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Sober Homes Victim Identification

Sober Homes Initiative Victim Information

As a part of the Sober Homes Initiative, the United States Department of Justice is investigating and has pursued criminal charges against substance abuse treatment facility owners and patient recruiters/brokers in Southern California, pursuant to the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (“EKRA”). EKRA was enacted in October 2018 as part of comprehensive legislation designed to address the opioid crisis in order to target the rise in patient brokering and substance abuse facility profiteering.

This webpage is intended to provide the following services to potential victims of patient brokering in the Central District of California:

  1. Currently charged cases are listed to provide victims and potential victims information about current trial dates and case statuses.
  2. Victims and potential victims can use the web form below to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office and request additional information or assistance under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
  3. Victims and members of the public can use the web form to report and provide law enforcement with information relating to patient brokering in Southern California.

Pending Cases

United States v. Casey Mahoney, 8:21-CR-183-JLS
On September 11, 2024, Casey Mahoney, the owner of Healing Path and Get Real, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to solicit, receive, pay, or offer illegal remunerations for patient referrals, seven counts of illegal remunerations for patient referrals, and three counts of money laundering. Mahoney is scheduled to be sentenced on January 24, 2025.

United States v. Dorian Ballough, 8:21-CR-136-JLS
On August 6, 2021, patient broker Dorian Ballough pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit, receive, pay or offer illegal remunerations for patient referrals, and one count of illegal remuneration for patient referrals. Ballough is scheduled to be sentenced on January 24, 2025.

United States v. Darius Moore, 8:21-CR-79-JLS
On November 24, 2021, patient broker Darius Moore pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to pay or receive illegal remunerations for patient referrals to clinical treatment facilities, and one count of soliciting or receiving illegal remunerations for patient referrals. Moore is currently scheduled to be sentenced on March 21, 2024.

United States v. Scott Raffa, 8:24-CR-47-FWS
On April 10, 2024, Scott Raffa, who controlled Partners Project Inc, doing business as “Sober Partners,” was indicted and is charged with twelve counts of illegal remunerations for patient referrals. His trial is currently set for February 4, 2025.

United States v. Luis Guerrero, 8:24-CR-JLS
On May 22, 2024, Luis Guerrero, a patient-intake coordinator at a facility in Orange County was indicted and is charged with one count of conspiracy to solicit, receive, pay, or offer illegal remunerations for patient referrals and three counts of illegal remunerations for patient referrals.  His trial is currently set for April 22, 2025.

If you believe that you were a victim of patient brokering at any of the facilities listed above or by any of the individuals listed above, you may be entitled to certain rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771, including the right to confer with the government concerning this case, or submit a statement at sentencing. Please understand that these rights apply only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus you may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which you are a victim was not charged.

If you believe you are a victim in any of the above listed cases, or were otherwise the victim of patient brokering involving the above defendants, please fill out the form below or contact the email address USACAC.SoberHomesVictims@usdoj.gov. This will allow you to provide other information regarding your case, including the patient broker that referred you to and the facilities you attended.

You may also contact the Victim/Witness Coordinator at the office listed above if you have questions about the progress of your case, your rights or the services to which you are entitled, or how you can assert them during the proceedings. If you want to inform the prosecutor of your views regarding plea agreements, or any other aspect of the case, please contact us and we will put you in touch with the prosecutor.

Because of the Court’s schedule, hearing dates could change on very short notice. If you plan on attending a hearing, you may want to call or email our office to confirm the date and time.

Submit Information / Request Assistance

Please fill out the form below if you would like to report your status as a potential victim of patient brokering or to request additional information about any of the above listed cases.



Please check any facilities or patient brokers you have dealt with (you can select more than one):
Facilities


Brokers
Would you like to be provided with additional information related to these cases including upcoming court dates and case developments?
Would you like someone to contact you to discuss your experience with these facilities or brokers?

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT

The authority by which information is collected on this website form is 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 (“CVRA”)).  Your disclosure of information on this form to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California (“USAO”)  is voluntary.  If you do not complete all or some information fields in this form, however, the USAO may not be able to effectively respond to your feedback.

The principal purpose for collecting and maintaining the information on this website form is to collect, control, track, respond to, and maintain correspondence that is received, originated or referred to the USAO regarding potential victims of crimes so that the USAO can provide information related to rights afforded under the CVRA and information related to cases, prosecutions, and investigations as required by the CVRA.  Information is also maintained for purposes of making a determination concerning the possible referral of certain allegations to law enforcement for additional investigation.  The USAO will safeguard any personal information against authorized disclosure.

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted by the Privacy Act, all or a portion of this information may be disclosed as a routine use, which include, but are not limited to, disclosures to any civil or criminal law enforcement authority or other appropriate agency where a record, either alone or in conjunction with other information indicates a violation or potential violation of law; to contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for the Federal government, when necessary to accomplish an agency function related to the corresponding system of records; to any person or entity that the USAO has reason to believe possesses information regarding a matter within the jurisdiction of the USAO, to the extent deemed to be necessary by the USAO, in order to elicit such information or cooperation from the recipient for use in the performance of an authorized activity; or to such recipients and under such circumstances and procedures as are mandated by federal statute or treaty. 

Updated May 6, 2025