Calif. Centers Used 'Body Brokers' In $10M Scam, BCBS Says

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma slammed two California recovery centers and their owners with a lawsuit Thursday, alleging they spearheaded a $10 million kickback scheme to employ "body brokers" to find Indigenous patients for substance treatment facilities, where they went to appalling lengths to stop them from leaving.

The level of fraud, according to the complaint, covers every level of the treatment cycle and "a staggering array" of overlapping conduct — including body brokering, false advertising, fraudulent enrollment and billing, cost-share waivers and illegal kickbacks — to lure patients from Oklahoma to California for treatment of Substance Abuse Disorders.

Asana Recovery Inc., Beachfront Sober Living Inc., Asana Buy Sell LLC and owners Mark Shandrow and Adam Shandrow are named as defendants in the suit, as well as Dr. Christian Small, the medical director of Asana Recovery and Jonathon Hagen, its executive director.

Patients who were in active treatment were paid by Asana staff in cash or gift cards to provide contact information leading to new clients and were also given those same incentives in return for positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and social media pages, BCBSOK alleged in the suit.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/2324013?ts_pk=04317035-4612-429e-80d5-8a2fcbc5abc9&utm_source=user-alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tracked-search-alert&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=1?copied=