Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Two arrested in crackdown on drug-treatment providers
An investigation involving more than 10 law enforcement agencies has led to the first arrests in a crackdown on unscrupulous sober homes and drug-treatment providers in Palm Beach County, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Authorities arrested James Kigar, CEO of Whole Life Recovery, a substance abuse treatment facility in Boynton Beach, and Christopher Lee Hutson, an operations consultant. The men were charged with patient brokering, a felony offense.
Kigar, 55, and Hutson, 36, are accused of illegally paying a confidential informant who worked for a sober home for patient referrals, according to a probable cause affidavit released Tuesday.
Investigators started their
probe in June, and in one conversation, the informant was hired by Whole Life as a “marketer,” making $1,200 a week for four clients a week and bonuses for more, according to the affidavit.
Florida's patient-brokering law prohibits health care providers from offering “any commission, bonus, rebate, kickback or bribe” to induce the referral of patients.
Whole Life Recovery was raided by law enforcement officers Tuesday morning, according to employees at nearby businesses.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg and law enforcement officials announced the arrests during a news conference Tuesday. Aronberg’s office received a $275,000 appropriation from state lawmakers this year to address the issue of unscrupulous drug-treatment providers and sober homes. A task force has been meeting since July.
“This is a major first step,” Aronberg said. “It will not be our last. It sends the right message to the community that we are on top of it, we are going to continue our efforts and we are going to hold those accountable who have destroyed lives so needlessly.”
While some providers offer excellent care, authorities say the business model of some sober homes and drug-treatment centers generates money for operators while providing little actual help for those in recovery. Sober homes, or halfway houses, are meant to serve as a first stop for addicts fresh out of treatment.
Earlier this year, prosecutors announced a tips line to report fraud and abuse at facilities, with the aim of shutting down providers that put profits ahead of patients.
In 2012, Hutson pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge for his role in a pill mill operation run by twin brothers Christopher and Jeffrey George that made $40 million in illegal drug sales. Hutson was released last month from prison. A judge agreed to reduce his nine-year sentence for cooperating with investigators.
Attorney Jeffrey Lynne is referred to in the affidavit as Hutson’s lawyer. Reached Tuesday, Lynne said he doesn’t know Hutson. He said he met with a representative from Whole Life Recovery in March who asked general questions about the industry and indicated the business wanted to operate legally.
Lynne said he never authorized or approved any of the employment contracts and does not represent Hutson.
Lynne, who advises drugtreatment providers, said it would be illegal under the patient-brokering law to compensate someone solely for patient referrals, but carefully crafted agreements for marketing services could pass legal muster.
“You have to do more than just be a patient-delivery service,” he said.
Hutson told the confidential informant he attended the State Attorney Office’s sober homes task force meetings, and he had learned “what to expect and what not to do,” according to the affidavit. Hutson’s name, along with Kigar’s, is on the Aug. 8 meeting signin sheet, the affidavit states.
World Life Recovery is in the Bosco Corporate Center off Congress Avenue. A probation office and coffee shop share the strip mall with the recovery center.
A woman working in Whole Life Recovery’s front office said she could not answer questions.
The door was locked, and the lights were off at the office Tuesday afternoon. A decorative clock with the words “faith, family, friends” hung on the wall. A motivational picture decorating the office read, “life — love it fully every day.”