A Los Angeles man pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges alleging a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme at substance abuse treatment facilities he operated in Orange County.
Casey Mahoney, 46, of Los Angeles, who ran Healing Path Detox LLC and Get Real Recovery Inc., allegedly paid about $2.7 million in kickbacks to co-defendant Joseph Parkinson and other patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors say Mahoney allegedly assigned a value to patients depending on the type of insurance the patients had, and then paid Parkinson and other so-called recruiters kickbacks for each patient referred to his treatment centers. The recruiters allegedly received recurring payments for each month the patients continued to receive purported services from the facilities.
Mahoney is charged with conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks for referrals to clinical treatment facilities, paying kickbacks for referrals to clinical treatment facilities, and money laundering for fraudulently transferring kickback funds to an account held in the name of a patient broker’s mother, court papers show.
Parkinson, 33, of Costa Mesa, is charged with conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks for referrals to clinical treatment facilities, receiving kickbacks for referrals to clinical treatment facilities, currency structuring, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Trial is set for Aug. 27 in L.A. federal court.
If convicted as charged, Mahoney and Parkinson could face dozens of years in prison, prosecutors noted.