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“"My whole goal here is to take one of the worst possible situations someone could go through in their life and somehow find a way to turn it into a positive thing that can benefit other people, benefit society."”
What can you do while a healthcare fraud case is pending?
Branden Coluccio watched our videos for six months before he picked up the phone. He later called that wait his biggest mistake.
"Maybe it's too early. Is he going to be able to do anything?"
Liberation Way
Branden co-founded Liberation Way, a drug and alcohol rehab business with treatment centers in Yardley, Bala Cynwyd, and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Prosecutors said the company bought premium insurance policies for prospective patients, told insurers the patients were paying for their own coverage, and then billed those insurers for treatment. The fraudulent billings came to roughly $3 million. The Department of Justice said people trying to get sober were used as pawns.
Branden pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
The first search
"Right about when I got indicted, the first thing you do, you go on the internet. How the heck do I help you reconcile with this situation? How do I make this better in any way?"
Once he called, we walked through the order of a federal case, the presentence investigation, his own history, and what he wanted his attorney to have in hand. He built a list of questions to take to his defense lawyer.
A book on the probation officer's desk
Branden wrote a book and a self-directed course to go with it, both meant to be given free to jails, prisons, universities, and nonprofits.
"My whole goal here is to take one of the worst possible situations someone could go through in their life and somehow find a way to turn it into a positive thing that can benefit other people, benefit society."
He brought a pre-production copy to his presentence interview. By his account, the probation officer paged through it, photographed pages, and asked how he planned to distribute it. The two of them talked about ways it could reach more people.
He also stood in front of university students studying business ethics and talked about a fraud that grew out of a company he helped build. Each of his character letters told one story the writer had been present for.
Thirty-five years of practice
His defense attorney had practiced for more than 35 years. Branden recalls the lawyer telling him he had never seen a defendant produce anything close to that volume of work, and that he had urged defendants for decades to build that kind of record before sentencing.
May 22, 2020
Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sentenced Branden to 37 months in federal prison, with $3,070,157 in restitution, $110,000 in forfeiture, and a $15,000 fine.
How many of our videos have you watched so far? Branden spent six months deciding whether it was too early. Book the $500 diagnostic call and we will spend the call on what you can build between now and sentencing. The $500 applies to any work we do together after.
Thank you,
Justin Paperny
Written by
Justin Paperny
Founder White Collar Advice