Newton owner of now-closed addiction treatment centers sentenced to 8 years for fraud

A Newton man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for defrauding health insurers for millions of dollars through his now-shuttered addiction treatment centers.

Michael Brier, 62, was the operator of Recovery Connections Centers of America, Inc. (RCCA) with 15 clinics in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that provided medical and therapy services to men and women struggling with addiction.

Brier admitted to a federal judge that he billed Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers for counseling sessions that were not provided to RCCA's patients, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office for Rhode Island. Prosecutors described him in court documents as someone who “embezzled and cheated his way through life.”

The centers were closed in March 2023 after federal officials arrested Brier.

“Michael Brier held out his business as a lifeline to vulnerable patients — men and women fighting to turn their lives around and escape the grim toll of addiction, but instead used it as a front for fraud that shortchanged those patients and lined his own pockets at taxpayer’s expense,” U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha said in a statement.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy delivered Brier's prison sentence, with three years of supervised release to follow.

In the office's statement released Tuesday, prosecutors say Brier and RCCA billed the government and private insurers for 45-minute sessions but provided patients with appointments 15 minutes or shorter. Prosecutors described an instance in which an employee would ring a bell regularly to ensure a "brisk" flow of patients.

One counselor, Mi Ok Song Bruining, was known as the "five minute queen" for providing sessions that only lasted that long. Bruining, a clinical social worker and supervisor at RCCA, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud in November 2023.

Prosecutors also say Brier failed to disclose federal tax crimes he was convicted of in 2013 on a Medicare application — something that would have been relevant to RCCA's consideration.

“Michael Brier is a liar, a cheat, and the mastermind of this sophisticated scheme, and the FBI and our partners are gratified we could shut him down, along with his chain of addiction treatment centers, which were little more than a front for fraud,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division.

In addition to his prison sentence, the court ordered Brier to pay $3.5 million in restitution, including $1 million, his interest in a beachfront property in Panama and two luxury cars. The defunct addiction center was also ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution, the statement said.