State Attorney Dave Aronberg announces that Jennifer Swanson pleaded guilty this week to one count of racketeering, three counts of manslaughter, and 12 counts of patient brokering – felonies committed while the defendant operated a Loxahatchee addiction treatment facility and affiliated sober homes.

This is the latest victory for the Palm Beach County Sober Homes Task Force, which has successfully targeted and eliminated widespread fraud and abuse in the drug treatment and sober homes industries within Palm Beach County. The crackdown has resulted in 120 arrests since October 2016, with 107 convictions to date.  Based on complaints that Swanson and a co-owner gave illegal kickbacks and free housing to patients – including three men who died from drug overdoses – the Task Force began an investigation in late 2017.

Swanson and co-defendant Bradley Gaver were arrested in February 2020 on charges stemming from the investigation. They were the first drug treatment providers charged in the death of someone under their care in Florida, based on their “reckless disregard” for the victims’ well-being.

The terms of Swanson’s plea include five years in prison followed by five years of probation, and an order to pay $15,193 in investigative costs to the State Attorney’s Office. Co-defendant Gaver last year pleaded guilty to nine felonies, including the manslaughter counts, and was sentenced to two years in prison.

“These individuals exploited people in drug recovery for their own financial gain, leading to three tragic deaths of people under their care,” Aronberg said. “The Sober Homes Task Force will continue to investigate, arrest and prosecute bad actors in the drug treatment industry. We are not done.”