On October 22, 2026, the Justice Department announced charges against 15 defendants.
The case brings into sharp focus the rights of at-risk rehab patients harmed due to alleged criminal activity or negligence.
Regardless of the result of a criminal trial, injured victims may be able seek support by filing separate civil claims against negligent facilities.
We hold rehab facilities accountable. If you think you may have been a victim at one of these facilities, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.
Potential victims could have a case for things such as:
- Negligence
- Medical Negligence
- False imprisonment
- Battery and medical battery
- Human trafficking
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Federal Charges Against 15 Suspects Accused of Drug Rehab Fraud:
The Justice Department reported charges against 15 people, including 6 medical professionals, accused of making around $1.8 billion in fraudulent claims. The charges include over $1.6 billion dollars allegedly billed in a plan to lure Substance Use Disorder (SUD) sufferers to treatment centers and sober homes in the Los Angeles area. Some of the involved facilities include Rodeo Recovery, Helping Hands Rehabilitation, Get Real Recovery and Sunset Rehab. The operation constitutes the largest substance abuse treatment fraud case ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
These centers allegedly then billed the patients’ insurers for very expensive care the FBI calls “sham substance abuse treatment.”
The suspects include a father and son from Los Angeles said to own several drug rehab facilities. They are Nathan Young (39), also going by “Pablo,” and David Young (71), also known as “Sancho Lopez.”
An indictment filed against the two men claims they controlled dozens of purported substance abuse treatment businesses in the Los Angeles area and around the country.
FBI Director Kash Patel says the defendants “…made fraudulent claims to steal from taxpayer funded healthcare and insurance programs, including substance abuse treatment programs, hospice care, and Medicare programs in the Los Angeles area designed to help the most vulnerable.”
They are also accused of these and other violations regarding the care of patients:
- Failing to provide what was promised to patients
- Drugging patients so they couldn’t leave
- Physically keeping patients from leaving
- Preventing patients from contacting their families
Body Brokering in Southern California Drug Rehabs:
According to federal investigators, the operators made money by recruiting vulnerable patients from across the U.S. to their California facilities.
In an illegal strategy known as “body brokering,” prosecutors believe patients were lured in with promises of money, free flights, boarding in luxurious accommodations, and even illegal drugs.
Prosecutors say that certain patients were sought out because they had strong insurance coverage to draw from. Operators would then charge insurers high rates for care, bill for unneeded medical procedures, or for medical services that weren’t actually performed.
Investigators say patients were also cycled through different facilities to bill insurers for different levels of care, and to hold on to patients longer. These types of operations are often referred to as “patient mills.”
When Rehab Patients Are the Victims of False Imprisonment:
Some of these types of alleged behaviors can rise to the level of False Imprisonment. This is illegal under the California Penal Code (PEN) and can result in lengthy jail sentences and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
CHAPTER 8. False Imprisonment and Human Trafficking
(a) A person who deprives or violates the personal liberty of another with the intent to obtain forced labor or services, is guilty of human trafficking and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 12 years and a fine of not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
Facilities engaging in this behavior can face criminal punishment, along with fines and a shutdown. But they can also be held financially liable for the harm they do to patients. Patients harmed against their will can also file civil claims and demand that owners help with the costs of physical and emotional recovery.
Families who lose a loved one at a sober living home or a licensed rehab facility are also empowered to seek answers and file wrongful death claims.
Getting Help After Being Harmed by a Negligent Rehab Facility:
Patients harmed by illegal conduct or negligence at a drug rehab or sober living home have the right to seek justice and support.
Victims and their families can file civil claims, separate from criminal proceedings. They don’t have to wait on the results of a criminal investigation or trial to act. They’d demand help in paying the patient’s medical bills due to injury and to cover the patient’s emotional trauma.
Families who lose a loved one to a tragedy at a rehab business can also seek justice and wrongful death benefits.
Contact a Drug Rehab Attorney:
If you were someone held against your will or were the victim of negligence at a facility owned by Nathan or David Young, you can contact a California Negligent Rehab Attorney for a free case consultation.
It’s a confidential, no-obligation meeting with a real lawyer so that victims or their families can determine their best legal options.