(Photo by Brett Dunlap) Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure speaks at a press conference Wednesday as West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey listens. Morrisey held a press conference at the Wood County Courthouse to announce a lawsuit against Clean & Clear Advantage LLC, which runs a substance abuse treatment center in Parkersburg at the former federal building on Juliana Street, over an alleged unqualified person treating people and collecting federal Medicaid funds for those services.

PARKERSBURG — A Parkersburg substance abuse treatment facility is the subject of a lawsuit by the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office over allegations the company filed fraudulent claims with the state’s Medicaid program.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey held a press conference Wednesday morning at the Wood County Courthouse to announce the lawsuit against Clean & Clear Advantage LLC, which runs a substance abuse treatment center in Parkersburg at the former federal building on Juliana Street.

The Attorney General’s Office is alleging Clean & Clear submitted fraudulent claims to the state’s Medicaid program from May 2021 through January 2022.

A former employee, Clifford Marlowe, 32, of Davisville, was indicted by the Wood County Grand Jury last month on charges of false claims, fraudulent schemes and bribery from May 2021 through January 2022.

Those claims were for services allegedly rendered to 52 patients by Marlowe who was described in the lawsuit as “an unqualified employee.”

(Photo by Brett Dunlap) Clean & Clear Advantage LLC, which runs a substance abuse treatment center in Parkersburg at the former federal building on Juliana Street, is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office over an alleged unqualified person treating people at the facility and receiving federal dollars for those services. The Attorney General’s Office is alleging the company did not properly vet the individual before hiring him. The state is seeking over $236,000.

Morrisey was joined by Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure while Mayor Tom Joyce, Wood County Commissioners Jimmy Colombo and Blair Couch and others watched.

“Over the last 10-15 years, there have been significant dollars spent at the state level and the federal level to help people who have substance abuse problems,” Morrisey said. “It is critical that when those precious dollars are flowing that there is accountability with those dollars and full compliance with the law.”

Morrisey reiterated these are allegations and the parties have the right to use the court process to prove their innocence in both the civil and criminal matters.

His office’s Medicaid Fraud Unit filed a civil lawsuit against Clean & Clear. The investigation revealed the center hired and assigned Marlowe to perform certain therapy services, but he lacked the licensing and qualifications to do that work, Morrissey said.

“This individual misrepresented his qualifications in the job application and the company failed to properly vet this information before they decided to hire him,” he said.

“They were assigned the wrong levels of care … and we believe the treatment was provided, even though the individual providing the treatment lacked the qualifications to do so,” Morrisey said. “By engaging in these acts, we believe this individual was not qualified to render the services he did under the Medicaid law and the company did not take the steps to return the money and the company is liable.”

The claims totaled $78,889.92 while the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is seeking three times that amount in the lawsuit against the facility.

“When there are a lot of dollars available for sober living homes and other types of providers, we are going to make sure those dollars are going to be spent correctly and abuse is not occurring,” he said.

Lefebure thanked the Medicaid Fraud Unit for its investigation which resulted in the indictment. The trial in the case is currently set for January.

“This was a joint effort between my office, the Medicaid Fraud Unit and the Attorney General’s Office,” he said.

The Attorney General’s Office has received reports regarding different treatment facilities and there are a number of investigations going on statewide.

“In other situations we are collaborating with federal law enforcement agencies,” but he couldn’t elaborate on those other cases.

Morrisey reiterated many tips have come from the public across the state.

“If you see something, say something,” he said. “If you think there is something improper going on, let us know.”

Clean & Clear Advantage Recovery released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying they hired Marlowe in 2021.

“The agency was unaware that the qualifications this individual provided the agency with were fraudulent,” the statement said. “Mr. Marlowe exploited the challenges and disarray posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that we were a new facility, having only been in operation for six months at the time of his hiring.

“He deceived both the facility and his colleagues by providing false credentials and documentation, successfully convincing us all that he was fully qualified.”

From the moment the deception was uncovered, Clean & Clear has fully cooperated with the investigation, the statement said.

“Clean & Clear is a victim of Mr. Marlowe’s egregious fraud, who targeted the facility at a time of great difficulty for us and the entire country, and we are working diligently to support state authorities in holding him accountable,” the statement said. “We want to reassure our community that the quality and stability of our services remain uncompromised. Clean & Clear has been a trusted provider of recovery services for many years, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering the highest standards of care to the recovery community.”

Joyce said around 24% of the licensed treatment beds in West Virginia are in Parkersburg.

The mayor is the local representative for Region 3 of the West Virginia First Foundation, a nonprofit foundation tasked with distributing three-quarters of the state’s more than $1 billion in opioid settlement funds.

There are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent across the state and tens of millions being spent in Parkersburg on recovery programs, Joyce said. He can’t say right now if there is a lot of fraud, but he has heard “a lot of anecdotal stories.”

Over the last eight to 10 years with the Medicaid and Medicare money and state dollars spent on this issue, Joyce doesn’t think it is being handled in an efficient manner.

“We have seen some progress in certain measurables,” Joyce said, citing a report given to the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health over the summer. “Our workforce participation is still very low.”