Federal lawsuit filed against Huntington-based collection agencies for alleged fraud

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A federal lawsuit has been filed against Tri-State Addiction Recovery Resources (TSARR) and Lifehouse for alleged fraud involving more than $2 million in claims for health care services that did not were not provided.

Federal legal documents, dating from 2021 to 2024 and released late last month, say the agencies “fraudulently billed the government for peer support services.”

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and names a whistleblower who alerted investigators to the alleged fraud.

“The United States intervenes in that portion of the action that alleges that Tri-State Addiction Recovery Resources fraudulently billed the government for peer support services,” an April 26 filing states.

According to legal documents, Tri-State Addiction Recovery Resources is a licensed behavioral health center headquartered in Huntington, and Lifehouse is a nonprofit, long-term faith-based recovery program headquartered in Huntington.

Raymond “Rocky” Meadows, founder and director of Lifehouse in Huntington, is named in the federal lawsuit.

They “falsely represented themselves as eligible entities and further made claims for Medicaid reimbursement to which they are not entitled because they did not provide the services described or provided services that were not medically authorized or necessary,” according to the federal lawsuit.

The suit alleges that nearly $2 million worth of Vivitrol, a medication used for alcohol and opioid addiction, was prescribed over a 12-month period.

According to the suit, Vivitrol was prescribed against West Virginia's Medicaid guidelines because patients did not have a choice of providers.

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