We can all name several categories of people we consider to be the scum of the earth. Surely those who scheme to defraud substance abusers attempting to beat their addictions belong high on most lists.
Effective addiction recovery treatment can be quite costly. For many families, getting help for loved ones is a major strain on household budgets. Yet they do it, in the hope of getting back sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and others they hold dear.
Imagine the heartbreak and anger of learning you have paid someone a substantial amount of money for fake solutions to the personal crisis of addiction.
It happens. A certain category of people thrive upon the pain of others. They craft scams that offer hope or, perhaps, recovery entirely, to profit from pain.
Obviously, law enforcement officials should make identifying and punishing such scum a top priority. Not only are they defrauding people, they also are aggravating the cycle of addiction.
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., wants to give state and federal authorities more tools to stop addiction recovery fraud. She and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., have authored a bill giving the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general more power to prevent such scams.
It ought to be enacted immediately.
“It’s hard to believe that there are individuals and organizations out there contributing to the opioid epidemic by taking advantage of men and women seeking help for an addiction,” Capito noted.
Believe it.
Then crack down on the scum.