Mark Desimone of Delray Beach, David Remland of Boca Raton, and Daniel Kandler of Boca Raton, were arrested last week for allegedly bribing the owner of a rehab facility with over $150,000 to get his patients to undergo expensive drug screenings at their drug-testing laboratory.
Desimone, 61, Remland, 52, and Kandler, 41, all face charges for patient brokering. It is unclear whether Kandler is still booked, but Remland and Desimone were reportedly being held without bond as of last Thursday. News sources did not name attorneys for the three men.
According to the arrest report, the trio ran Chapters Recovery Treatment Center as well as a drug lab called Impact Q Testing in Delray Beach. They allegedly charged their patients’ insurance companies a premium to perform drug tests at the lab, which is right next door.
An employee told police that the drug testing lab earned almost $900 for each urine analysis, the report said. Records show that the drug lab made almost $2 million between September and February.
The three men came under scrutiny after investigators found evidence of patient brokering in connection with Impact Q Testing during a raid of a facility owned by James Tomasso in February last year. Tomasso told investigators that the owners of Chapters Recovery offered him $150,000 to get three treatment facilities to use their laboratory for drug testing.
Chapters Recovery was also raided by a SWAT team in December while employees and patients were in therapy, a former housing director told the press. Investigators reportedly took computers, files, and anything that could prove the facility was involved in illegal activity.
Kandler was the first of the three to be arrested in connection to the December raid. He reportedly bribed his employees with over $350,000 to bring patients to the facility. He is being charged with 93 counts of patient brokering—the largest number of charges given to anyone so far.
The arrest of another sober-home owner was also reported last week. Matthew Anderson of Palm Beach County was arrested on patient brokering charges on May 10. He is being held on a $20,000 bond. News sources did not name an attorney for him.
According to the police report, Anderson, 38, is the owner of Anastasia’s Way and London Treatment Center. He reportedly offered his clients rent-free accommodation at Anastasia’s Way, provided that they received treatment at London Treatment Center.
The investigation into patient brokering in South Florida is being conducted by the Palm Beach County Sober Homes Task Force. It is being by Palm Beach State State Attorney Dave Aronberg, whose office received a $275,000 appropriation last year to find and shut down unscrupulous treatment centers in the region.
Under Florida statutes, it is illegal for a healthcare provider to receive bribes in exchange for referring clients. It is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Sober-home owners have made millions of dollars from the practice, which is reportedly so common, some of them don’t even know that it’s illegal.
Sources: 5.11.17 Three Delray Beach Drug-Test Lab Owners Arrested for Patient Brokering.pdf & 5.11.17 Anderson Patient Brokering Arrest.pdf