SCI report looks at former Sanctuary Recovery Center in Cherry Hill

TRENTON — A state commission’s probe of the addiction rehabilitation industry has put a spotlight on a former Cherry Hill business.

The Sanctuary Recovery Center was marked by financial chaos and management turmoil while operating for just 18 months, according to the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation.

The SCI focused on the firm in a 106-page report that alleged fraud, corruption and ethical misconduct within the addiction rehabilitation industry.

“The commission recommends greater scrutiny of the businesses and individuals working in the addiction industry, particularly the facilities that provided treatment and house sober living patients,” it said.

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But even while collecting nearly $6 million in insurance payments, the business exhibited financial chaos and management turmoil, says a report from the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation.

It said Sanctuary, which operated from a Kings Highway office building, brought in nearly $6 million in insurance payments for its addiction-center services.

“But the steady stream of revenue from clients, as well as a succession of private loans, were not enough to keep up with the spending habits of its owners,” the report said.It said a Holmdel woman, Gina Imburgio, was the center’s licensed owner, while her husband, Steve, was the de facto owner.The report claimed the couple spent some $300,000 from June 2017 to June 2019 — "all of it charged on the company’s credit cards" — for “luxury vacations,” veterinary bills, tuition payments and other expenses.

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The Imburgios, who have not been accused of crimes in connection with their business, could not be reached for immediate comment.

Sanctuary was struggling financially within months of its September 2017 opening “as the Imburgios used the company’s funds to pay back personal debts and fund their lavish life,” said the Feb. 6 report.It says at least two Sanctuary employees contacted a manager on Christmas morning in 2017 “to report their pay checks had bounced.”

“By then, Sanctuary’s inability to make payroll was routine,” the report asserted.

It noted the company owed the IRS more than $80,000 for unpaid payroll taxes at the Cherry Hill site and another $56,000 for a recovery center in Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania.

Shaky finances for industry operators should raise red flags for state regulators, the report said.

“However, the State of New Jersey approves substance use disorder treatment facility licenses without asking applicants the most basic questions about their finances,” it observed.

And critical information provided to regulators is often not checked for accuracy.

It said Gina Imburgio, at the time of Sanctuary’s licensure application, owed the state tens of thousands of dollars in income taxes and had filed for bankruptcy protection a half dozen times.

And some critical information from applicants, such as declarations concerning criminal records, goes unchecked, the report added.

Steve Imburgio, "whose name did not appear on any paperwork related to Sanctuary but was actually in charge, was sentenced in December 2012 to serve three months in federal prison and pay the IRS $198,000 for filing false personal income tax returns,” it said.

The report said Gina Imburgio, in sworn testimony before the commission, “said she had not been employed since 1993 and had no experience in the addiction industry.”

The Imburgios invoked their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination when asked more specific questions about Sanctuary and its business operations, the report added.

It said the state Department of Health rescinded Sanctuary’s license in September 2019 when the company sought to sell it for $2 million.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: SCI cites former Sanctuary Recovery Center as example of industry woes