WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A man who operated a pair of South Florida sober homes where drug addicts seek treatment has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for a multimillion-dollar fraud scam.
A West Palm Beach federal judge imposed the sentence Wednesday on 46-year-old Kenneth Chatman. The SunSentinel (http://bit.ly/2pWVLGD ) reports that Chatman previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy, money laundering and sex trafficking. Some young women were forced into prostitution.
Court documents show Chatman admitted making millions of dollars by taking bribes and kickbacks to treat patients, fraudulently billing insurance companies and providing them drugs to addicts so they would relapse – needing even more treatment.
Chatman operated sober homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties, both enduring an epidemic of opioid addiction and overdoses.