Nursing home fraud case overview:
- Who: A federal jury in Pennsylvania found the owners of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County and the Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Allegheny County guilty of fraud.
- Why: The companies were found guilty on ten counts related to falsifying records and defrauding the government.
- Where: The case was held in Pennsylvania federal court.
The companies running a pair of Pennsylvania nursing homes were found guilty by a federal jury in Pennsylvania of scheming to defraud state and federal healthcare programs.
The companies, which ran Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County and the Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Allegheny County, were found guilty on 10 counts revolving around defrauding the government and falsifying records, reports Law360.
While the corporate parents were found guilty, the jury reportedly found that the CEO and four employees of Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC were not guilty of any of the 14 charges brought against them by the government.
The executive and four employees had been accused of conspiracy and of falsifying records used to report to federal and state regulators the conditions of the nursing homes and their needs, reports Law360.
Nursing home CEO, workers acquitted of claims they falsified records related to minimum staffing level requirements
The government reportedly accused Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC CEO Sam Halper and the four workers of working together to allegedly falsify records showing Brighton and Mt. Lebanon had met minimum staffing levels set by regulators.
Halper and the four workers were accused of logging employees as caring for patients during times they allegedly were either not in the building, doing unrelated administrative work or had clocked in and left, reports Law360.
The jury decision reportedly came after less than two days of deliberation following five weeks of testimony. A tentative sentencing date for the corporations has been scheduled for mid-May by the judge presiding over the case, reports Law360.
In another case involving a nursing home, a jury in Florida awarded $2.3 million earlier this year to the husband of a nursing home patient who passed away at a nursing home in the state after developing an infection caused by a bedsore.
What do you think of the jury’s decision? Let us know in the comments.
The Nursing home fraud case is United States v. Gilbert, et al., Case No. 2:21-cr-00079, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
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11 thoughts onJury finds owners of PA nursing homes guilty of fraud
I am beyond upset with The Laurels Nursing Home, they violated my husband and I morally, financially and in a unethical way. There was a contract made in 2010 between the elderly Etta & The Laurels for Ettas husbands care. The contract states and has been recorded when Etta passed in 2018 the contract is “Null and Void”. My husband and I purchased the house from Ettas son Dexter (Heir) in 2016. We were newlyweds flipping a house but it has been a nightmare. From 2018 to 2021 the house was wrapped up in Probate Court. The lawyers Dexter hired messed everything up and dragged feet for 3yrs.
Then in 2021 Dexter passes away. We had already put lots of money in house and we gave Dexter $16,000. When the pandemic started I was healing from a hand surgery and I was a stylist. 2022 we are officially broke, we are now in limbo because the attorneys put house back in probate. There are no words to explain the blindside of not getting the Deed, all our bills are way over due, we felt ashamed, depressed, down to one income, we are broken from the experience and the relationship between my husband and I was non existent. Dexter is my husband step father. The denial from my husband, that his family just screwed us caused so many fights. My blood pressure was 200/120 a lot. I’m finally going to fight for the Our House. I Googled process of probate to make my husband, Ron PR so we can get the deed. We already had a empty house, we were ready to sell and move to Tennessee. We had a plan and a dream that was shattered. I felt like every day I would try to focus, I was pushed down by a big tidal wave of disappointment from everybody I talked to, 21 attorneys, roofers, insurance company cancelled us and a $200,000 Lien from Medicaid for Ettas care. When I thought finely, we own house, I had Medicaid discharge, let’s get this house sold. Once we had a buyer, wammy, The laurels is claiming $44,000 on our house from 2010 contract that should have went away after 2018. They held our house for a year, 2023- 2024 with false and fraud pretences. One of the attorneys I talked to screwed up and called them. They had lien off, then put back on after The Laurels found out we restored this 120yr old home to $165,000. But that’s not all, they were going to take $44,000 that contract states from our house sale. But I found out that only $23,989 was actually used. Can you say Entrapment and wrong in so many ways. I blame management, whoever over see administration and attorneys. Bad Ethics and morally wrong in so many ways. They still send us mail now trying to give us a mortgage loan. And the market right now in our neighborhood, house isn’t selling. We even put a new roof but so far in debt we can’t even afford Home Owners Insurance.