Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have charged four people in what the Justice Department calls the largest sober home fraud scheme it has ever prosecuted. The indictment alleges that people seeking addiction treatment were recruited from across the country and brought to sham Southern California programs that billed private insurers more than $1.6 billion.
According to the Justice Department's announcement of the charges, father and son Nathan Young, 39, and David Young, 71, both of Los Angeles, allegedly controlled dozens of purported treatment companies. Honey Phipps, 42, and Cody Phipps, 36, of Greenville, Texas, allegedly worked as "body brokers" who recruited patients. The case was announced on October 22 as part of a wider Los Angeles health care fraud takedown involving 15 defendants. An indictment is an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
