Partner says sober home motivated by greed

Former co-owner testifies against CEO

As the trial of the sober home CEO accused of $21 million in medical fraud finishes its second week, one of Sebastian Ahmed’s alleged co-conspirators has taken the stand to point the finger at her former business partner, implicating him in a conspiracy to treat addicts as cash cows instead of treating them for their diseases..

“Who was responsible for a patient like this?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Miller asked as a photo of an ashen-skinned woman curled into the fetal position on a filthy mattress, and lying next to what appeared to be drug paraphernalia, flashed across the courtroom monitors.

“All of us,” said Mauren Morel, with a quaver in her voice. Morel was the clinical director and former co-owner of Jacob’s Well, one of the sober home corporations she held and operated in partnership with Sebastian Ahmed.

The picture of the apparently catatonic addict was taken at the facility Morel managed. The identity of the subject in the photo was unclear.

In addition to Jacob’s Well, Ahmed operated at least two other sober home facilities: Medi MD, and Serenity Ranch.

Neither the prosecution nor the defense dispute that there was chaos within the network of sober homes that Ahmed operated. During the two weeks of trial, the jury has been presented with evidence of filth, drugs, alcohol, unwanted sexual advances and questionable medical billing practices.

But during the trial’s opening statements, Joel Hirschhorn, Ahmed’s defense attorney, argued that the bedlam at the facilities could reasonably be the result of mere negligence.

Prosecutors are seeking to prove that the CEO’s actions rose

to the level of fraud.

Morel’s testimony, which began late Thursday and extended until Friday at noon, struck at the heart of Ahmed’s defense.

“How would you define Sebastian’s management style?” asked Miller.

“Micromanagement,” said Morel.

“Who did you report to?” inquired the prosecutor.

“Sebastian,” responded the witness.

The sober home that Morel ran in partnership with Sebastian Ahmed, his brother Ali Ahmed, and her half sister operated out of an office building in Davie and housed patients at an orange waterfront mansion with a Jacuzzi and a pool.

The Ahmed brothers also operated at least five other residential facilities, according to court records. The facilities were situated in suburban homes in Tamarac, SouthWest

Ranches, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach.

From the two Davie facilities, Morel said, Sebastian directed a conspiracy to bilk insurance companies out of millions with little regard to the well-being of the facilities’ patients.

According to her testimony, fraudulent claims were made to ensurers at Sebastian Ahmed’s command, and patients with insurance plans that paid 100 percent of claims were kept in the facility after they were ready to be discharged.

Morel was sentenced to 32 months in prison for her role in the alleged conspiracy on Jan. 23, 2019.

From the stand, she told the jury that she agreed to testify against Ahmed as part of her cooperation agreement with the government.

When prosecutors asked the former social worker why she had treated vulnerable addicts in such a manner, her answer was succinct. “Greed, money.” Hirschhorn, Sebastian Ahmed’s defense attorney, raised doubts about Morel’s credibility.

“You are a con artist and a fraudster, aren’t you?” he asked her. “No,” she replied. “You’ll do practically anything to assist the government in trying to convince them to file a motion to the judge to reduce your sentence,” he continued.

“No ... I wouldn’t do practically anything,” she responded.

Hirschhorn went on to question Morel about the Porsches and Mazzeratis she leased with money from the fraud. He asked her about a $7,000 Chanel purse she bought and gave to her half sister, and interrogated her about her previous romantic relationships.

Morel is the first of three co-defendants expected to testify against Sebastian Ahmed. The others are Hector Efrain Alvarez and

Ali Ahmed, Sebastian’s brother. All three have pleaded guilty to charges of healthcare fraud.

Ali Ahmed has also pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering.

So far, in the first two weeks of trial, the government has presented testimony from former patients, parents of former patients, the Florida Department of Children and Families, and the lead FBI agent who investigated the case.

The trial is expected to last at least two more weeks.

Sebastian Ahmed is charged in a 23-count indictment with money laundering, healthcare fraud, embezzlement and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the two conspiracy charges, 10 years in prison for each of the 10 healthcare fraud charges, and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering.

Ahmed