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Drug rehab fraud in Michigan Originally posted June 24, 2018; updated August 4, 2021
Per Wickstom (Per is pronounced like "pair" - it's Norwegian) is a Michigan businessman who has apparently done very well. In October 2016, he and his wife paid $6.875 million for home on Tampa Bay in Florida. According to the Tampa Bay Times, it was the most paid for a single family Tampa Bay area home since 2013. More photos here.
According to a March 22, 2017 story by Traverse City blogger Anita Senkowski, Wickstrom also owns residences in Pennfied Township in Calhoun County and on Torch Lake in Antrim County. Here is the Pennfield Township home, under construction:
According to a July 2021 story on Newstalk WBCK, the Pennfield Township home is now for sale, asking price $6.5 million. More here.
Finally, he owns another Florida home in Clearwater, about 10 miles from the one on Tampa Bay. According to this site, it is valued at $1.4 million. Clearwater is the spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology.
Wickstrom is the owner of 4 drug rehabilitation facilities in Michigan. In recent years, the drug rehabilitation industry has come under scrutiny for its huge profits and questionable outcomes. As comedian/addict Artie Lange says, "If Pablo Escobar were alive today, he’d be running a rehab. It’s such a corrupt industry."
Per Wickstrom - photo from http://truthaboutperwickstrom.com/biography/
Wickstrom's drug rehab operation is a scam. Clients are duped into large, non-refundable initial payments. They are asked to grant power of attorney and to change their address so that insurance payments go directly to the company. Given the opportunity, the company collects payment from both the client and the insurance for the same services.
Instead of real treatment, clients are subjected to Scientology classes and drills. There is little or no medical supervision. Counselors are former addicts less than two years sober. Clients are treated like prisoners; their phones, money and personal belongings are taken away and calls to family are allowed only by speaker phone with a staff member standing by ready to cut off the call. The facilities are run-down and dirty, the food is scanty and unappetizing. If the client rebels, he/she is dumped off at a homeless shelter. Wickstrom prefers clients from out of state so it is difficult for their family to come to their rescue.
How does Wickstom get away with it? Don't people check out these places beforehand?
They do, but many of the online referral sites are either owned by (see this story by Anita Senkowski) or paid a referral fee by Wickstrom, and when the addict or his family calls the recommended facility, they are led to believe it is a wonderful place with an assortment of treatment plans tailored to the individual and a high success rate. They are offered discounts and free plane fare if they act quickly.
Clients and their families do complain after they get out. Dozens of formal complaints have been filed with Michigan's attorney general going back as far as 2011 (read them here and on the Narconon Reviews website). Complaints have been posted on the site Ripoff Report (read 40 of them here). Bad reviews are posted on rehabreviews.com and other sites, but they are buried under long, rapturously-positive reviews posted by Wickstrom employees and contractors.
One of the complaints submitted to the attorney general in 2012 contains an extraordinary amount of first-hand detail. You can read it here.
You can submit a complaint to the Attorney General here.
Why former Attorney General Bill Schuette did not act is unknown. Maybe state law governing substance abuse treatment centers is inadequate (see Administrative Rules here). Maybe it is because the Bureau of Health Care Services in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is in charge of licensing rehab facilities (see reports). But this is not merely a matter of bending a few rules; this is criminal fraud.
Maybe it is because Per Wickstrom is a big contributor to Republican politicians at both the state and federal level (see contributions here). Wickstrom and Schuette are both big fans of President Trump; Wickstrom contributed $100,000 to the Trump Inauguration Committee. I wrote a letter to new Attorney General Dana Nessel and got this response.
For Per Wickstrom's own telling of his story, visit these sites: I knew nothing of Per Wickstrom's drug rehab fraud until I saw that story in the Tampa Bay Times about his $6.875 million home on Tampa Bay and did a little research, resulting in a February 20, 2017 story. Others have been watching him for years: If you have not already done so, I urge you to read some of the Ripoff Report stories to see how awful and deceitful these Wickstrom rehabs are. A good example is this one, written by a nurse practitioner about the experience of her nephew's family.
Links to further information: Signs of trouble
There are signs that Wickstrom's success is waning. After numerous incidents in which the Ottawa County Sheriff was called, his Serenity Point Recovery facility in Marne closed after less than 3 years, in the summer of 2018. He put it up for sale with a last known asking price of $2.9 million. It was sold in July 2020 for an unknown amount. Wickstrom bought it for $6.5 million.
In July 2019, four of Wickstrom's rehab centers sued Blue Cross Blue Shield for $40 million alleging low payments and wrongfully denied claims.
In late 2019, the IRS placed tax liens totaling over $3 million against his properties, one for the 2014 and 2017 tax years and one for the 2018 tax year. Also, he filed for divorce.
Finally, he is selling that beautiful home on Tampa Bay - the one he paid $6.875 million for. He originally asked $9.1 million, but has dropped the price to $8,750,000. The Clearwater home is also for sale with an asking price of $1,350,000.
Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com, or call or text me at 517-505-2696. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.
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