Orange County facility owner charged with paying $175K in patient referral kickbacks

Scott Raffa, a 57-year-old resident of Newport Beach and owner of addiction treatment facilities in Orange County, is set to be arraigned today following his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport. He faces charges related to paying nearly $175,000 in illegal kickbacks to "body brokers" for patient referrals.

Raffa has been indicted on 12 counts of illegal remunerations for referrals to clinical treatment facilities. The indictment alleges that he operated several sober living homes under the Sober Partners brand, which catered to patients with health insurance benefits.

The allegations suggest that Raffa engaged in "body brokering," where he paid individuals for referring patients to his facilities. These payments were allegedly made through checks or wire transfers to accounts controlled by the brokers. The indictment claims these payments were intended as compensation and inducement for continued patient referrals.

It is further alleged that Raffa used sham contracts with certain brokers to disguise the illicit nature of these payments, ostensibly prohibiting payments based on referral volume or value. Communication between Raffa and the brokers reportedly involved encrypted messaging services for negotiating kickback amounts based on expected insurance revenues from referred patients.

According to the indictment, between April 2020 and October 2021, Raffa disbursed a total of $174,600 in illegal kickbacks. It also states that he required patients to undergo at least 21 days of treatment before any kickbacks were paid.

Raffa's indictment remains an allegation until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison per count.

The FBI is leading the investigation into this case, while Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin R. Barron and Nandor Kiss are handling prosecution duties.