Turning now to a look at reforming New Jersey's addiction recovery and rehab industry.

Two bills were signed into law today by acting governor Tahisha Way aiming to end illegal marketing practices as well as body brokering, a disturbing practice where recovery coaches would get kickbacks for referring patients to certain centers.

These fraudulent acts were all detailed in a 2024 report from the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation.

Ted Goldberg spoke with patients and family members who have all been targets of these crimes and what happens next as part of our Under the Dome series.

If a law is going to affect a group of people, they should be involved in creating that law.

And that's why I think this one is extreme.

These two bills are very strong.

Acting Governor Tahisha Way signed two bills today targeting bad actors in addiction recovery.

The bills increase penalties for deceptive marketing and body brokering, a practice where people are paid to refer patients to specific rehab centers.

Alyssa Tierney says this happened to her.

It's gone so far as to people will pay you to relapse and then you go back to treatment and they'll give you a cut of the money that they're making.

The whole point is to get these people out of the cycle of addiction.

And, you know, and I heard the reports myself that a lot of these facilities, that's not their main goal.

And that's the problem.

Nicole DiMaria lost her sister, Georgine, a former Miss New Jersey, to addiction about four years ago.

She's referring to reports written by New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, which found evidence of fraud and ethical misconduct in the state's addiction rehab industry.

These are the most vulnerable patients, but they're also the most desperate.

And it's and it's not just the patient.

It's also the family.

People are in crisis mode at this time.

So they just want to get their loved ones into a treatment center.

So they're not really thinking, oh, they're going to Florida.

Tierney says her private insurance made her a prime target.

I have been sent out of state to Florida numerous times.

I had great private insurance and there were times where detoxes were sending me to a treatment center I've never heard of.

And when I asked to go to a different treatment center, they punished me basically.

They called my parents.

They told them I was manipulating them.

These bills passed through the statehouse without a single no vote, with one senator not present for the votes.

While Tierney was happy about that, she's also interested to see how the bills are enforced going forward.

Any law is only as good as its implementation.

So if these bills are implemented, it will be leading the way for body brokering in the country.

These bills bump up body brokering from a fourth degree crime to a third degree crime, the equivalent of a more serious felony and implement a $50,000 fine.

Advocate Elizabeth Burke Beattie says more laws may need to be written if bad actors find loopholes in these laws.

Wherever there is money to be had and money to be made.

And we know that the opioid crisis has has really created more funding, which thank goodness it has.

However, we need to be careful that the people who are trying to secure those funds are doing it for the right reasons.

Any focus on this industry I really appreciate and it's welcome.

Anything we can do to make it more transparent, to have accountability in the industry.

The bills also require restitution to be paid to patients and insurers that are affected.

State data shows more than 44,000 people were admitted for substance abuse treatment in New Jersey in 2023.

And these bills aim to protect these kind of patients going forward.

In Trenton, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

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