Rehab Racket

A joint investigation by

The Center for Investigative Reporting & CNN

http://cironline.org/rehabracket

Christina Jewett, CIR, @JewettCIR

Will Evans, CIR, @willCIR

Scott Zamost, CNN, @scottzamostcnn

Drew Griffin, CNN, @DrewGriffinCNN

Title

Findings

In California’s drug and alcohol

rehabilitation program for the poor:

rampant fraud & failed oversight

- bribing clients with cigarettes
- billing for "ghost clients"
- falsely labeling foster kids as addicts
- felons running taxpayer-funded clinics

Find the Paper

Who regulates? Who are the front-line investigators? Who keeps the best records?

County Audits

County Investigations

Public Records Act Requests

dozens of requests to state and counties

applications for state certification

complaints to state from counselors

internal emails regarding suspect clinics

*test redactions*

Backgrounding with Court Records

LexisNexis
Courtlink
Pacer
court websites

Excluded Providers

Database of those barred from participating

in Medicaid and Medicare:

exclusions.oig.hhs.gov

Quantify

If there's no data, make your own

*include lots of fields

Track Themes

organizational tool helps for follow-up stories:

Develop a Methodology

What is the universe?

What is the question?

What distinguishes bad from not bad?

How many SoCal clinics were responsible for fraud?

Red Flags

clients bribed with cigarettes
billing when counselors were not at work
clients without addiction problems
signatures appeared to be forged
pre-written counseling notes

Be Conservative

- run it by your co-worker

- involve an editor

- pare down to bullet-proof cases

Find the Whistleblowers

Staff lists in audits (who disappeared?)
Employment lawsuits
Wage claims with state labor department
Docnpi.com for health providers
Social media -- who are their FB friends?

DOCNPI.com

State Wage Claims

Finding Whistleblowers cont.

Don’t rule out sources

Be persistent: call back, show up and call back again

Catch the Fraud in Action

The stakeout

Two reporters sat on a clinic from open to close.

No more than 30 people went in.

The clinic billed for 179 clients that day.

Catch the Fraud in Action

Hidden Camera

A receptionist said there was no group therapy.

The clinic billed for 60 clients that day.

Hold Officials Accountable