Liberation Way founders have been charged with wrongdoing, mostly with defrauding insurance cos by scheming to maximise stay lengths. Pennsylvania’s attorney general annouced a raft of charges against seven individuals, including the late Dallas Fetterman and Jason Gerner, founders of the center.
Private equity firm Fulcrum Partners, which owns the center, had lodged numerous complaints after purchasing the center. The investor group recently brought in well known treatment executive Drew Rothermel, a former top Caron exec and former CEO of Origins Behavioral of Texas, to clean up the mess left by the founders. Fulcrum is also suing for redress.
Jason Gerner, the cofounder of Liberation Way, which has locations in Yardley, Bala Cynwyd and Fort Washington, Montgomery County, is among those who authorities say pocketed millions of dollars from insurance claims while luring patients into a cycle of ineffective treatment resulting in unsafe living conditions and multiple relapses. Some patients were cycled through the treatment process as many as eight times, a grand jury investigation found.
“The owners and operators of Liberation Way showed blatant disregard for the well being of the people they were supposed to help, and for the opioid epidemic that is ravaging our communities,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “This public health emergency is my top priority, and our actions to combat this crisis include prosecuting those who illegally profit off substance use disorder.”
