Boynton drug rehab CEO bought patients, prosecutors say

PBSO / Courtesy
Christopher Hutson appears in this 2016 Palm Beach County Jail booking photo. Hutson, 41, pleaded guilty in 2019 to six counts of patient brokering and was sentenced to five years in prison. Authorities say he failed to surrender in early 2020 to begin serving his punishment, and there is now a warrant out for his arrest.
Photo by Ryan Van Velzer, Sun Sentinel.
This was the entrance to Whole Life Recovery on South Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach on Oct. 25, 2016, after authorities announced the arrest of owner James Kigar.

PUBLISHED: August 1, 2021 at 9:53 a.m. | UPDATED: August 2, 2021 at 2:40 p.m.

Prosecutors say it is one of the most significant cases from a mission to target fraud among the region’s drug-addiction recovery businesses, a yearslong crackdown aimed at reducing overdose deaths.They’ve made 120 arrests so far in Palm Beach County, focusing on a crime called patient-brokering. Opioid fatalities dropped before surging again during the coronavirus pandemic, […]