Treatment center raided

Authorities raided a substance abuse treatment center in Delray Beach on Tuesday as part of a multiagency effort to crack down on unscrupulous practices in Palm Beach County’s recovery industry.

A SWAT team entered Chapters Recovery Treatment Center on the 2200 block of West Atlantic Avenue with weapons drawn around 9 a.m. while employees and clients were in therapy, according to interviews with center employees.

“We got on our knees. They took computers and files and basically anything that would lead them to believe there was illegal things going on there,” said Sophia Baurkot, an employee for the center who was laid off after the raid.

Authorities from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department, Delray Beach police and the state fraud division joined in the crackdown, which was organized by the Palm Beach County Sober Homes Task Force.

So far, the task force has

arrested eight people on charges of patient brokering. Florida law prohibits health care providers from offering “any commission, bonus, rebate, kickback or bribe” to induce the referral of patients.

It was not clear if any arrests were made Tuesday, and a task force spokesman declined to comment.

In addition to offering substance abuse treatment, Chapters Recovery Center — formerly known as Good Future Recovery — runs six sober homes with about 21 clients, Baurkot said. No managers were available for comment on Tuesday.