Miami sober home allowed drugs and made $13M from fraud insurance claims, DOJ says
Three South Florida residents face multiple charges for their alleged roles in a health-insurance scheme that netted at least $13 million, according to court records.
A Miami federal indictment alleges Peter Port, 64, of Boca Raton; Brian Dublynn, 62, of Fort Lauderdale; and Jennifer Sanford, 57, Hollywood, were instrumental in getting Safe Haven Recovery Inc. and several other clinical laboratories to bill health-insurance companies for services that were either not performed or medically unnecessary. The trio made at least $13 million from their alleged scam, court documents show.
Located off I-95 near the Golden Glades interchange, Safe Haven Recovery is a substance abuse treatment facility that offers “clinical treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction,” the indictment says.
According to the indictment:
With Port as president and Dublynn second-in-command, Safe Haven paid individuals with health insurance to be treated at the facility from July 2014 to July 2019. Additionally, Safe Haven paid people like Sanford, who served as a marketer, to recommend treatment at Safe Haven.
Safe Haven then submitted fraudulent claims to health insurance plans for reimbursement of the services not provided or not medically necessary, the feds say.
Port, Dublynn and Sanford were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and four counts of health care fraud. Port and Dublynn also were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and five counts of money laundering.
The indictment alleges Safe Haven allowed patients to use drugs and instructed them to undergo excessive urine tests, but Safe Haven didn’t allow medical professionals to review the results. Safe Haven then billed the insurance companies for the urine tests.
The urine tests, coupled with the fraudulent insurance claims, were designed to lengthen the person’s stay in the facility, and bill the insurance company, the feds say.
The three were arrested on Sept. 13 and posted bond. If convicted of the charges, they could face at least 20 years in prison.
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 3:10 PM.
