Amtrak OIG-supported investigation leads to guilty plea for unlawful distribution of controlled substances

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Medical Director of a substance abuse treatment center in Wellington, Florida, pleaded guilty October 18, 2018, to unlawfully distributing controlled substances (opioids, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines).

According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, Kenneth Rivera-Kolb, M.D., 65, of Largo, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully dispense and distribute controlled substances. The defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

In 2013, Rivera-Kolb was hired to serve as the Medical Director of Angel’s House LLC (“Angel’s Recovery”), a substance abuse treatment facility located in Wellington, Florida. According to court documents, Rivera-Kolb was purportedly responsible for evaluating patients and prescribing medically necessary treatment and testing. In February 2015, Rivera-Kolb had his medical license suspended by the State of Florida for a period of four years. Despite the absence of a medical license, he continued to serve as the medical director of Angel’s Recovery and knowingly prescribed controlled substances at the facility.

Angel’s Recovery was owned and operated by Tovah L. Jasperson and her father, Alan M. Bostom. In addition to the treatment facility, Angel’s Recovery also operated sober homes that were purportedly in the business of providing safe and drug-free residences for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. Jasperson previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to 78 months in prison. Bostom previously pleaded guilty to knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, and covering up by a trick, scheme, and device a material fact in a matter involving health care benefit programs and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The Amtrak Office of Inspector General is supporting the FBI-led Greater Palm Beach Health Care Fraud Task Force in its ongoing investigation into a series of complex insurance fraud schemes in Florida. Amtrak OIG investigators were invited to be part of the task force in 2014 after Amtrak insurance providers received allegedly fraudulent charges from substance abuse treatment centers and sober homes in the area.

United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/medical-director-substance-abuse-t…