State Finds No Wrongdoing by Clinic Accused of Fraud by County Officials

An Oregon Health Authority investigation has exonerated Wevolve, the Portland behavioral health clinic that was accused of fraud by Multnomah County officials.

An inspection of Wevolve’s Northeast Portland facility led to “no findings of non-compliance with applicable regulations,” according to a report dated July 1 and released by the Oregon Health Authority to WW today.

The county’s scrutiny of Wevolve began in May, after a client of a competing nonprofit, the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, said he’d been recruited by “African missionaries who he met outside the Rescue Mission” with offers of somewhere to sleep. That turned out to be the crowded living room floor of a Gresham house, he said.

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This alarmed NARA and Multnomah County officials, who sent out a “fraud alert” to a pair of email lists warning that Wevolve “may be preying on people in our community.” But the county hadn’t even completed its own investigation, and officials backpedaled and apologized after WW began asking questions.

That county investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing. And now, neither has the state’s.

That investigation, which included an in-person inspection and interviews with the facility’s owner and administrator, wrapped up late last month. Wevolve, the state says, did nothing wrong.

“[The Behavioral Health Division] concludes no findings of non-compliance with applicable regulations that govern the certification and operation of WEvolve Clinic LLC. The provider has demonstrated substantial compliance with these regulations. No further action is required at this time,” the report says.

The report does, however, recommend Wevolve update its website and reach out to other local clinics.