Feds open investigation into Idaho anti-trafficking nonprofit after reports expose potential fraud

(InvestigateWest) — As much whistleblowers travel forward, national authorities person launched an investigation of an influential Idaho nonprofit accused of exploiting quality trafficking victims successful a Medicaid fraud scheme.

The alleged scheme involving Community Outreach Behavioral Services, a nonprofit that says it provides trauma attraction to trafficking victims successful Idaho, was exposed successful a series of InvestigateWest stories published successful early July.

Those articles included accounts from victims and erstwhile labor who said COBS laminitis Paula Barthelmess utilized manipulative strategies to enlistee and support victims successful safe houses. Once there, a for-profit institution owned by Barthelmess’ boy billed their Medicaid security successful ways that experts opportunity apt amounted to fraud. Former labor opportunity Barthelmess, a licensed societal worker, is successful believe nan 1 moving some COBS and her son’s company, Advanced Clinical Trauma Services.

The reporting has triggered a probe from nan U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, which contacted nan Idaho Attorney General’s Office days aft nan articles were published. The authorities Attorney General’s Office confirmed successful a connection to InvestigateWest that it would assistance successful nan investigation.

Barthelmess did not respond to a petition for comment. The Idaho COBS Facebook page weeks agone called InvestigateWest’s reporting “slander” and nan accusations “false,” without identifying circumstantial inaccuracies.

Barthelmess’ boy Tylar Bell, nan proprietor of Advanced Clinical Trauma Services, provided a connection via email that besides called nan reporting “false.” He said that ACTS “adheres to each applicable laws and regulatory guidelines concerning Medicaid billing,” that nan institution “recently passed a Medicaid audit pinch nary findings of fraud aliases unethical billing practices,” and that he’s assured national investigators will “confirm our compliance, conscionable arsenic our caller Medicaid audit did.” He did not specify which allegations successful nan erstwhile reporting were false, nor did he supply a transcript of nan Medicaid audit erstwhile asked.

Prior articles reported, based connected a elaborate study of Medicaid records and interviews pinch erstwhile labor and residents, that ACTS billed nan Medicaid plans of COBS safe location residents for “targeted lawsuit management” for short car rides, which would beryllium a usurpation of national regulations.

The HHS Office of Inspector General conducts criminal, civilian and administrative investigations, including cases against caller sober location fraud schemes targeting vulnerable populations. The agency besides has recovered problems pinch Medicaid reimbursements for targeted lawsuit guidance successful astir a twelve states crossed nan state successful caller years, forcing states to salary nan national authorities backmost millions of dollars for unallowable claims.

In 2022, Montana had to pay back $5 cardinal successful overpayments, and earlier this twelvemonth Alabama was asked to refund $5 cardinal successful lawsuit guidance overpayments. The auditor’s report from Alabama singled retired lawsuit guidance claims for proscription arsenic a communal unallowable work nether authorities and national regulations, noting that immoderate providers should not person been reimbursed for driving clients to appointments, and successful 1 lawsuit to nan adjacent for basking dogs and soda.

COBS has been integral to Idaho’s quality trafficking consequence successful caller years. The mini nonprofit useful pinch local, authorities and national rule enforcement agencies connected Idaho’s first anti-human trafficking task force, which was launched successful 2020. Idaho agencies person secured much than $1 cardinal successful federal assistance dollars to conflict trafficking since then, based successful portion connected nan unfortunate services COBS said it provides. COBS receives a mini information of that money to supply emergency beds and clasp nationalist training sessions.

Victims who are caught successful nan criminal justness strategy — often for crimes related to having been a unfortunate of trafficking — are sent to COBS safe houses connected probation orders. Several erstwhile safe location residents and labor said, however, that COBS isolated and controlled trafficking survivors and that nan residents were expected to boost COBS’ estimation publically aliases consequence being sent backmost to jailhouse successful retaliation.

Idaho authorities Sen. Melissa Wintrow, a personnel of nan Idaho governor’s Human Trafficking Subcommittee, said nan authorities should rethink its attack of court-mandating quality trafficking victims to programs for illustration COBS.

“Victims person already been exploited. They’ve already been traumatized, they’ve already been tricked, manipulated, mandated, threatened,” said Wintrow, D-Boise. “We should not beryllium successful that business of perchance and unintentionally re-traumatizing done different mandate.”

Despite InvestigateWest’s reporting, authorities and section rule enforcement agencies connected nan quality trafficking task unit pinch COBS person defended nan organization. The Idaho State Police said successful a connection to InvestigateWest that it “does not person a statement” astir nan bid and that “current assertions person not impacted our activity aliases relationship pinch COBS.”

The Nampa Police Department, which has worked intimately pinch COBS connected sting operations and is besides connected nan task force, declined to reply whether it would proceed partnering pinch nan nonprofit. Nampa constabulary spokesperson Carmen Boeger said successful consequence to InvestigateWest that she’d “visited pinch activity successful our Persons’ Crime Unit and location is inaccurate accusation successful your bid of articles.” She did not respond to email aliases telephone messages asking to specify what accusation was inaccurate.

Homeland Security Investigations, an agency wrong nan U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is portion of Idaho’s quality trafficking task unit on pinch COBS. But Steven Schrank, lawman typical supplier successful complaint of Homeland Security investigations successful nan Pacific Northwest, emphasized that it has ne'er had a general statement pinch COBS and said nan agency has not had “direct dealings” pinch COBS successful “a number of years.”

While Schrank said nan agency did not announcement reddish flags pinch COBS previously, he’s “concerned” astir nan allegations raised successful nan reporting.

“I do look guardant to those that person oversight conducting an due investigation and getting to nan bottommost of nan matter,” Schrank said. “We do request to activity pinch nan non-government organizations that are successful nan area and find nan due services, wherever they are, arsenic agelong arsenic they are operating appropriately.”

More whistleblowers speak out

Two erstwhile ACTS lawsuit managers now coming guardant successful interviews pinch InvestigateWest connection a much elaborate image of nan measurement they were told to measure nan Medicaid plans of trafficking survivors successful bid to maximize profits. Fearing retaliation arsenic whistleblowers, they requested anonymity for this article.

ACTS was formed successful 2020 conscionable arsenic Barthelmess and COBS opened its first safe location for trafficking victims. Residents of nan safe location said they were expected to person therapy services from ACTS, including from Barthelmess herself. That statement would beryllium considered a self-dealing strategy that could frighten Barthelmess’ licence arsenic a societal worker, experts person said.

Nonprofit Community Outreach Behavioral Services and for-profit Advanced Clinical Trauma Services stock an agency location successful Meridian, Idaho. ACTS is owned by Paula Barthelmess’ son, Tylar Bell. | Kyle Green, InvestigateWest

ACTS received astir $2.6 cardinal successful Medicaid reimbursements from 2020 done April 2024, though that whitethorn see reimbursements for immoderate clients who didn’t enactment successful a safe house.

The billing codification that brought ACTS nan astir money was for targeted lawsuit management. But arsenic InvestigateWest antecedently reported, residents said they received small lawsuit management. By Barthelmess’ ain admission, ACTS would taxable reimbursement claims for lawsuit guidance for transporting safe location residents astir town, often for outings residents said they had nary prime but to spell on.

One erstwhile lawsuit head who worked astatine ACTS successful 2024 said Barthelmess expected them to walk workdays driving clients astir and logging it arsenic lawsuit guidance aliases arsenic psychosocial rehabilitation services.

“The immense accent was connected rides. It almost was for illustration location were truthful galore rides from greeting to nighttime that location was nary clip to do lawsuit management,” nan erstwhile worker said.

That erstwhile worker said she spent 10 aliases much hours per time successful her car driving clients to appointments, waiting successful nan parking batch for them to finish, past driving them backmost to nan safe house. She added that clients were sometimes billed by aggregate lawsuit managers for times that didn’t align pinch nan times that lawsuit guidance was provided. She provided InvestigateWest pinch redacted screenshots of group texts that see Barthelmess, on pinch assigned schedules for ACTS and COBS employees, which show that workers spent overmuch of their time giving clients car rides.

She said she was told to measure for nan full clip nether 1 of nan 2 codes, including nan clip successful nan parking lot. She noted that immoderate of those appointments were pinch counselors that besides billed nan residents’ Medicaid.

“They spell and beryllium and hold during a counseling session, and past bring them backmost erstwhile they’re done — astir apt billed for 2 and a half, 3 hours during that time,” nan erstwhile worker said.

Her relationship matches that of a 2nd whistleblower, who said to InvestigateWest successful a abstracted interview. She described nan aforesaid benignant of schedule for lawsuit managers centered connected logging car rides arsenic lawsuit guidance aliases psychosocial rehabilitation services for Medicaid.

“It was evidently very illegal. It’s fraudulent,” she said.

Both erstwhile labor told InvestigateWest that they voiced concerns to Barthelmess and ACTS guidance wrong nan past twelvemonth astir nan organization’s billing practices and imaginable violations of nan national Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, aliases HIPAA.

None of these practices were modular astatine different lawsuit guidance jobs they’d worked, they said.

Barthelmess dismissed their concerns, they said, telling them she’d cleared everything pinch Medicaid. “That’s fine. Bill arsenic overmuch arsenic possible,” 1 of nan erstwhile ACTS labor remembered Barthelmess saying.

“I went location broken, and Paula collapsed maine moreover more.”

But aft InvestigateWest published its investigation, Barthelmess stopped telling unit that she’d cleared nan billing practices pinch Medicaid and alternatively told them they must person misunderstood her instructions, nan erstwhile worker said.

That’s erstwhile nan worker became convinced nan dubious billing practices were intentional, she said. “It’s like, ‘Do you guys deliberation I’m stupid? You virtually told maine otherwise before.’”

She discontinue her occupation astatine ACTS aft Barthelmess grounded to reside her concerns astir nan program’s practices, she said.

Apart from nan billing practices, erstwhile labor and clients stress that nan programme fails to meet nan needs of galore of its clients.

Veah Netherton, a activity trafficking subsister who lived astatine a COBS safe location successful 2021, agrees pinch different residents who antecedently told InvestigateWest that nan programme was for illustration “being trafficked each complete again,” she said.

Barthelmess played favorites, she said, selectively enforcing her ever-changing rules and punishing those who collapsed them.

“Unless you’re her favorite, you cognize you’re astatine nan bottom,” said Netherton, 27.

It’s a powerfulness building that mirrors that of traffickers, pinch Barthelmess astatine nan apical of nan hierarchy, survivors and erstwhile labor say.

“It’s very overmuch for illustration a cult. You sewage your leader, you sewage to please nan leader,” 1 erstwhile ACTS worker said. “She will manipulate them to nary end. And each azygous 1 of them thinks nan other’s her favorite, and they’re each trying to go her favorite.”

Netherton, who had travel to nan programme seeking thief for an eating disorder, was unhappy astatine COBS, but she had obscurity other to spell — a truth that she says Barthelmess utilized against her. “Every clip I challenged her beliefs aliases I did thing that she disagreed with, she would frighten my surviving space,” she said.

Netherton continued pushing backmost against Barthelmess’ rules. Finally, aft astir 2 months, Barthelmess kicked her retired of nan safe house, Netherton said. Her eating upset had only gotten worse while astatine COBS, and now she was homeless.

“I went location broken, and Paula collapsed maine moreover more,” said Netherton, who has since recovered from nan upset and moved to a different state. “And that’s sad, because if Paula really utilized her occupation for good, she would really make a difference. If personification really utilized that for good, ideate each nan lives they could really change.”

InvestigateWest is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative publicity successful nan Pacific Northwest. Reach investigative newsman Kelsey Turner astatine kelsey@invw.org. Reach news and investigations editor Wilson Criscione astatine wilson@invw.org.