YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - The owner of two closed substance abuse treatment centers in Ohio was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for what federal authorities say was a massive Medicaid fraud scheme.
Ryan Sheridan, 39, of Leetonia, apologized before his sentencing Wednesday in Youngstown. He pleaded guilty in October to 60 counts that included conspiracy, health-care fraud, operating a drug premises and money laundering charges.
According to prosecutors, Sheridan’s Braking Point Recovery Services treatment centers outside Youngstown and Columbus submitted nearly 135,000 claims totaling $48.5 million from May 2015 to October 2017. Medicaid paid Braking Point $31 million based on those claims.
The billing stopped when FBI agents searched Braking Point offices and Sheridan’s home, where they found $390,000 in bundled cash in a gun safe. Sheridan agreed to forfeit nearly $3 million, his home and his collection of replica cars.
U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson ordered Sheridan to pay more than $24 million in restitution.
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