The Palm Beach County Sober Home Task Force has made another arrest in its crackdown on sober home businesses.
Amanda LaFrance faces 13 counts of patient brokering. She made her first appearance over the weekend.
She is the eighth person arrested since the end of October.
The practice of patient brokering involves treatment facilities paying kickbacks to sober-home operators in exchange for sending patients with health insurance to their treatment programs.
Florida law prohibits treatment facilities from paying anyone for new patients.
The Palm Beach Postreports that the practice is so widespread that many in the industry don't realize it's illegal.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg released a statement saying, "the heroin crisis is fueled by bad actors in the treatment center. Our task force will continue to target sober homes that violate the Florida law and jeopardize their residents’ safety."
Information from the Associated Press and Palm Beach Post was used in this report
