The last of three defendants in a Kentucky opioid treatment fraud case was sentenced to federal prison on July 24, closing a prosecution in which the clinic chain's own medical director used his elderly father's prescribing credentials to issue Suboxone prescriptions to patients the father had never seen.
Michael Bregenzer, 53, of Houston, the chief executive of Kentucky Addiction Centers, received 48 months followed by three years of supervised release. Medical director José Alzadon, M.D., 62, of Paintsville, was sentenced to 60 months in February 2026. Billing manager Barbie Vanhoose, 63, of West Van Lear, received 24 months in January 2026. All three were ordered to pay $812,881.09 in restitution. The Justice Department announced the sentencing through its Office of Public Affairs.
These are convictions, not allegations. A federal jury convicted all three in March 2025 of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, eight counts of health care fraud, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances using another person's registration number. Alzadon and Vanhoose were also convicted of two counts of aggravated identity theft.
What the Clinics Did
Kentucky Addiction Centers operated in Winchester, Paducah, Paintsville, and London. Alzadon served as medical director and prescribed Suboxone, a buprenorphine-based medication that is a legitimate and effective treatment for opioid use disorder when properly prescribed.
According to evidence presented at trial, the three billed Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid for services that were never provided and billed routine visits as longer and more complex than they were. They also billed under the name of Alzadon's elderly father. The Justice Department stated that services attributed to the father were either not provided at all or were provided by Alzadon himself, who "was unable to bill certain health plans as he was not credentialed as a provider with those plans."
The prescribing arrangement is the part that touched patients most directly. The three conspired to use the father's DEA registration number and his electronic prescribing token to issue Suboxone prescriptions, even though he had not examined the patients whose names appeared on them. Total fraudulent billing exceeded $4.8 million.
The case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, the HHS Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Kentucky Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with substantial assistance from the Winchester Police Department. The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, DEA Louisville Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Scott, FBI Louisville Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson, HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Kelly Blackmon, DOL-EBSA Regional Director Joe Rivers, and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman.
Why This Matters If You Are Looking for Treatment Right Now
Buprenorphine treatment saves lives. Nothing in this case changes that, and no one currently taking a prescribed buprenorphine product should stop or alter it based on a news story. Stopping medication for opioid use disorder abruptly carries real risk, including relapse and overdose. Any change belongs in a conversation with a qualified clinician.
What the case does illustrate is that a clinic can look completely ordinary from the waiting room while its billing and prescribing are built on someone else's credentials. Patients in the four affected Kentucky cities were receiving prescriptions signed, on paper, by a physician who had never met them. Most had no way to know.
That is a national problem, not a Kentucky one. People seeking addiction treatment are often in crisis, frequently uninsured or on Medicaid, and rarely in a position to audit a provider before their first appointment. The burden should not fall on them. In practice, some of it does.
How to Check That a Program and Its Prescribers Are Legitimate
Several verification steps take only a few minutes and require no special knowledge.
Start with the treatment locator run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The SAMHSA treatment finder lists programs and allows filtering by service type and payment options, including sliding-scale and Medicaid acceptance. A program that does not appear anywhere in federal or state directories is worth a second look.
Confirm that the person writing your prescription is licensed in your state. Every state maintains a public medical licensure lookup. In Kentucky, that is the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. Search the name that appears on your prescription, not just the name of the person you spoke with. If those two names differ, ask why before filling it.
Ask directly who is supervising your care and who is signing your prescriptions. A legitimate program will answer without hesitation. Federal law requires that a practitioner who issues a controlled substance prescription have established a valid patient relationship, which means an actual clinical evaluation.
Watch for billing patterns that do not match your visit. Review the explanation of benefits your insurer or Medicaid plan sends. If a five-minute check-in is billed as an extended counseling session, or if visits appear on dates you were not there, that is a reportable discrepancy. Concerns can be submitted to the HHS Office of Inspector General hotline.
Be cautious about programs that require frequent, high-volume urine drug testing without explaining its clinical purpose, that discourage you from asking about credentials, or that will not provide records of your own care on request.
Who Carries the Most Risk
The people most exposed are those with the fewest alternatives. In rural Kentucky counties and comparable areas nationwide, a single clinic may be the only accessible option within an hour's drive. When that clinic closes because of an enforcement action, patients can face an abrupt interruption in medication with no ready substitute.
Medicaid enrollees are disproportionately affected because these schemes target public program billing. Patients who lack transportation, who work hours incompatible with clinic schedules, or who have been turned away from other providers because of stigma have the least room to walk away from a program that feels wrong.
Anyone whose treatment program closes unexpectedly should contact a pharmacist, a primary care clinician or a state opioid treatment authority immediately to arrange continuity of care rather than going without.
The Justice Department has stated that its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants since 2007 involving more than $45 billion in claims. Further enforcement actions in the addiction treatment sector are likely. MedicalDaily will monitor for additional cases and for any guidance on protecting continuity of care for displaced patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the defendants actually do? A federal jury convicted them of billing Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid for services never provided or billed as more complex than delivered, and of using another physician's DEA registration number and electronic prescribing token to issue Suboxone prescriptions.
Are these allegations or convictions? Convictions. All three were found guilty at trial in March 2025. Sentencing concluded on July 24, 2026, with prison terms of 60, 48, and 24 months and combined restitution of $812,881.09.
Should patients stop taking Suboxone because of this case? No. Buprenorphine treatment is effective, and stopping abruptly carries serious risk, including overdose. Any change to a prescribed medication should be discussed with a qualified clinician first.
How can I check whether my prescriber is properly licensed? Search your state medical board's public licensure database using the exact name printed on your prescription. In Kentucky, use the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. If that name differs from the person treating you, ask why.
How do I find a legitimate treatment program? Use the SAMHSA treatment locator at findtreatment.gov, which lists programs by service type and payment option, including Medicaid and sliding scale. Cross-check against your state's licensed provider directory.
What warning signs suggest a clinic is billing rather than treating? Very short visits billed as extended sessions, charges on dates you did not attend, prescriptions signed by someone you never met, unexplained high-frequency urine testing, and reluctance to answer questions about credentials or to release your records.
Where do I report suspected fraud? The HHS Office of Inspector General operates a public fraud hotline. State Medicaid Fraud Control Units also accept complaints. Reporting does not require proof, only a good-faith concern.
