Drug treatment crackdown

Arrests spark change in industry

Palm Beach County’s crackdown on abusive practices in drug addiction treatment facilities has rippled through the industry five months after police began taking groups of people into custody.

Investigators working as part of the county’s Sober Homes Task Force have arrested 15 peo- ple on allegations including fraud, drug paraphernalia and taking kickbacks.

The task force also cooperated with federal authorities on the arrests of seven more defendants, including treatment center and sober home owner Kenneth Chatman. Federal authorities say Chatman amassed a fortune while ripping off health insurance, offering kickbacks to accomplices, coercing soberhome residents into prostitution and threatening violence against patients.

So far, there have been arrests linked to at least seven of Palm Beach County’s roughly 200 treatment centers, but experts and officials familiar with the recovery industry say the crackdown is already having an effect.

A Delray Beach code enforcement official says he has seen two dozen sober homes close in the past five weeks and expects more to shut down based on recent arrests.

An attorney specializing in the recovery industry says the calls are pouring in from sober home and treatment operators looking for legal counsel.

The State Attorney’s Office says since the arrests, it has received a large number of calls through its anonymous tip line.

Armed with a $275,000 state appropriation, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg began the task force in July to study abuses in the drug treatment industry and look for solutions. He says the arrests are a good beginning but are only a part of the task force’s plan to clean up the industry.

“There is a need for legitimate