocal spoke with Del Sesto about his priorities after the criminal complaint was filed against Michael Brier and Mi Ok Bruining, alleging they caused millions of dollars in fraudulent billings to be submitted to Medicare and millions more in fraudulent billings to other healthcare payors.

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GoLocal had previously reported that when Brier opened the clinics in 2016, he was already a convicted felon who had been sentenced to three years in federal prison for tax fraud. 

“He shouldn’t have been able to open these types of facilities,” said Del Sesto of Brier.

“The only way he was able to do it, according to the complaint. was by taking the identity of others to open the business,” said Del Sesto. “I’m going by what I’ve read in the complaint, it’s just an observation of what the U.S. Attorney [has alleged].”

As stated in the initial complaint, Brier and RCCA are alleged to have caused a fraudulent application to be submitted to Medicare which, among other things, misrepresented and concealed the role that Brier was playing in the business and failed to disclose Brier’s 2013 criminal conviction for federal tax crimes, which was relevant to Medicare’s consideration of the application.

 

Securing Facilities and Healthcare Information -- And Helping Patients 

Del Sesto said at the time of his appointment on March 17, the federal government had seized all of the centers’ bank accounts — but he was tasked with securing the safety of the centers which prescribed suboxone. 

“Prior to my appointment, one of the [centers] doctors began the process of disposing of the controlled substances and making sure the computers were preserved,” said Del Sesto. “It’s my responsibility with the DEA to asses and secure the different sites.” 

One of the major tasks Del Sesto faces is securing the health information for what he said was over 1,800 patients who have utilized the centers, and ensuring those patients still in need of medical treatment have access to it. 

Del Sesto had previously been a licensed therapist before obtaining a law degree, and says he knows the complexities. 

“It certainly doesn’t hurt to have the understanding of a comprised community and [the need] to protect the confidentially of information,” said Del Sesto.

He urged patients — or those who might know patients — to utilize the resources announced by the U.S. Attorney’s office, who told people to call (401) 606-5454 if they are in immediate need. 

Earlier in March, GoLocal spoke with the Rhode Island Suboxone Clinic which also offered to help patients — see that here. 

Then, Del Sesto said, he will begin to address the allegations of billing fraud. 

“That will be how to start peeling that onion, as to what was legitimate and what was inflated, in terms of reimbursement requests,” said Del Sesto. “When were they properly billing and when were they not.  How someone can determine this — it will require a lot of time.”

Del Sesto said it appears that the fraud is in the “$15 to $20 million” range. 

“How long this will take is a big question,” said Del Sesto. “The criminal side moves differently, time-wise. My job will continue on for some time.”