Sept. 2024: This page has been archived, as readers were no longer using it. If you’d like to see this page come back, please let me know.
If you have a question about this project and would like to stay anonymous, feel free to ask me here. Questions that are related to the project (and appropriate) will be posted and answered on this page.
Jan. 10, 2023
Q:
What will happen once everything comes to light if what you are proving turns out to be true? I’m not doubting you. I’m just wondering why anything hasn’t been done sooner. What will happen to the people who are doing wrong, and what will happen to all the recovery residences?
A:
Based on what I’ve learned so far, it seems many of the issues presented have persisted due to lack of transparency and accountability in the industry. I don’t know what the outcome of this project will be, but I hope it will contribute to positive change. I realize and appreciate the value that ethically run recovery housing and treatment services can offer. I hope that bringing these issues to light will help encourage (and where needed, enforce) ethical practices that will better serve people seeking help. In regards to your question about what will happen to the people doing wrong – I believe this is not as much a problem of individuals as it is of a broken system that puts misplaced incentives and too much power in the hands of just a few people. If they face any consequences, I hope that will be considered and that they grow from the experience.
Jan. 12, 2023
Q:
(I’m testing to see if I can do it) and it’s anonymous?
A:
Yes, all questions on this page will be anonymous.
Jan. 20, 2023
Q:
So is this what you’re about? Having people comment on your blog about people’s family and personal life?
A:
Thank you for bringing this up. I want to allow free and open communication on the blog as much as possible, but you raise a valid issue. I’m disabling comments temporarily until I come up with a comment policy for the blog.
Jan. 22, 2023 update: A comment policy has been added.
Jan. 21, 2023
Q:
I know of a person that, just last week, took a friend to the Parham Rd office and paid $6,000 for him to be enrolled. After reading your entire blog on this subject, 6K seems to be excessive. Your opi?
A:
Without knowing exactly what the $6k is for, I don’t have an opinion on whether it’s excessive.
As a hypothetical – Let’s say the $6k is for a 28-day “intensive” program that includes bed fees, food, a day program, and transportation to select activities:
| Price: | $6,000 |
| VARR’s cost estimate: | ($1,640) |
| Profit: | $4,360 |
| Profit Margin: | 72% |
10% is considered an average net profit margin, and 20% is considered high.
Factors that may increase the profit further:
- Staff expenses paid for by DBHDS
- Kickbacks from Medicaid providers
- Free transportation provided by other participants
According to David Rook, True Recovery charges between $3,500 and $4,500 for the 28-day intensive program, with the $4,500 rate including add-on services such as detox.
I am interested to know more about this $6,000 fee. If you are comfortable, please reach out to me.
Jan. 22, 2023
Q:
When is the next segment going to be posted?
A:
I don’t have a date for Part III yet. I know it’s a very sensitive topic, so I’m trying to get a lot of outside feedback prior to posting.
Jan. 26, 2023
Q:
So clearly someone has put you up to this! You keep talking about how all these RCOs are making all this money. But, why are you not asking about McShin charging $9,800 and $22,000?
A:
Thank you for this bringing this up. I am familiar with the rumor that John Shinholser with McShin Foundation is behind this project. That is not the case. No one hired me to do this, asked me to do this, or “put me up to this.” I communicated the same to David Rook back in May 2022 when I first caught wind of the rumor. I stated this again to Anthony Grimes and Sarah Scarbrough when I requested an interview with them and again to Rook just before the first section was published (see below).
To reiterate what I stated to Rook, I have zero personal interest in any recovery organization. I am interested in shining a light on exploitative practices wherever they are occurring. With that said, I cannot publish information lightly. By the time a piece of information makes it onto the blog, I am highly confident in its accuracy, and all related parties have been given a chance to respond.
All are welcome and encouraged to submit information. In most cases, I will need to follow up with you to obtain the details needed for further investigation. Even if you have been named in my blog posts, I will honor your confidentiality should you choose to provide tips.
You asked why I have not been “asking about McShin charging $9,800 and $22,000.” I am unfamiliar with McShin’s service fees but would be interested to know what those fees are for. If McShin is charging $9,800 and $22,000 for a 28-day program that costs $1,640, that seems wildly excessive to me. My next question would be, where does the excess go?
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, McShin is obligated to use its resources to further its mission. McShin staff and board members should not be lining their pockets with excess funds. I do not currently have a reason to believe this is occurring at McShin. If I am wrong, I ask that people come forward with that information.
April 28, 2024
I respond to public comments sparingly – usually when I think the potential benefit to readers outweighs the natural risk of participating in the comment section of my own highly controversial articles. It’s an imperfect judgement call. At any rate, I’ve decided to address a comment written last night by an anonymous person.
On several posts throughout this series, commenters have asked people who challenge the accuracy of this project’s reporting to provide a specific example of a false statement. Last night, someone pointed to a specific piece of information that they say is an example of a “lie.”
The commenter referenced content from Part 6 of the series, which covered female residents’ testimonies of abusive conduct at Starfish Recovery & Wellness by Frank Bellanger, the owner and then-CEO. Toward the end of the article, I reported on former resident and employee Mary Seifert’s testimony that Bellanger touched her on the rear end – an offense for which he was charged with sexual battery and then found not guilty.
Starting with a direct quote from that section, the commenter wrote:
”With no witnesses, Seifert said the case rested entirely on her testimony. It isn’t surprising that a “he said, she said” case didn’t meet the high burden of proof needed for a criminal conviction.”
Four witnesses (aside from the accused and the accuser) testified in that case. Christa talked to the prosecutor, she knows that. She purposefully left it out to make it appear to be “he said/she said” when it reality it was “she lie/he truth”.
That’s just one easily provable LIE. I found that information online in less than 90 seconds. Anyone who did any due diligence at the time it was posted knows it was a lie.
And she told THAT lie so she could continue to throw around “abuse”, “sexual assault”, etc and have a picture of one specific operator at the bottom of every page. Why?
1. To drive traffic using the most salacious and outrageous allegations.
2. To destroy a specific operator’s reputation.
3. To destroy the competitors of one specific operator, (name and accusation against the operator redacted).
I’m positive that DISPROVEN LIE won’t be enough to prove this blog is packed with lies because the lynch mob has bought all of her BS hook, line, and sinker.
Smart people know Christa picks and chooses which comments to post and what to redact. And that those unpublished comments and redactions are not done to protect anything except the carefully constructed pile of crap she’s built. I guarantee she won’t publish this comment in full.
You guys can keep arguing with yourselves. The truth is the truth.
I’ve addressed the above comment in sections. My responses are italicized in blue.
““With no witnesses, Seifert said the case rested entirely on her testimony. It isn’t surprising that a “he said, she said” case didn’t meet the high burden of proof needed for a criminal conviction.””
Meaning: No one witnessed the alleged sexual battery with which Frank Bellanger was charged. The prosecution’s only evidence, according to Seifert, was her testimony – She said it happened. He said it didn’t happen.
“Four witnesses (aside from the accused and the accuser) testified in that case. Christa talked to the prosecutor, she knows that. She purposefully left it out to make it appear to be “he said/she said” when it reality it was “she lie/he truth”.”
According to court documents, the defense subpoenaed three witnesses, none of whom were present to witness the alleged crime. (In the previous quote, I used the term “witness” to describe a witness to the crime, not a character witness or any person called by the defense.)
According to Seifert, these individuals were called to challenge her credibility.
One was Frank Bellanger’s wife, Stephanie Bellanger. Another did not live at Starfish when the incident occurred. The third lived and worked at Starfish and was therefore dependent on the Bellangers for her livelihood.
I tried to speak with the prosecutor but was not granted the opportunity. As I reported in Part 6, she did not respond to my inquiry, despite having Seifert’s written consent to discuss the case with me. Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Collette McEachin provided general information about the court process and stated her office had “no way of knowing the specific basis for the court’s decision, other than that the court found that the Commonwealth’s evidence did not prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Those emails are below.
“That’s just one easily provable LIE. I found that information online in less than 90 seconds.”
Witness information is not published online.
“Anyone who did any due diligence at the time it was posted knows it was a lie.
And she told THAT lie so she could continue to throw around “abuse”, “sexual assault”, etc and have a picture of one specific operator at the bottom of every page. Why?
1. To drive traffic using the most salacious and outrageous allegations.
2. To destroy a specific operator’s reputation.”
Seifert’s testimony was just one of many examples that highlighted a pattern of abusive conduct and sexually inappropriate behavior by Frank Bellanger. As written, her testimony was the only evidence for the sexual battery charge, but it was just one piece of the story as a whole.
“3. To destroy the competitors of one specific operator, (name and accusation against the operator redacted).”
I previously addressed such allegations on this page (see Jan. 26, 2023). This is a recurring false narrative. I will continue to redact such comments.
“I’m positive that DISPROVEN LIE won’t be enough to prove this blog is packed with lies because the lynch mob has bought all of her BS hook, line, and sinker.
Smart people know Christa picks and chooses which comments to post and what to redact. And that those unpublished comments and redactions are not done to protect anything except the carefully constructed pile of crap she’s built. I guarantee she won’t publish this comment in full.
You guys can keep arguing with yourselves. The truth is the truth.”
Please see the site’s comment policy, which was announced in January 2023.
***
Before publishing any information about Starfish and the Bellangers, I requested interviews with them and made several attempts to reach them for comment via email, phone and social media.
After I published Part 4, Frank and Stephanie Bellanger sent me identical emails requesting that I cease all contact with them:
As with all people I’ve investigated for this series, I welcome Frank and Stephanie Bellanger to participate in an interview, answer questions and/or respond to the content I’ve published about them. If they choose to reach out, I will add their comments to the articles and post a notification of the update.
Additionally, I’m always happy to answer questions about this project. Anyone is welcome to contact me directly or submit a question anonymously on this page.
Do you know when you’re posting the next blog yet?
Hi, I don’t have a date yet for the next installment, but I will be posting an update within the next few days.