"what would you do?" will be back here next week but you can connect with us any time. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. that's our program for tonight but don't go anywhere, "20/20" starts right now. >> reporter: tonight, on "20/20" -- >> she said, "but, mom, i'm so close. i really wanna finish my recovery, but i don't feel safe there now." >> reporter: beautiful women, looking for help, after being destroyed by drugs and alcohol. but they say this man, owner of a string of rehabs, sabotaged their getting clean. >> this is where he took you to get high for three days? >> yes. >> reporter: branded the "rehab mogul," he's unconventional. making millions while helping his clients battle addiction. >> it saved my life, and it's saved a lot of people's lives.

>> reporter: but now, he's battling a string of lawsuits. >> there are multiple women saying that you got them high when they were in treatment, the very person who was supposed to be protecting them. >> i deny this completely. >> reporter: and it's not just drug accusations. >> it was meth! the car was full of drugs. >> reporter: but repeated claims of sexual misconduct -- >> he was getting even more sexually aggressive with me. >> it makes a mockery out of trying to get sober. it has to stop. >> reporter: tonight, "20/20" investigates what she says was a drug-fueled marathon in a motel. >> so you guys are sure this was the guy who o.d.'d. >> reporter: where they say he overdosed. >> do you deny? >> i do. >> you are either telling the truth or you are a spectacular liar. >> reporter: rehab mogul. good evening, i'm elizabeth vargas. >> and i'm david muir. women say a controversial rehab founder, owner of 25 facilities.

used drugs and the secrets they revealed in therapy to then prey on them. >> and recovery is big business these days. there are some 14,000 treatment facilities in the country right now, bringing in $35 billion a year. many of them and their staffs are doing wonderful, important work. but these women say the man, the very man who should have been helping them derailed their recovery. he says they're lying. matt gutman has the story. >> head shots. how beautiful. >> reporter: they're a mother and daughter duo you might mistake for sisters. amanda jester and her mother, thayer, are best friends. >> amanda is a remarkable young lady. she's creative, expressive, beautiful, smart, and an addict. >> reporr: how does that last adjective inform who she is? >> it changes who she is

completely. >> reporter: amanda is 29 years old and an alcoholic who has also struggled with drugs. growing up in seattle, she was the adored only child of mother thayer. there were easter egg hunts and pinata parties, hikes on the rugged trails of washington. even mother-daughter dress-up as dorothy and glenda the good witch. but like those characters, they soon found themselves in a strange and foreign land embarking on a journey. one they wished they never had to take. when amanda was 16, she began drinking heavily. addiction has been destroying amanda's life, and she knows it. >> when i drink, my life goes downhill very fast. >> she becomes angry, and defiant and obnoxious. >> reporter: what is it like being the mother of an alcoholic? >> it's terrifying. i tried tough love, hard love,

soft love, up-down love. >> reporter: thayer learned that addiction is one ailment love can't cure. and so last year, when amanda hit rock bottom, desperate to get sober, amanda reached out to a friend. >> i just got to that miserable, miserable place. i asked him, "do you know where i can go? do you know, like, a solution?" >> reporter: and he recommended crla? >> he did. >> reporter: crla, or community recovery of los angeles. community recovery is a constellation of over two dozen sober living houses and outpatient clinics in california and colorado. amanda would be treated at a lux villa in malibu. here are images from their self-produced documentary called "loaded." >> private chefs, pool, malibu. really cool self-care groups, co-dependency groups. >> reporter: also individualized therapy, yoga and excursions. all of which doesn't come cheap.

according to its website, a stay typically costs about $40,000 for 90 days. but not for amanda. she says she was offered a virtually free ride, via a scholarship. >> it sounded like a dream come true. it sounded like an answered prayer. >> reporter: this is the man offering the miracle. he's the founder of community recovery, chris bathum. he's an eccentric rehab entrepreneur with some unconventional hobbies, like knife throwing and blow darts. >> there we go. i don't shoot anyone except maybe once. >> reporter: he gave us a tour of his flagship facility. >> this is kind of the middle of the community where people eat, where they hang out. >> reporter: 25 acres in the malibu hills. >> it's a nice place. >> reporter: inside, there's a fire pit. outside, some unique features. a lagoon, an enormous yurt.

even a sweat lodge, for meditation sessions. >> it gets pretty hot inside. >> reporter: he introduced us to clients who credit him and his program with a stunning transformations. >> it saved my life, and it's saved a lot of people's lives. >> i think that he genuinely cares. >> i mean it's just amazing. it's amazing what this place has done for me. >> reporter: and helping clients hasn't exactly hurt bathum's bottom line. community recovery's cashed in big in the booming, billion-dollar addiction business. billing insurance companies for services and treatments, allowing amanda and others on scholarship to attend at virtually no cost to them. in the last two years, community recovery's annual revenue has soared from $3 million to $30 million, according to bathum. what percentage of this business do you own? >> 70. >> reporter: 70. so when it's turning 20% to 30% profit on about $30 million, you're doing pretty well. >> yeah. i'm not complaining.

>> reporter: today, he lives with his wife and four children in this $3 million house in the santa monica mountains. and he's got two luxury teslas. it's a far cry from his start. bathum has no college degree. he says he spent years at the ashram depicted in the book "eat, pray, love." then he ran a pool cleaning business. and there's something else in his background. in 2002 he was convicted of mail and wire fraud for selling computers and exercise equipment on ebay and not delivering the goods. you were convicted of a felony, i think -- >> in fact, yeah -- i'm not proud of that. but i'm also not ashamed to talk about it. >> reporter: bathum says after serving house arrest and probation, he decided to turn his life around, getting certified as a hypnotherapist here at the hypnosis motivation institute. >> but i really wanted to do something bigger. >> reporter: he says he then decided to open a sober living house, followed a decade later by community recovery with a

focus on keeping clients in a supportive social network. some working in internships in the office and jobs on site, like this community recovery coffee shop that employs clients. >> i think we're doing well because we're building community, and it's something people need beyond their crisis of addiction. how's the t-shirt business going? >> great. >> reporter: bathum says they have almost 200 people sober every year. >> so many other places wanna punish you for your addiction whereas here, they just want to, like, help you. >> reporter: it's a community amanda jester's eager to join. and a few weeks into her treatment, her mother is thrilled. how did she seem to you? >> she seemed really good. she was really happy. >> it was great. i thought i was really making progress. >> reporter: you were getting better? >> i was getting better. >> reporter: like, really better. >> yeah, i felt great. i did. >> reporter: but amanda says her road to sobriety takes a terrifying turn. >> i was in a state of shock, i was appalled and instantly furious.

>> reporter: next, the explosive allegations that put the rehab mogul on the defensive. >> what do you want me to say about that? i deny it. >> reporter: you deny it? >> yeah, absolutely. >> reporter: and the girl who dressed up as dorothy says oz wasn't at all what it seemed. if he were sitting right here, what would you say to him? >> how dare you? how dare you? >> reporter: see what's next. what's it like to be in good hands? man, it's like pure power at your finger tips. like the power to earn allstate reward points, every time i drive. ...want my number? and cash back for driving safe. and the power to automatically find your car... i see you car! and i got the power to know who's coming and when if i break down. ...you must be gerry. hey... in means getting more from your car insurance with the all-powerful drivewise app. it's good to be in, good hands. ♪she could be my little frec♪me but miniaturer♪ ♪sleeping on the sofa ♪'till she tackles and i tickle her♪

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>> reporter: two months into amanda jester's stay at community recovery, an "l.a. weekly" cover story hits newsstands. it's an explosive report about owner chris bathum, and it lands like a bomb. >> the things that are alleged are all inaccurate. it's embarrassing as hell. >> reporter: written by reporter hillel aron, it dubs bathum a "rehab mogul" and raises troubling questions about his business practices, his background, and his behavior including details of a lawsuit from a former female client at an earlier rehab center who accused him of fraud and sexual battery. in the complaint, which was later settled without admitting wrongdoing, there are accusations that bathum made "offensive, unwelcome and humiliating" sexual advances towards her. from your reporting, should chris bathum be running a rehab? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: bathum denied any wrongdoing to "the l.a. weekly." his response to their article? a two-bird salute topped off

with a libel suit. but the "rehab mogul" moniker? that he embraced, selling t-shirts, even mugs at the coffee shop owned by community recovery. 15 bucks each? >> actually the t-shirts are gone. we have to print more. >> reporter: amanda's mother, thayer, says she attended a meeting for family members of clients in which bathum breezily dismissed the accusations. >> he just made light of it. he just said, "they're coming after me because i'm successful. i'm unconventional. i wanted to believe it. i had drank the kool-aid and i couldn't imagine that someone would take advantage of these people who are coming to seek help. >> reporter: amanda jester says when she first arrived at community recovery, she had very little contact with bathum. but then, amanda says, she got his attention when she broke one of the cardinal rules of the rehab -- no carnal relations between clients. >> i got exited for a relationship with a boy from the house.

>> reporter: exited meaning kicked out. but then after two days, she says bathum allowed her to return. >> i was really focused on improving because obviously i messed up. >> reporter: thayer says she's also hoping that this time will work out. she's supposed to leave town for a trip, and she wants to make sure her only child will be cared for during her absence. >> i went up to chris and said, "i'm gonna really miss my girl." and he assured me she was in really good hands. >> reporter: amanda says what happened next is so egregious, she's filed a lawsuit against bathum. she says he invites her into that makeshift sweat lodge covered in castoff blankets. what do you heat it with? >> the rocks are heated with water and they are poured on like a sauna. >> reporter: she says it's a regular guided meditation session and that there's a group of around eight people inside, with bathum leading the session. i was there. it's very small. >> it's very small. it's tight.

it's pitch black dark. you can't see anything. >> reporter: so it's intended to be a very spiritual experience? >> yes. >> reporter: but according to her story, the spirit that was conjured up inside was an evil one. >> he started to touch rub my leg up and down. i kinda went into panic mode, and i didn't know what to do. so i froze. >> reporter: in her lawsuit, amanda alleges bathum slipped his fingers into her vagina. and throughout, amanda says, because she was so afraid, she doesn't make a sound. why didn't you push him off? >> i did at first. it was kind of, like, inching away and uncomfortable. i didn't know really what to do. i felt stuck, i guess. i mean, he's the owner. >> reporter: she says she tells no one, and that three days later, a staff member tells her that a van was going to take her to meet chris bathum to do some shopping. she says she's dropped off at a local costco where bathum meets her and leads her to his waiting tesla. >> and he said, "let's go" and told me that he got a hotel room at the four seasons.

i just felt like i had to. i had no other choice. >> reporter: amanda says they go inside the hotel room. >> we sit down on the bed. and i asked him, "are you high?" and he said yes. and then i asked him, "are you on meth?" and he said yes. and i said, "listen, i have no intention of doing drugs. i'm happy being sober. i want to be sober." >> reporter: but according to hecomplaint, he had other plans. it says, bathum demanded that she take off her clothes. stuck his fingers in her vagina and insisted on performing oral sex on her before allowing her to leave the hotel room." >> i was disgusted. he smelled bad. he was gross. and i honestly wanted to push him off of my body. but i was stuck in this hotel room with this man who had control over my living situation.

i have no credit card, no money, no cell phone. i felt like i had no choice. >> reporter: amanda says when she returns to the house, she doesn't feel right. >> my head started being tingly. my eyes were dilated. >> reporter: she says she realizes she's high, and now she says she knows what happened. >> i did not do methamphetamine. he had it on his fingers. and injected it through molesting me. apparently you can get high that way. >> reporter: amanda says she is in shock and despair. and this time, she says, she goes directly to two staff members to tell them what happened. >> i was told to not tell anyone. >> reporter: but then amanda decides to tell her mother what she says happened to her in the sweat lodge and the hotel. what went through your mind? >> i was appalled and instantly furious. but what broke my heart the most

was she said, "but, mom, i'm so close. i really wanna finish my recovery but i just don't know if i can anymore 'cause i don't feel safe there now." >> reporter: we asked bathum about amanda's accusations. he says they are "completely untrue" and "bizarre." as for her accusation that he was high on meth. so the question to you is, do you use drugs? >> no. i don't. i mean, when you say drugs you have to define it. because it's so hard. you know, coffee is a drug for sure. >> reporter: do you use meth? >> i smoke cigars at times. i do not use meth. >> reporter: have you ever used meth? >> i have experimented with every drug probably known that's out there. because i think it's important to do that, a long time ago, and to know long-term effect for sure. and i used drugs in my youth at certain times. i'm not gonna get into a big thing more than that. >> reporter: next amanda's not alone. other accusers come forward with disturbing accusations. >> he came up to me and was like, "i would like to do some one-on-one work with you." >> reporter: they say bathum

derailed their sobriety, exploited their secrets. >> some of the stuff i hadn't shared with anyone my entire life. >> reporter: and lured them in at their most vulnerable. >> the guy who's supposed to make the place safe is saying, "i'll get you drugs." >> reporter: see what's next. the new chase freedom unlimited card earns you unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you buy. the cash back is unlimited and you can spend it on anything. like, whatever the next ad is selling. get the new chase freedom unlimited card.

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>> reporter: erika braukis and dana reardon share more than a stint at the drug treatment center community recovery. they, like amanda jester, are part of a lawsuit against chris bathum, accusing him of targeting them and then exploiting their addictions. >> he's been victimizing the people whore easy to victimize. drug addicts and alcoholics in recovery are easy targets.

>> reporter: their lawyer, alan schimmel, says bathum had a method he used to try to seduce certain clients. >> he's been really smart about how he operates and who he picks on, and how he gets away with it. >> reporter: both erika and dana came to community recovery hoping for something better. erika, a former model in los angeles, says she was a drug addict for a decade and that in her darkest hour, she was homeless. you'd blown through all the money you made during modeling? >> i had no money, no car, no phone, no job, no contact with my parents, or family. >> reporter: dana reardon says heroin also controlled her life, with a devastating impact on her family. >> i've just put them through absolute hell. and the drug was so powerful, i was willing to say good-bye to loved ones just to get that next fix. >> reporter: in dana's first months at community recovery, her mother, who asked that we

not show her face, to protect her business, says dana was thriving. >> she was sober. she was back to her old self. >> reporter: and you had christopher bathum to thank for that. >> yes. i thought this was like the miracle place. >> reporter: as part of her treatment, dana says she was in a sexual trauma group run by bathum, a man with no certification or training in therapy, in which clients share their most intimate secrets. >> i had shared about getting molested as a child. some of the stuff that i shared with him, i hadn't shared with anyone my entire life up until that point. >> reporter: god, it must have taken a lot to finally open up. >> yeah, because i felt comfortable there, and he sets it up that way. and afterwards, he thanked me for being courageous and sharing about it. then i started facebook messaging with him. that's how i would communicate with him. >> reporter: she provided us with these messages, in which she says he tells her, "you are loved here, girl." she responds, "it warms my heart

to feel loved." dana says that bathum quickly became a father figure to her. >> he would say that i was special. >> reporter: are you susceptible to compliments like that? >> very much so. and i think you need that when you are that beaten up and vulnerable and broken. i had no self-esteem. it just made me feel really, really, really good about myself, for the first time in a long time. >> reporter: just like dana, erika says she too attracted chris bathum's attention in a sexual trauma therapy group. >> and after the group i remember he came up to me and was like, "i would like to do some, you know, one-on-one work with you. some one-on-one therapy about some of the past issues you've had." and i remember looking at him and being like, this guy looks sketch." and so i turned him down. i said i think i'll be all right without that. >> reporter: she says bathum persisted, and that about a month into her stay at community recovery, he had a proposition. >> he offered me an internship. being his assistant. >> reporter: as an intern, she helped in the office, ran errands, and sometimes would

drive bathum to and from work in his tesla. and the perks? she says use of a company bmw, a mac laptop, and a new iphone. were you wondering, "why me?" i mean -- >> i didn't really have to, 'cause he made it very vocal that he thought i was special, and that he thought i was beautiful, that he liked doing all these things for me. >> reporter: erika says during their rides together, bathum would take on the role of a therapist. >> he really liked to try to get me to cry. >> reporter: did it help you? >> i don't think it was really effective in really doing anything but kind of just re-traumatizing me. >> reporter: one day, she says she told bathum she wanted to leave the rehab and get high. she says his response was one she never would have imagined. >> he told me that there was a way i could still get high and be loaded. he could pick me up in his tesla from the treatment center. and take me to his house, and we

could smoke meth there together. i would be allowed and sanctioned to do that just with him, and only that drug. >> reporter: she says the lure of the drugs was irresistible. so, the head of the treatment center is saying that you can smoke meth, but only with him? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: i mean, did that sound a little bit off to you? >> it sounded completely off. >> reporter: so, he picks you up in the car, takes you to his house. >> he sits at his desk and he brings out a huge tin that's completely full of giant shards of meth, and then we both got really, really high. or at least i did. >> reporter: you had to fight, i imagine, to stay sober for six months. this is not an easy thing. >> yeah. >> reporter: and so going back to using, that must have felt like an enormous defeat. >> i felt a lot of shame. >> reporter: within days, erika says, she was out of the program. >> and i started smoking meth every day again. and i got back into heroin, and i moved in with my dealer. i really self-destructed.

>> reporter: erika says bathum repeatedly reaches out to her, and eventually, she agrees to come back to the program. >> i was really strung out, so i agreed to go back. >> reporter: and she says, this time, the special treatment included spa treatment in one of the fanciest hotels in town, the four seasons near bathum's home. remember, that's the same place bathum allegedly took amanda. >> the only catch with getting to go to the spa was, i would come up to the hotel room and he would be in his underwear on the bed. and, you know, and i would tell him, i would be like, "this is really inappropriate. >> reporter: how would he explain being in his underwear? >> that he was comfortable like that. >> reporter: how many times does this happen? >> happened three times. and on the third time, he came over and he tried to put his hands on me. under the guise of, like, "i'm gonna give you a massage." and i was like, "i can't. i don't want you to touch me." he was getting even more, like, sexually aggressive with me.

>> reporter: bathum says erika's story is absurd. he says he didn't act as her therapist. that although the four seasons spa was sometimes used by clients, hotel rooms were not. and he says, "i never touched braukis inappropriately." as for dana, bathum says he quote, never heard her disclose anything about her past or trauma, calling that "utter nonsense." but dana, too, says that bathum did drugs with her, and tried to have sex with her. she says she and bathum and two other female clients were at this malibu motel, once a place reportedly frequented by james dean and marilyn monroe. but like the upholstery there, the glory had faded. dana says, for her, the promise of drugs is too much to resist. so this is the motel? >> yes, this is the motel. >> reporter: this is where he took you to get high for three days? >> yes. >> reporter: and had he gone to work? did he leave and come back? >> yes, he left and came back. >> reporter: and then he starts making these sexual advances on you guys? >> yeah. >> reporter: and how did that

materialize? >> before i knew it, both girls were half-naked on the bed. when he started to touch me. and i thought i could go through with it. then i realized that i couldn't and i told him to op. >> reporter: it just sounds so preposterous that the head of the treatment centers would take you here to get high and have sex, and -- >> i know. i still am having a hard time believing myself that this happened. >> reporter: bathum says her story is completely untrue. but dana says, the next stop for bathum after the motel room is the emergency room. >> his lips were purple. >> 9-1-1, what's your emergency? >> reporter: but bathum says he wasn't there. you did not pass out from heroin and one of your clients did not try to revive you? >> i did not. >> reporter: "20/20" investigates. see what's next. ♪

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>> reporter: it's the night of december 9th, 2015, inside room 14 of the malibu riviera motel. dana reardon says she's there with two other young females, all three supposedly in treatment with chris bathum's rehab center. she says it's the continuation of a marathon meth binge and that ironically bathum, himself, is running the show. so they're supposed to be in recovery, in a motel room with a director of the treatment center who's trying to get them sober. >> yes. >> reporter: dana, who is now suing bathum, says they then add heroin into the mix. and when that heroin goes in, she says for bathum, it's lights out. >> i said, "chris, are you okay? are you okay?" his eyes are rolling back in his head and he said, "yeah, yeah,

i'm fine." and i know the -- i've seen this before. and i said, "he's not okay. he isn't okay." he was gone. >> reporter: you think he was a dead man? >> he was -- yes, he was. we couldn't feel a pulse. like i said, his lips were purple. it was pretty terrifying. >> reporter: dana says that as the scene descends into chaos, she screams and pounds on bathum's chest. and a hotel employee shows up to help. >> 9-1-1, what's your emergency? >> wake up! >> yes, i think we have a -- >> yeah, i have an unresponsive, please, at -- at the malibu riviera. >> is he awake? >> i'm not quite sure at this point, but he is breathing. >> okay, we're en route to overdose. >> room 14? >> yes, sir, a 50-year-old male. >> reporter: the ambulance arrives and police records later note "od. christopher bathum, transported to santa monica hospital." and as for dana, she says she ran from the room. did you hear from him afterwards? >> yes.

he sent me a message saying, "so here's the deal." >> reporter: she says this is that facebook message, "the story is that i was at the motel to help another client. she od and they were there and saw me go with her to the hospital." >> so he was letting me know that if it was to come up, that's the story i would tell. >> reporter: she says he later sent these messages. "it turns out no one even say anything. close call though." now six months later, we ask bathum about that night. >> have you used meth or heroin recently? >> no. >> reporter: okay. so, i have a question. on december 9th, 2015 -- >> i know what you're asking about. and i haven't -- i can't respond to it because of the nature of the deal and because a client involved. >> reporter: i have to ask this question because it is incumbent on me to do so. it says here december 9th, 2015, fire department engine 71 -- >> totally familiar with the whole story. >> reporter: takes christopher bathum. male, 50, od'ed. took you to santa monica hospital.

do you not -- >> that's what it says. >> reporter: right, do you deny? >> i do. >> reporter: how do you deny it? i mean, they pick -- >> i'm not gonna -- i can't explain more. >> reporter: you did not do heroin that night? >> i did not. >> reporter: you did not pass out from heroin and -- and one of your clients did not try to revive you? >> i did not. you got to understand something. you're in a world of accusation. >> reporter: you understand why i understand that -- >> you got to -- you're in a world of accusation that's amazingly complex and has people saying things from -- all kinds of crazy things that come out in a trauma-filled world. i can tell you that there's certainly easy ways to explain that. and -- and that-- >> reporter: abstractly explain how it could be falsified? >> identity theft, which is already being investigated by the sheriff's department. you'll find my name in dozens of places and dozens of cites over southern california in that period of time, that i wasn't in, that someone was representing me. that's an obvious thing that the eriff's department has in their possession. >> reporter: dozens of places? >> yes. >> reporter: in which your identity has been used falsely? >> yes. this isn't exactly an unusual crime in this day and age, unfortunately. but it's one that could be easily verified, isn't it? >> reporter: it is a little bit

unusual when someone is transported to the hospital under an identity -- >> i agree. >> reporter: that's apparently been stolen. >> i agree. >> reporter: bathum also denied sending those facebook messages to dana about a coverup. still, why would she lie? >> there's so many different reasons a person falsely accuses. they do it to be at the center of things. they do it to take the shame off of themselves. >> reporter: to check bathum's claim, i called detective vic paladino of the l.a. sheriff's department. so did chris batham at any time file a complaint about identity theft on the night of december 9th? >> not to my knowledge, i don't have a case involving that so, if that did occur, nothing's come across my desk. >> reporter: he did say bathum filed a complaint, months later, about fraudulent use of his credit card, but also told us there's nothing in his file about that december night. bathum's reply, maybe the officer who took his complaint just wasn't listening. we then tracked down these people who say there's no mistake. maggie pederson managed the malibu riviera motel, and louis curson was the night manager.

maggie says she remembers checking bathum in. >> in order to use your credit card, it's our policy, everybody has to show, you know, a valid i.d. >> reporter: she wasn't around just before midnight, but curson was. he told us he heard the ruckus in room 14 from his office next door, ran in and threw water on a man's face, to try to revive him. >> i got on top of him to try to rouse him. >> reporter: but he says nothing worked, so he called 911. >> 911. what's your emergency? >> reporter: once paramedics arrive, louis says he started snapping photos. he says this is bathum loaded into the ambulance. meanwhile outside room 14, the police are searching a white tesla. this photo curson took of a license plate matches bathum's. inside the room, there's drug paraphenalia scattered about. and the spot, he says, where that man lay unconscious, still soaked from the water poured on him minutes earlier. >> as soon as they left, i went on the computer and searched the

name that was rented under the room. >> reporter: the room was rented under the name? >> chris bathum? yes. >> reporter: okay. i'm gonna show you a picture. who's this? >> that is the man that i was on top of, slapping, as chris bathum. >> reporter: when you say that you were on top of him, how close were you? how close was your face to his? >> about right there. >> reporter: this far apart? >> yes. >> reporter: like, a foot apart? >> yeah. >> reporter: and so you guys are sure that this is the guy who od'ed. >> yes. >> yes. >> he probably may have saved his life. >> yeah. >> hopefully. i'd like to think so. >> reporter: bathum denies being at the motel. he insists he was at work, then spent the night at home with his family, and says family and employees can confirm that. >> i deny categorically that -- that -- that happened. >> reporter: next. could the wife of this hollywood actor derail bathum's multimillion-dollar business? >> i was also told that i might want to think twice before blowing the whistle because this company is really big, and i'm just me.

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>> reporter: rose stahl and her actor husband, nick stahl, came to hollywood from texas. he was hungering for fame and fortune. >> i have to live! >> reporter: that's nick in "terminator 3." a former child actor, he seemed on his way to the big time. but rose would discover that he had a hunger of a different kind, one that would strain their marriage. >> nick staals had has checked into rehab. >> reporter: nick sought treatment at several rehabs including community recovery. and rose, who says she was an alcoholic, also longed for a sober community. and says bathum became a kind of guru for her. >> chris is really smart. he reads people very well. deeply caring. >> reporter: she says bathum eventually hired her as his personal assistant. >> i ran errands for him, i kept

his calendar. >> reporter: then last year, a turning point. she says bathum, who she loved and trusted, was acting irrationally. >> i just looked at him and i was like, "he's high. he's -- he's high." >> reporter: weeks later, while alone charging bathum's tesla, rose says in a lawsuit that she realized the car had what appeared to be drugs all over, including inside a candy tin. >> i found that tin, and it was meth. there was meth in it. it really was meth. >> reporter: rose says she was stunned and says these are the photos she took to document her find. >> the car was full of drugs. it was everywhere. there was a torch, which is used to smoke meth, in the glove compartment. >> reporter: she says she immediately reported it to other staff members. >> it was also really hard to believe that this is -- this guy is bad. that he's this bad. >> reporter: there is an

allegation by rose stahl. that she found a significant quantity of methamphetamine in your car. >> she'd definitely lying if she's saying that she found methamphetamine in my car. she's definitely lying, as though it was mine. >> reporter: so it could be someone else's methamphetamine in your car? >> i have no idea. i can't speculate on that. >> reporter: but rose says she was now angry that bathum wasn't forced out of the company. >> i stormed out and i screamed something at the -- you know? if you're not gonna hold him accountable, i'll hold him by myself. >> reporter: eventually, rose was fired. and she sued for wrongful termination. >> i was also told that i might want to think twice before blowing the whistle because this company is really big and i'm just me. >> reporter: unbowed, rose has now filed complaints and given detailed statements to authorities about potential wrongdoing. meanwhile, insurer blue shield was also digging in. and in a report, their investigator alleging potential fraud and multiple instances

where medical records have not supported the services billed. >> the investigator did very little research. he talked to two people. it's blatantly false in many places. the time i think blue shield owed us between $8 and $10 million. and i think that, you know, there's a lot of interest in writing a reports that's going to allow them not to pay that. >> reporter: in a ten-page rebuttal, community recovery admitted some billing mistakes but defended their practices, calling the investigator biased and ignorant. yet blue shield told us it stands by its report. and now law enforcement is taking notice. both the fbi and the los angeles d.a. have confirmed to us that they are investigating you. >> that's the first time i've ever heard that. there's been no attempts at contact and no way that we could even find that out. if that's true, and i'm not taking it as true because you're saying it. if that's true, that's the first we've heard of it. >> reporter: well, it is true. take a look at these e-mails to

"20/20" from the d.a.'s health care insurance fraud division and fbi confirming their investigation. >> these are just therapy rooms. >> reporter: in the end, after spending hours with chris bathum, he still remained an enigma. i'm thinking to myself that you are either telling the truth or you are a spectacular liar. >> i don't care what you think about this. it's not as important to me as telling the truth for the camera and letting people know where i'm coming from. you know, spectacular liar? i don't know what that is. but thank you if that's a compliment. i don't think it is. and i'm not sure why you're saying it. you know, what's your intention here except to portray me as somebody other than i am. >> reporter: next, a courtroom battle brews, as the rehab mogul strikes back against his accusers with charges of his own. for all intents and purposes, it's your word, a former addict, against his. >> yeah.

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this father's day, get dad the tools he needs. >> reporter: for dana reardon and erika braukis, leaving community recovery was a reluctant step. they say taken simply to get away from chris bathum. >> i had to walk away from all this and lose my whole support system because i couldn't be around him anymore. i couldn't stand to even hear his voice anymore. >> reporter: the next step after leaving was speaking out. erika says the catalyst for her was meeting other women who claim they had similar experiences with bathum. >> he has to be stopped. that's the mantra of my clients. >> reporter: there are now six women who have filed lawsuits against him, with similar allegations, including drug use and improper sexual advances. there are multiple women saying that you got them high when they

were in treatment, the very person who was supposed to be protecting them. >> i deny this completely. >> reporter: so all of them. but don't you think that it is a bit odd that there are so many women coming out of the woodwork? >> it is odd. i agree. and it's uncomfortable and it's embarrassing. and it hurts. but i just have to tell you what i'm gonna tell you. i'm gonna tell you the truth about this and move forward with it. >> reporter: bathum is countersuing erika, dana and amanda for defamation, saying they've made false allegations against him after they were "caught using drugs" and engaging in other inappropriate behavior. he's also contesting rose stahl's lawsuit and countersuing her for defamation. >> we're gonna fight these to the end, to the bitter end. if we have to take these to a jury, we'll take these to a jury. >> reporter: he promises specific statements from witnesses that he says will contradict the women's claims. for all intents and purposes it's your word, a former addict, against his. >> yeah. >> reporter: why should people believe you? >> this isn't about having people believe me. it's more just being able to

tell my story, and if there's other girls out there who this happened to, just let them know that, like, it -- it's okay, and you can leave. >> reporter: erika says she has been sober for over a year. she is now the assistant manager at a store. dana is now in a sober living home. she says she's been sober for over two months. but amanda jester says despite being sober for a month, she's still reeling from the experience. >> it's been brutal. i have really bad nightmares about him, that i'm, like, hiding from him. i'm just hoping to get better. and stay sober. >> reporter: as for bathum's lawsuit against "l.a. weekly," it was dismissed after bathum failed to respond to a filing. he says he is focused on the business of saving addicts. >> we're gonna keep doing the work. all's i can do is move forward with that. >> reporter: have you changed the way you interact with patients? >> i'm much more careful about not being alone with clients. and i never allow that. >> reporter: a policy his

accusers say is too late in the making. amanda's mother, thayer, says the stakes couldn't be higher. >> she went to get help and she was hurt further. i raised my daughter to stand to fight for what's right. so, i'm glad she is. i pray that she'll be okay. >> this is it a battle that may well be played out in court. so our question to you tonight, do you believe bathum or his accus accusers. >> let us know on facebook or twitter. if you want resources for dealing with addiction, go to abcnews.com. just clirk on "20/20." i'm david muir sbrnchts i'm elizabeth vargas. "20/20" can be watched any time of day all weekend long on demand enter dvr. good night.