A Former Brookfield substance abuse treatment center owes $2 million for repeatedly defrauding Medicaid, DOJ says
A Brookfield substance abuse treatment center owes more than $2 million after receiving fraudulent reimbursements for medications that weren't actually given to patients, a U.S. Department of Justice news release said.
The now-closed Healing Corner LLC, 19115 Capitol Drive, has been accused of cheating the Medicaid system by ordering refills of Vivitrol, a medication used to treat alcohol and drug addiction, that weren't actually prescribed to current patients.
Instead, the clinic's sole practitioner, Dr. Siamak Arassi, ordered Vivitrol prescriptions in the names of former patients, which were then reimbursed by Medicaid; Arassi subsequently sold stockpiled doses of Vivitrol to patients for out-of-pocket cash, according to the March 3 release.
The malpractice came to light after a former Healing Corner patient's stepfather realized Arassi had ordered Vivitrol prescriptions in his stepson's name, which he never asked for or received, the release said.
Arassi sold the excess Vivitrol to his patients for over $1,000 per month, according to the release, and free samples were incorrectly submitted to Medicaid for reimbursement.
According to a statement on his website, the clinic closed after Arassi became "sick and tired of the vindictive justice department, department of health and family service, medical board of Wisconsin, and department of quality assurance."
"They (are) a bunch of gangsters all working under the same roof and the same building in Madison, and they’re not there to help you, they’re there to make sure that you fail," the statement read. "They only help their own bodies. It is an exclusive club. Shame on them for treating me so badly."
U.S. District Judge Joseph Stadtmueller entered default judgement against Arassi in the amount of $2,346,545 for violations of the False Claims Act, which holds individuals accountable for defrauding governmental programs.
Quinn Clark can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Quinn_A_Clark.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brookfield doctor repeatedly defrauded Medicaid, owes $2 million: DOJ
