Raymondville, Texas-based Inspired Behavioral Health is being sued by the federal government for forfeiture for fraudulently billing millions to Medicaid, The Brownsville Herald reported March 16.
The organization, its board members, associated individuals and entities as well as IBH's owner Brandy Castillo are named in the lawsuit, according to court documents obtained by the publication.
The facility allegedly hired unqualified individuals to work there and billed Medicaid for $111 million in services that were never provided. IBH was the highest-billing mental health provider in Texas and had only 59 residents. It billed an average of $1.8 million in services per patient and also billed for patients who were no longer staying at the facility.
IBH also allegedly required patients to sign over social security benefits, food stamps and other benefits to pay for their stay.
Two Texas counties, Cameron and Fort Bend, were lobbied to send arrested individuals with mental illness to the facility for treatment instead of jail time. Cameron County paid Inspired a daily fee for each person from 2018 to 2022.
Ms. Castillo and Robin Matheaus, former vice president and founding board member of IBH, have also been accused of using a web of bank accounts to hide the Medicaid funds. Ms. Castillo and other IBH associates are alleged to have purchased real estate for the purpose of money laundering, according to the publication.
A pretrial hearing will take place in July.