The CEO, the medical director and the billing manager of a Kentucky addiction treatment clinic were convicted for their roles in an $8 million fraud scheme.
According to a March 21 news release from the Justice Department, Jose Alzadon, MD, Michael Bregenzer and Barbie Vanhoose conducted the scheme through Kentucky Addiction Centers, which operated three locations in the state. Dr. Alzadon, the clinic’s medical director, prescribed Suboxone to treat opioid addiction at the clinic, falsely using his father’s Drug Enforcement Administration prescribing credentials.
Mr. Bregenzer, the company’s CEO, Dr. Alzadon and Ms. Vanhoose, the billing manager, then charged Medicare and Medicaid $8 million for services they did not provide, or for services more complex than those provided, according to the Justice Department.
Dr. Alzadon also used his father’s identity to submit claims and bypass insurance credentialing issues he had, according to the Justice Department.
Dr. Alzadon, Mr. Bregenzer and Ms. Vanhoose were each convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances using the credentials of another person and eight counts of healthcare fraud. Dr. Alzadon and Ms. Vanhoose were also convicted of two counts of aggravated identity theft.
All three are scheduled to be sentenced in June.
