LA man sentenced for Orange County kickback scheme

Casey Mahoney, a 48-year-old man from Hollywood Hills, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison on March 21. He was convicted for paying illegal kickbacks for patient referrals to his addiction treatment facilities in Orange County. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that Mahoney was also fined $240,000. He was found guilty of conspiracy, making illegal payments for referrals, and money laundering in a trial that lasted nine days. Mahoney directed nearly $2.9 million in illegal kickbacks to agents known as body brokers. These brokers referred patients to Mahoney’s facilities, Healing Path Detox and Get Real Recovery Inc. In return, they paid cash to patients, which some used to buy drugs. During the trial, evidence showed that Mahoney hid these illegal payments by creating fake contracts with the brokers. These contracts falsely claimed to set fixed payments and forbade payments based on referral volumes. In reality, payments were negotiated based on insurance reimbursements and billing days. Mahoney also laundered money by making payments to a body broker’s mother, disguised as consulting fees.