YOUNGSTOWN - Documents filed in U.S. District Court are shedding some light on why Federal investigators searched the California Palms Addiction Recovery Campus in Austintown last October, seizing $600,000 from its bank accounts.

A complaint filed on Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney asks the court to force California Palms and operator Sebastian Rucci to forfeit $5,941,096 in Medicaid funds which investigators claim were fraudulently collected.

The government says Rucci and others billed Medicaid for services that were never provided and “upcoded” assessments to maximize Medicaid reimbursements. Upcoding occurs when a healthcare provider submits codes to Medicaid for more serious and more expensive diagnoses or procedures than the provider diagnosed or performed, according to prosecutors.

The complaint also alleges that the 200-bed facility billed Medicaid patients for services that extended beyond the limited thirty-day stay; billed for urine screens that were not rendered, and used personnel without proper credentialing to sign off on patient assessments despite not seeing the patient, and billed Medicaid patients in exchange for free housing.

Patients who were assessed for 24-hour care for trained counselors to stabilize multidimensional imminent danger and prepare for outpatient treatment were often working outside of the California Palms facility or were used as laborers at California Palms, according to the complaint.

“Assessments were conducted without establishing a treatment plan to address mental health or substance abuse disorder and/or presenting problems were not included inpatient assessments,” the U.S. Attorney claims.

The government further claims that Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistants at California Palms conducted assessments for patients despite not being authorized to do so, and were allowed to work without appropriate supervision

The U.S. Attorney says false or misleading documentation was submitted to Medicaid including patient progress notes that were allegedly cut and pasted, as well as progress notes with inconsistent and conflicting information, such as a patient being treated for opioid dependence instead of alcohol dependence.

In addition, the complaint states that California Palms continued to bill for services even after patients had been discharged.

The government’s Complaint in Forfeiture is a civil action. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the investigation as of Wednesday.

Rucci has not filed a response to the complaint. 21 News has reached out to Rucci seeking a statement.

Rucci is fighting the search and seizure in federal court, claiming the action was unconstitutional and seeking an injunction.

The California Palms complaint stated that the seized money was all the funds available to pay employee salaries, buy food, pay for utilities, health insurance, and other operating costs.

Prosecutors challenge California Palms’ contention that the seizure will cause irreparable harm to the recovery center, “crippling” his business.

The U.S. Attorney’s motion states that California Palms’ provider certification has been revoked by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and in addition, the center’s provider agreements with the Ohio Department of Medicaid have been terminated.

Rucci told 21 News at the time of the certification revocation that California Palms has made changes and that the state refused to review them.