Amtrak OIG-supported investigation leads to conviction in $58 million Health Care Fraud Scheme

For Immediate Release

April 26, 2022

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The owner of an addiction treatment facility was convicted by a federal jury on April 13, 2022, for her participation in a $58 million health care fraud scheme that billed private health insurers, including Amtrak’s health care plan, for services that were never provided and not medically necessary.

Carie Lyn Beetle, 44, of Lake City, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial, Beetle, with others, unlawfully billed health insurers for over $58 million of addiction treatment services that were never rendered and/or were medically unnecessary at two facilities she operated: Real Life Recovery Delray LLC, a substance abuse treatment center, and A Safe Place LLC, doing business as Halfway There Florida LLC, a related recovery residence, also referred to as a “sober home.”

The evidence showed that Beetle and her co-conspirators recruited patients by providing them with kickbacks and bribes in the form of free or reduced rent, payment for travel, and other benefits in exchange for those patients agreeing to reside at Halfway There, attend drug treatment at Real Life Recovery, and submit to regular and random drug testing (typically two or three times per week) at both locations.

Beetle and her co-conspirators billed the patients’ insurance plans for the substance abuse treatment and urine testing the patients were purportedly receiving. In many instances, individual patients did not attend the billed treatment session. On such occasions, Beetle and her co-conspirators caused employees and patients at both facilities to forge patients’ signatures on sign-in sheets to make it appear that absent patients had attended treatment. In addition, Beetle and her co-conspirators billed for expensive medically unnecessary urine testing knowing that the tests were excessive, not used in treatment, and not reviewed by medical professionals.

The evidence further showed that Beetle laundered the proceeds knowing they derived from fraud and other crimes when she deposited a check from Real Life Recovery. She is scheduled to be sentenced later this year and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count and up to 10 years in prison on the money laundering count.

In addition to the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, the case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Florida Bureau of Insurance Fraud. More information is available in the press release from the Department of Justice: https://direc.to/hJNF.

Reports of fraud, waste, or abuse; criminal or unethical acts affecting Amtrak’s property or operations; or mismanagement in Amtrak programs or operations can be made 24 hours a day via the Amtrak OIG Hotline at 1-800-468-5469 or online at https://direc.to/hPAu.

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