Journey to Hope Health and Healing and Former CEO Agree to Pay $10.2 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Journey to Hope, Health and Healing, an opioid treatment provider, and its former CEO, Kenneth L. Richardson, Jr., have agreed to pay $10.2 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to Rhode Island Medicaid and Medicare for substance use disorder treatment services that were never actually provided. The settlement, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, resolves a complaint filed by the government alleging that between January 2015 and July 2021, the provider knowingly billed for millions of dollars in services it failed to deliver.

According to the government’s complaint, Journey maintained patient caseloads so high that it was physically impossible for counselors to provide the required counseling services to patients receiving methadone treatment. The complaint further alleged that Journey and its management knowingly falsified documents by altering and backdating records to make it appear to accreditation officials and Medicaid auditors that they were complying with requirements necessary to bill Rhode Island Medicaid.

The case was initiated through a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit filed by two former Journey employees, Sara Quaresma and Michael Delmonico. Under the False Claims Act, the whistleblowers will receive approximately $2.04 million as their share of the recovery. This case reflects the government’s ongoing commitment to holding behavioral health providers accountable when they prioritize profits over patient care and defraud taxpayer-funded programs. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the HHS Office of Inspector General, the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, and other state agencies.