“Lyme Literate” Domenick Braccia Pleads Guilty to Healthcare Fraud

In May 2019, Domenick Braccia, DO, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

On March 25, 2019, Domenick Braccia, DO, was arrested and charged with ten felony offenses in Pennsylvania for his alleged role in an insurance fraud scheme. Braccia was one of 11 individuals charged in connection with Liberation Way drug treatment centers.

Braccia has a long history of questionable behavior. He is a member of the pseudoscience group ILADS and advertises himself as “Lyme literate.”

After the felony charges, the Pennsylvania Board of Osteopathic Medicine suspended Braccia’s license to practice medicine because he may be “an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety.”

Braccia was the subject of a law suit by a former patient, who described “unnecessary and dangerous treatment” and “a cult-like atmosphere.” The patient spent $30,000 on treatment, which destroyed her gallbladder.

Braccia was also a business partner of Patricia Kane, who preyed on ALS patients at Braccia’s Haverford Wellness Center.

Braccia was listed as “Medical Director” of Liberation Way on its application for licensure, which was granted by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs in 2015. In 2018, the Reading Eagle found Liberation Way had the highest number of violations of 75 facilities in the three-county Berks region.

A Grand Jury alleged that “fraudulent billings and insurance claims” were submitted under Braccia’s name. Braccia took a cut of proceeds from the December 2017 sale of Liberation Way to a private equity firm.

According to a press release from the Pennsylvania Attorney General:

The Grand Jury investigation revealed a sophisticated, multi-layered scam that took advantage of vulnerable people suffering from substance use disorder to generate millions in profits. Liberation Way grew to a $40 million enterprise in under three years, with billings to various insurance companies in excess of $100 million dollars.

“The owners and operators of Liberation Way showed blatant disregard for the wellbeing of the people they were supposed to help, and for the opioid epidemic that is ravaging our communities,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

From its outset, Liberation Way specifically targeted out-of-network insurance carriers so that it could bill any amount it chose. Because Liberation Way wasn’t permitted to pay insurance premiums on patients’ behalf, employees hid the source of funds used to pay premiums using cash, pre-paid Visa gift cards, and bank accounts of two non-profit organizations established by and/or at the direction of Liberation Way’s owners.

In order to maximize profits, Liberation Way also implemented a cycle of addiction ‘treatment’ that illegally directed patients to live at company-owned, un-licensed ‘sober homes’ to increase the amount of treatment time for which it could bill insurers. Because Liberation Way was working hand-in-hand with housing providers and, in some cases, had direct ownership of the properties, it was in essence operating as an inpatient facility, for which it was not licensed.

Liberation Way operated daily shuttles from the sober homes to the treatment locations, and patients were forced to adhere to the drivers’ schedules. Patients were not free to come and go, as is typical for outpatient treatment, and they could not choose where they wanted to live. One location on Stump Road in North Wales, Montgomery County, was known as the “party house”. Patients found themselves in unsavory or even unsafe situations where the temptation to relapse was rampant. Some of the housing was co-ed, which is uncommon in the treatment industry, and it was discovered that employees were engaged in sexual relationships with patients actively receiving treatment.

The “party house” was owned by Braccia. Liberation Way paid Braccia $8,000 per month to rent the house before purchasing it for $800,000.

According to the Grand Jury Findings, Liberation Way ordered a shocking number of urine tests for patients, including some patients who they had hired as employees. Patients allegedly submitted urine samples several times per week, once a day, or even several times per day.

Staff allegedly received “incentives/bonuses of $100.00 or $200.00 per week for requesting that a certain number of urine samples be ordered.” One patient-turned-employee had “blank laboratory forms that were pre-signed by Dr. Braccia. Dr. Braccia’s signature indicated that each test was medically necessary,” but “urine tests were ordered without Dr. Braccia performing any evaluation of the patients.”

Additionally, the Grand Jury alleged:

When instructed to obtain a urine specimen from a patient, the employees would complete the pre-signed form with the patients’ information and send the specimen to whichever Florida-based laboratory Liberation Way was using at that time. Former patients and employees testified that the results of the patients’ urine tests were not discussed with them.

Braccia was charged with the following 10 felony offenses:

PA Statute	Description of Felony Charges
18 §911 §§B3	Corrupt Organizations – Employee, F1
18 §911 §§B4	Conspiracy To Violate 911b1, 911b2, 911b3, F1
18 §5111 §§A1	Dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities/Intent To Promote, F1
18 §5111 §§A2	Knowledge That Property Is Proceeds of Illegal Act, F1
18 §4117 §§A2	False/Fraud/Incomp Insurance Claim, F3
18 §4117 §§A3	Insurance Fraud, F3
18 §4117 §§A5	Insurance Fraud – Knowingly Benefits From Proceeds, F3
18 §4117 §§A6	Health Care Facility Insurance Fraud, F3
18 §3922 §§ A1	Theft By Deception-False Impression, F1
18 §903	Conspiracy – Dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities/Intent To Promote, F1