Owner of Kentucky drug clinic admits guilt in connection with $800,000 in false billing
An owner of a Central Kentucky addiction treatment business has admitted to taking part in false billing to make more money.
Kristy Berry pleaded guilty in federal court in Lexington Tuesday to one charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one charge of conspiracy to illegally distribute drugs.
The plea agreement said Berry’s conduct caused a loss of $814,820 to taxpayer-funded health programs between October 2017 and January 2021.
She agreed to repay $796,907 to Medicare and $87,913 to Medicaid.
Berry was part owner of clinics where people received medication such as Suboxone to treat opioid use disorder.
The clinics had different names, including Kentucky Addiction Centers, and operated in Clark and Johnson counties, according to the plea agreement.
Suboxone is used to curb withdrawal symptoms as people try to stop abusing painkillers such as oxocodone, heroin and fentanyl. It can also be abused to get high, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Three other people affiliated with the clinics were indicted with Berry. They are Michael Bregenzer; another part owner; Jose Alzadon, a doctor; and Barbie Vanhoose, who handled billing, according to court documents.
Berry said in her plea agreement that she took part with Bregenzer, Alzadon and Vanhoose to submit bills to Medicare and Medicaid for services performed by another doctor that the doctor didn’t actually provide.
The other physician was identified only as “Doctor-1” in the plea.
The scheme included creating false records showing Doctor-1 had provided services he hadn’t really performed, and using his federal registration number to authorize prescriptions for Suboxone even though Alzadon, and not Doctor-1, had seen the patients, according to Berry’s plea.
Berry also said she conspired with Bregenzer, Alzadon and Vanhoose to bill Medicare and Medicaid for services the clinic didn’t provide or to submit bills for a higher level of services than the patients received.
Berry and her co-defendants also allowed unauthorized people at the clinics to authorize prescriptions, her plea document said.
Bregenzer, Alzadon and Vanhoose have pleaded not guilty. They are scheduled for trial in January.
The charges Berry pleaded guilty to are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
