The owner of a former addiction treatment chain in Rhode Island has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurers. Michael Brier, 62, from Newton, Massachusetts, was found guilty of billing for recovery services that were not provided at his company, Recovery Connections Centers of America, Inc. (RCCA). U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced the sentencing.
Brier admitted to providing inadequate care to patients with substance abuse disorders in Rhode Island and Massachusetts while billing health care payors for full sessions. Many counseling sessions billed as 45 minutes were actually only 5-10 minutes long or less.
U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha stated, “Michael Brier held out his business as a lifeline to vulnerable patients - men and women fighting to turn their lives around and escape the grim toll of addiction but instead used it as a front for fraud that shortchanged those patients and lined his own pockets at taxpayer’s expense.”
Special Agent Roberto Coviello of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services remarked on the scheme's impact: “Brier and RCCA orchestrated a fraud scheme that not only robbed taxpayer funds from Medicare and Medicaid but also undermined the health of vulnerable patients who sought help for their addiction.”
Jodi Cohen from the FBI Boston Division added, “Today’s sentence holds this career criminal accountable for capitalizing on the opioid crisis by defrauding taxpayer-funded federal health care programs out of millions of dollars.”
Court documents reveal that Brier submitted fraudulent applications to Medicare, concealing his involvement in RCCA due to a prior conviction for federal tax crimes in 2013.
Judge Mary S. McElroy sentenced Brier to 98 months in prison followed by three years supervised release. He must also pay $3,515,100 in restitution and forfeit assets including bank accounts, property in Panama, and luxury vehicles.
RCCA received one year probation and must pay $3,515,100 in restitution.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and Kevin Love Hubbard with assistance from Milind M. Shah. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.