Head of Long Beach substance abuse program faces federal indictment alleging fraud

The former chief executive officer of a Long Beach substance abuse recovery services provider faces up to 194 years in prison for allegedly defrauding the state’s Drug Medi-Cal program to the tune of more than $50 million worth of false billings.

Richard Mark Ciampa, 62, of Long Beach, is one of four defendants named in a new federal indictment alleging a long-ruing scheme in which managers of Atlantic Health Services, previously known as Atlantic Recovery Services or ARS, allegedly cheated Drug Medi-Cal by charging for substance abuse counseling services that were uecessary or not even provided.

Atlantic Health Services had contracts to provide services to schools to students in Lakewood, Bell Gardens, Montebello and the Antelope Valley area, as well as sites managed by an organization called Soledad Enrichment Action, according to the Justice Department’s aouncement of the new charges. The newly-unsealed indictment alleges that Ciampa and others at ARS demanded “managers and counselors to increase billings by instructing them to ‘be creative’ in their billing and ‘to make it happen,’ among other ways.”

The govement aounced the new indictment late Friday afteoon. Ciampa stands accused of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. His attoey denied the charges shortly thereafter.

“The indictment is “untruthful, unsupported and false, and we will be successful in defending this case,” attoey Arthur Berens said.

The new indictment also lays out charges of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft for three others:

• Gregory Heas, 60, of Long Beach, who worked as ARS’ billing supervisor. He faces up to 134 years in prison.

• LaLoie Egans, 58, of Bellflower, who oversaw the work of ARS counselors at three schools. She could be sentenced to up to 32 years in prison.

• Tina Ly St. Julian, 52, of Compton, a counselor who had jobs at two schools for ARS. She faces up to 42 years in prison.

Attoeys for the other defendants could not be immediately reached for comment late Friday.

The govement previously charged Egans and St. Julian in an earlier indictment. The new charging document aounced Friday replaced that one.

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The Justice Department has alleged ARS leaders and employees committed fraud over the course of about a decade that ended in April 2013. Ciampa, Heas and another alleged co-conspirator insisted ARS persoel secure substantial reimbursements from Drug Medi-Cal under threat of being fired or having their job hours cut.

ARS persoel allegedly overbilled the state program through such means as regularly charging for crisis counseling sessions despite the fact that such treatment is only supposed to take place when students suffered an actual relapse into substance abuse or were on the brink of a relapse.

The indictment also lays out an allegation that ARS persoel enrolled students in treatment programs who had merely dabbled with drugs or alcohol or experimented with a substance on a single occasion. The treatment programs are designed for students who need help overcoming serious substance abuse issues.

“It is outrageous for health care executives and counselors to risk stigmatizing students as substance abusers, as alleged in this case, just to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense,” Christian Schrank, special agent in charge for the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a press statement.

As of Friday, at least 17 others have entered guilty pleas or have agreed to plead guilty to crimes related to ARS’ activities, according to the govement. That number includes Leland Whitson, 76, of Redondo Beach who worked as ARS’ medical and clinical director. He pleaded guilty to making a false statement affecting a health care program.