Arizona woman accused of being a 'body broker,' lawsuit alleges
The Brief
A woman from Goodyear accused of sober living fraud is among several individuals being sued for millions of dollars by a major health insurance company.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma accuses the woman of acting as a "body broker" to recruit and transport thousands of Native Americans across state lines to a treatment center in California.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - A major health insurance company is suing several people, including a Goodyear woman, for their alleged involvement in sober living fraud spanning different states.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma accuses the woman of acting as a "body broker" to hunt down and traffic thousands of Native Americans, across state lines, and into a California treatment center.
FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum breaks down the alleged scheme and its ties to Arizona.
What we know
Blue Cross Blue Shield Oklahoma says it's dispersed $36 million in wrongful payments.
The lawsuit says an "army of fraudsters" is responsible for taking advantage of tribal members, and lays out the blueprint for the defendants' alleged fraud scheme.
The plaintiff, Blue Cross Blue Shield Oklahoma, says Rad Life and Excellence in Everything Recovery (EIE) both acted as "body brokers."
The owner of EIE Recovery is Cari Passmore, and she's based in Goodyear. Her Facebook profile name is "Cari CC," which matches the profile disclosed in the lawsuit.
Passmore is accused of sending potential patients to an insurance agent in Oklahoma to be enrolled in Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans.
The lawsuit says the patients would then be sent to South Coast Behavioral Health in California for free detox treatment before returning to Passmore's sober living home for free housing and outpatient care.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Oklahoma says the defendants split payments being made to insurance.
One exhibit shows someone in a Facebook group asking who could get her sister into a California rehab, and passmore replies, "I can help with California."
The backstory
"They're targeting our most vulnerable people, and they go out there, and you see these recruiters blatantly, see these recruiters on these websites going to these different, whether they go to a homeless shelter or a homeless camp, and promising them steak dinners," said Reva Stewart of Turtle Island Women Warriors.
She's an advocate for indigenous people impacted and displaced by the sober living scheme due to the fallout of Arizona's Medicaid scandal.
AHCCCS, the state's Medicaid system, cracked down on fraudulent billing in 2023, suspending hundreds of behavioral health providers and cutting off payments.
Stewart says "bad actors" have switched from Medicaid to the health insurance marketplace for some time now.
"It's just as bad, it really is," she said.
Dig deeper
Blue Cross Blue Shield Oklahoma says Passmore falsified information, revealing a screenshot of a message between her and an alleged co-conspirator, discussing a P.O. box address for residency requirements to enroll patients.
According to the lawsuit, recruits were told by insurance agent Randall Eisworth to lie about their annual income, employment and residency. It's important to note that the plaintiff recently dismissed claims against Eisworth without prejudice.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Oklahoma says 23 members used a Buckeye address for a home operated by EIE.
Big picture view
Stewart says people she has helped on the streets tell similar stories.
"I've had a few people that I've spoke with that we've helped get home that said that they were told that once they got into the house, they had to get on Blue Cross Blue Shield and all they had to do was hand over their information and that it would be done for them, so then when they decided that they needed to go to the Phoenix Indian Medical Center and utilize the services there, they were told they couldn't because they were under Blue Cross Blue Shield," Stewart said.
The plaintiff says, "even worse, many of the alleged services provided at Excellence were not actually provided," and that Passmore gave patients "comfort meds" without professional administration or prescription from a stockpile of old medication she kept from prior patients."
What's next
Blue Cross Blue Shield Oklahoma is suing Passmore and EIE along with South Coast Behavioral Health and Rad Life Recovery under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, as well as fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.
It's demanding a jury trial.
Passmore's attorney has no comment on pending litigation.
Attorneys for the rest of the defendants have not responded to FOX 10's requests for comment.
Stewart says she's not surprised that the sober living scheme is still very much alive across so many states, but she's focused on humanitarian efforts to get relatives home.
"These people are all of the people that have taken advantage of anyone and everyone who is vulnerable for their greed. That's what makes me angry," she said.
As for Passmore, she has some history with another insurance company.
Back in 2021, Passmore agreed to pay $50,000 to Premera Blue Cross as part of a stipulated judgment in which she accepted liability in their lawsuit against her.
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