Complaint Review: MASTERMIND CARE

Mastermind Care INC. located at 441 S State Rd 7 Ste 15, Margate, FL, 33068, phone 877-357-3422, website mastermindcare.com, ripped us off for $15,000. They promised a 30 day/night treatment of excellent Dual Diagnostic Care and community housing for our adult daughter who suffers from Bipolar I mania. They knew all her problems, medications, and allergies prior to arrival from Georgia to Florida. Mrs. Jeannie Barreda is the CEO, and her spouse Joaquin Barreda is the Business Manager.

Our daughter arrived on the afternoon of July 15, 2021, and was taken directly to their housing, which I later found to be horrible. Our daughter described it as bug infested, out of date, and unsafe. It’s located at 807 NW 2nd St, Ft Lauderdale 33311. Mr. Barreda used this facility before as Live Sober Now housing before being found guilty of patient brokering and insurance fraud in 2017. 

Here is Mr. Barreda at the same residence located at 807 NW 2^nd ST, Ft Lauderdale 33311, when he was calling it Live Sober Now

Picture of Joaquin Barreda in front of residence previously and currently used

The area surrounding the residence looks commercial. There is graffiti, used car lots, mechanic shops and storage units. Here are some photos from the area that was supposed to be nice according to Mrs. Barreda. It’s just within a few blocks of the residence. The crime rate in the area is  also high. One Mastermind Care employee told our daughter she was on the wrong side of the tracks. The staff let our daughter go for a run at night in this area because they felt she needed to run off some energy. They followed her in a van and picked her up later near the hearses pictured below.

One block from residence

blocks from residence

blocks from residence

Crime stats for the area above property:

My wife had previously asked Jeannie Barreda for a picture of what the facility looked like. We wanted to make sure the facility was up to date and in a safe location. This is the picture Jeannie Barreda texted her. 

Picture Mrs. Barreda sent of facility above

July 20^th Mastermind Care TRANSFERRED our daughter to a psychiatric hospital for a severe psychotic break because she was refusing her medication. Then Mastermind Care discharged her on July 23rd, although she did not arrive back at their facility from the hospital until late in the day July 27^th. Then on the morning of July 28th Mastermind Care coerced our daughter to sign the discharge papers, saying she could sign and be TRANSFERRED to another facility or be put out on the street without a cell phone, money, transportation or family nearby. She was not allowed to speak to us or her husband and then she was TRANSFERRED to Purpose Recovery and Addiction on Merritt Island, FL two hours away. This is important because we disputed the charge with COSTCO CITI VISA and Mastermind Care said our daughter committed a serious rule violation while in their care, which is why they were not refunding the money. She was in the care of University Hospital, not Mastermind Care. Why I bring this up is because of a statement in the documentation they had our daughter sign: If the Client is transferred for therapeutic or medical reasons, any monies paid by or on behalf of the Client will be refunded at a lesser rate of our full per diem rate for each day. I think having a psychotic break and being TRANSFERRED qualifies for a refund.

Another scam they use is they say our daughter was offered a $15,000 scholarship and her total costs for the few days of stay was $16,000. REALLY? Ok, where did the other $14,000 go?

In my research I found Joaquin Barreda, Business Manager and Spouse to Jeannie Barreda the CEO of Mastermind Care is a felon on probation until 2027 for healthcare patient brokering.

This is what I found on Joaquin Barreda and there is more. All you must do is search the Broward County clerk of court records case search records with Joaquin Barreda to see the multiple charges against him over the years.

JOAQUIN ALEXANDER BARREDA ARRESTED

 September 6th, 2017  by Crime Informer

Joaquin Alexander Barreda was booked on Wednesday September 6th, 2017 by Broward Sheriff's Office Police Department and was booked into the Broward County Jail system in or around Fort Lauderdale, FL.  https://crimeinformer.com/State/Florida/County/Broward

Joaquin Barreda

The male, with a recorded date of birth of (((REDACTED)))1978 was arrested for suspicion of the crimes listed below:

1. 624.442-Fraud - Illegal Sale of Insurance
2. 624.442-Fraud - Illegal Sale of Insurance
3. 624.442-Fraud - Illegal Sale of Insurance
4. 817.505-4-FRAUD - VIOLATE PATIENT BROKERING LAW
5. 817.505-4-FRAUD - VIOLATE PATIENT BROKERING LAW
6. 934.215-USE 2-WAY COMM DEVICE TO FACILITATE FELONY

Bail has been set to $6000 for Barreda which is listed as a 5 foot 9 inch white male weighing approximately 190 pounds.

Joaquin Alexander Barreda was arrested in Broward County Florida.

A news article states the following about the arrest of Joaquin Barreda.

5 South Florida attorneys, 5 others arrested in alleged patient-brokering scheme

Investigators say group profited more than $521,000

Those arrested for patient brokering and fraud.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Five South Florida attorneys and five of their accomplices were arrested earlier this month in an alleged patient-brokering scheme that earned them more than a half-million dollars in profits.

Detectives from the Broward Sheriff's Office and Fort Lauderdale Police Department began investigating in May 2015, with the help of state and federal authorities.

The investigation revealed that several personal injury attorneys were paying people to unlawfully solicit unsuspecting vehicle accident victims to make insurance claims for damages or personal injury benefits.

Investigators said the attorneys paid the solicitors on a per-client basis and then referred the accident victims to a health care facility in exchange for cash kickbacks of $1,500 to $2,500 per patient.

Authorities said the group received kickbacks totaling more than $521,000 from May 2015 to December 2016.

The attorneys were identified as Adam Hurtig, 46, of Fort Lauderdale, Alexander Kapetan, 44, of Lighthouse Point, Vincent Pravato, 48, of Davie, Steven Slootsky, 57, of Boca Raton, and Mark Spatz, 58, of Davie. The solicitors were identified as Joaquin Barreda, 39, of Plantation, Mark Eskin, 62, of Boca Raton, Richard Kist, 36, of Jupiter, Elvira Perchitti, 53, and James Perchitti, 61, both of Port St. Lucie.

Each suspect faces numerous charges, including organized fraud, criminal solicitation and patient brokering.

News article on those arrested

Then on August 3rd, our daughter was once again committed to a psychiatric hospital, where she stayed until the end of August. Our experience with Mastermind Care Inc was horrible. They did not refund our money. They did not provide our adult daughter help except to put her in a mental hospital twice. We paid all the additional bills. We feel Mastermind Care is up to something shady. MASTERMIND CARE is a total rip-off and should be avoided.

We feel we are owed a refund, but COSTCO CITI VISA won’t help in the dispute. I also found Mr. Barreda has this facility licensed in such a way it’s hard to get one Florida healthcare oversight agency to help. Even Margate Police Department told me this was a scam and not fraud so they could not help us.