While seemingly beneficial, some things can be detrimental in excess. Exercise for instance, considered good for weight management and heart health, can damage joints if overdone. Salt, considered essential for bodily functions and nerve recovery, can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease if consumed too much. On March 20, 2025, a federal jury convicted Dr. José Alzadon, Michael Bregenzer, and Barbie Vanhoose for their roles operating an $8 million dollar Medicare and Medicaid scheme using something seemingly beneficial but actually more dangerous than overtraining and salt combined.
Alzadon worked as a doctor at the business, while Bregenzer was a part owner and Vanhoose was the billing and compliance manager for a group of clinics called Kentucky Addiction Centers. They offered treatment for substance use disorder using buprenorphine, a drug commonly known by the name Suboxone, that reduces symptoms of withdrawal from opioid drugs such as heroin, oxycodone, and fentanyl, but can also be abused. But these fraudsters turned their vulnerable patients into little more than cash machines with the intent to only steal from the U.S. taxpayer.
Alzadon, Bregenzer, and Vanhoose falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid for medical services that were not performed or were falsely represented as more complex than the services provided. They used Alzadon’s elderly father’s identity to bypass insurance credentialing issues that Alzadon had. Using Alzadon’s father’s Drug Enforcement Administration prescribing credentials, these fraudsters prescribed Suboxone, even though Alzadon’s father had not seen the patients for whom he was supposedly issuing prescriptions.
But they will now face time in prison for their scheme. They are scheduled to be sentenced on June 25, 2025.
Great job by the Drug Enforcement Administration in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Cash machines.’ Three affiliated with Kentucky clinics convicted on health fraud charges” published by the Lexington Herald Leader on March 24, 2025.
Three people associated with Kentucky drug treatment clinics took part in a conspiracy to defraud taxpayer-funded health programs, a jury has ruled. The jury convicted Dr. Jose Alzadon, Michael Bregenzer and Barbie Vanhoose on one charge each of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; eight counts each of health care fraud; and one charge of conspiracy to illegally distribute drugs.
The jury in federal court in Lexington also convicted Alzadon and Vanhoose on two charges related to using the identity of another person in writing prescriptions, but acquitted Bregenzer on those charges. Alzadon, Bregenzer and Vanhoose denied the charges, but the jury convicted them on March 20 after deliberating less than four hours, according to the court record.
