Former Executives Will Share in a $3.2 Million Award for Triggering Probe into Disturbing Practices at Acadia Healthcare Facilities
Complaint Alleges Involuntary Detention and Electroshock Therapy
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 26, 2024) — A national network of for-profit psychiatric hospitals agreed to pay nearly $20 million to resolve claims that it defrauded government insurance programs by mistreating patients and operating “like a prison,” in the words of two former executives who blew the whistle on its practices.
The U.S. Department of Justice today announced the settlement with Tennessee-based Acadia Healthcare, saying that Acadia was responsible for assaults and suicides at facilities where it failed to provide adequate staff, training, and supervision, among many violations of Medicare and other insurance programs.
The publicly traded company, which didn’t admit liability, also agreed to pay seven figures to settle additional retaliation claims and to cover whistleblower attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.
The federal government’s investigation was sparked by Franka Tirado and Brian Snyder, former Acadia executives who are represented by The Employment Law Group® law firm. Ms. Tirado resigned in 2016 because of Acadia’s practices; Mr. Snyder was fired in 2017 after repeatedly objecting to its actions as illegal.
Ms. Tirado and Mr. Snyder filed a lawsuit in 2017 against Acadia under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and other laws, focusing on Acadia’s activities in Florida. The case remained secret while it was under investigation; it was unsealed earlier this week. A nursing director in Georgia filed related FCA claims against Acadia shortly afterward, bolstering the probe. The Employment Law Group does not represent the Georgia nursing director.
The $19.9 million settlement resolves both cases and covers Acadia’s conduct across four states: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada.
The FCA, signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, makes it illegal to claim payment from the federal government via deception. The law includes a “qui tam” provision that allows whistleblowers to file a complaint on behalf of the U.S. and — if they prevail — to receive a portion of any resulting settlement or judgment.
For disclosing Acadia’s actions, Ms. Tirado, Mr. Snyder, and the Georgia nursing director will share in a whistleblower award of more than $3 million. Mr. Snyder also will receive a separate payout from Acadia to settle his retaliation claim, as will the Georgia nursing director.
In addition to being probed by the federal government and multiple states, Acadia’s methods have drawn attention from The New York Times, which earlier this month published a scathing report about how Acadia “traps” and mistreats its psychiatric patients.
In their 2017 complaint, Ms. Tirado and Mr. Snyder outlined many examples of such disturbing practices at Acadia, including inappropriate admissions and involuntary detention of patients who should have been discharged. The whistleblower lawsuit also raised red flags about illegal kickbacks and Acadia’s use of electroconvulsive treatment without patient consent.
“Franka and Brian laid bare all of these troubling practices, and my only hope is that this investigation and settlement will stop any future harms,” said Janel Quinn, a principal of The Employment Law Group. “Psychiatric patients arrive in a fragile and deeply vulnerable state, and they deserve compassionate care — not to be detained for maximum dollars.”
Ms. Quinn represents Ms. Tirado and Mr. Snyder along with TELG principals R. Scott Oswald and Nicholas Woodfield. They worked in close cooperation with Sarah Arni, a senior trial counsel at the Justice Department; with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Saxe Griffin at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; with Sara Vann at the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units; and with Renée Brooker, Eva Gunasekera, and Jaclyn Tayabji of Tycko & Zavareei LLP, which represents the other whistleblower in the settlement.
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Case Information
United States ex rel. Tirado v. Park Royal Hospital
No. 2:17-cv-201
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Complaint filed on April 13, 2017 (available here)
United States ex rel. Thompson v. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.
No. 2:18-cv-543
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Complaint originally filed on April 17, 2017 as Case No. 1:17-cv-99 in the Eastern District of Tennessee (available here)
Note: The Employment Law Group is not involved in the Thompson case.
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About The Employment Law Group
The Employment Law Group® law firm represents whistleblowers and employees who stand up to wrongdoing in the workplace. Based in Washington, D.C., the firm takes cases nationwide.
