Nursing Home Owners Stole $83M From Neglected Elders, AG Letitia James Files Lawsuit
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against nursing home operator Centers Health Care, accusing its owners of hoarding $83 million in government funding from Medicaid and Medicare while leaving their facilities understaffed and neglecting their elderly residents.
According to Reuters, James is attempting to block four Centers Health locations from accepting new residents until they can prove their safety and compliance with properly staffing their facilities. She also demands that the company hire financial and healthcare monitors to meet requirements. The lawsuit calls for the owners Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler and others allegedly involved in the fraud to return the stolen funds.
Centers and its affiliates are denying the claims, according to a statement released by the company’s spokesperson Jeffrey Jacomowitz. “We will fight these spurious claims with the facts on our side,” he said.
The lawsuit focuses on four residents subjected to alleged inhumane neglect and mistreatment. One example details the death of a man who developed sepsis from an untreated bedsore, while another chronicles a woman who, after falling out of bed, suffered brain damage due to receiving no treatment. According to Reuters, residents were often left in soiled undergarments and ignored by staff when calling for help. The lawsuit also alleges that Centers facilities failed to follow proper COVID-19 protocols and did not require staff to be masked, resulting in more than 400 fatalities in 2020.
James’ lawsuit alleges that the mismanaged funds were used to line the pockets of Rozenberg and Hagler and their families and associates. One such scheme included Rozenberg’s daughter, who was allegedly paid millions of dollars by companies affiliated with Centers while having no contract with the facilities. “They put profit over people again and again and again while vulnerable New Yorkers were reduced to skeletons,” James said.