Sober-home owner pleads guilty to health care fraud conspiracy

A second man who was arrested in a wide-ranging federal investigation of sober homes in South Florida pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a health care fraud conspiracy charge.

Michael Bonds, 45, of Delray Beach, admitted he accepted more than $240,000 in kickbacks to refer clients who were living in his sober homes for substance abuse treatment and testing.

Bonds also admitted he sent approximately 60 of his clients, who had health insurance benefits, to Reflections Treatment Center in Margate and Journey to Recovery in Lake Worth. Bonds received at least $500 per patient per week, according to court records.

Seven people have been arrested on federal charges they were involved in fraud at sober homes and drug-treatment centers in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Authorities said Kenneth Chatman, 46, of Boynton Beach, was the ringleader. He is jailed pending trial.

Bonds, who owned Redemption sober homes in Delray Beach, will remain free on bond. The offense carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 24.

Bonds pleaded guilty during a brief hearing in federal court in West Palm Beach, records show. His plea came one day after Stefan Gatt, 27, a salesman for a Boca Raton medical laboratory and a model and bodybuilder, admitted he illegally earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in the same fraud.

Both men are expected to cooperate with investigators and could testify against others accused of related charges, according to court records. Also facing related charges are: Fransesia Davis, 44, of Lake Worth; Joaquin Mendez, 52, of Miramar; Donald Willems, 40, of Weston; and Chatman’s wife, Laura Chatman, 44.

Prosecutors agreed to drop three money-laundering charges against Bonds when he is sentenced for the fraud conspiracy charge.