Branden Coluccio, 32, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,070,157, forfeiture in the amount of $110,000, and an additional $15,000 fine. This scheme involved Liberation Way, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization that had treatment centers in Yardley, Bala Cynwyd, and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The investigation exposed an array of healthcare fraud schemes committed by individuals associated with Liberation Way, including an over-billing scheme connected with the facility’s medical director, as well as an elaborate kick-back scheme involving thousands of medically-unnecessary urine tests which were sent to Florida-based laboratories for analysis. Coluccio, a co-founder of Liberation Way, participated in yet another scheme by fraudulently purchasing premium insurance policies for prospective patients on their behalf, which then allowed Liberation Way to bill insurance companies for expensive “treatment” purportedly provided to these patients. Liberation Way represented that the patients were buying and paying for these policies, when in reality Liberation Way was paying the premiums, which is illegal.
