8th arrest in patient brokering inquiry

A sober home manager was being held on $3,000 bond in the Palm Beach County Jail on Monday, accused of 13 counts of patient brokering.

Amanda LaFrance, 25, was arrested Friday as part of a multiagency effort known as the Palm Beach County Sober Homes Task Force. It is designed to target and cut down on unscrupulous business practices in the recovery industry.

LaFrance’s arrest is the eighth made in connection with the investigation.

Authorities found LaFrance deposited into the sober home’s business account $6,750 in checks from Whole Life Recovery, a treatment center in Boynton Beach, according to a police affidavit.

In late October, authorities with the task force arrested Whole Life Recovery’s CEO James Kigar and consultant Christopher Hutson after finding evidence the center was offering kickbacks to halfway houses in exchange for referring patients.

Treatment centers such as Whole Life Recovery offer substance abuse counseling and other services. Patient referrals often come from owners and managers at sober living homes, also known as halfway houses, which serve as unregulated community housing for people recovering from alcohol or drug addiction.

Among the documents retrieved from Whole Life Recovery was a consulting contract with Saved By Grace — a halfway house that LaFrance managed — agreeing to pay $525 per patient for providing case management services.

Whole Life Recovery told police the money was to help clients get bus passes and food stamps, according to an affidavit.

All eight people arrested so far have been accused of patient brokering. Florida law prohibits health care providers from offering “any commission, bonus, rebate, kickback or bribe” to induce the referral of patients.