U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha | U.S. Department of Justice
The owner of a Rhode Island-based addiction treatment chain has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurers. Michael Brier, 62, from Newton, Massachusetts, admitted in court that he and his company, Recovery Connections Centers of America (RCCA), failed to provide required counseling sessions to patients suffering from substance abuse disorders while billing for these services.
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha commented on the case: “Michael Brier held out his business as a lifeline to vulnerable patients - men and women fighting to turn their lives around and escape the grim toll of addiction but instead used it as a front for fraud that shortchanged those patients and lined his own pockets at taxpayer’s expense.”
Special Agent Roberto Coviello from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services noted the impact of Brier's actions: “Brier and RCCA orchestrated a fraud scheme that not only robbed taxpayer funds from Medicare and Medicaid but also undermined the health of vulnerable patients who sought help for their addiction.”
Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, remarked on Brier's exploitation during the opioid crisis: “Today’s sentence holds this career criminal accountable for capitalizing on the opioid crisis by defrauding taxpayer-funded federal health care programs out of millions of dollars.”
The investigation revealed that RCCA billed insurers for 45-minute sessions when actual sessions lasted less than 15 minutes. In some cases, they were substantially shorter.
In addition to incarceration, Judge Mary S. McElroy ordered Brier to pay $3,515,100 in restitution and forfeiture of assets including bank accounts and property interests.
RCCA received one year probation with an order to pay restitution equivalent to Brier's amount.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and Kevin Love Hubbard prosecuted the case with support from Assistant United States Attorney Milind M. Shah. The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and FBI.
United States Attorney Cunha expressed gratitude towards various agencies including IRS, Customs and Border Protection, and Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General for their assistance.
