NYAG Files Lawsuit Against 4 NY Nursing Homes that Stole $83M from Medicare While Patients Were Severely Neglected

Edited by: TJVNews.com

A shocking lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday alleges that the operators of four nursing homes in the state have embezzled over $83 million in Medicare and Medicaid funds while subjecting residents to deplorable living conditions.

The nursing homes, owned and operated by Centers for Care LLC, doing business as Centers Health Care, include Beth Abraham Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing (Beth Abraham Center) in Bronx County, Buffalo Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing (Buffalo Center) in Erie County, Holliswood Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare (Holliswood Center) in Queens County, and Martine Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing (Martine Center) in Westchester County. Residents at these facilities were forced to sit for hours in their own urine and feces, suffered from severe dehydration, malnutrition, and increased risk of death, developed infections and sepsis from untreated bed sores and inconsistent wound care, sustained life-changing injuries from falls, and died.

Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler, co-owners of Centers Health Care, are accused of orchestrating a complex scheme to enrich themselves and their associates, leaving their facilities chronically understaffed and resulting in the neglect and mistreatment of vulnerable elderly residents, as was reported by the New York Post.

According to the lawsuit, Rozenberg and Hagler began their illicit activities as far back as 2013, utilizing fraudulent transactions and a network of corporations to divert funds intended for the care of nursing home residents. Their greed led to chronic understaffing, causing residents to suffer in unimaginable conditions. Reports indicate that elderly residents were forced to endure extended periods sitting in their own filth, becoming dehydrated, malnourished, and developing festering wounds. The neglect and mistreatment of residents had already been a pressing issue, but the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the dire situation, with 400 residents succumbing to the virus in 2020 alone.

The lawsuit highlights several distressing incidents that exemplify the extent of the neglect suffered by residents.

A resident at Beth Abraham Center experienced multiple falls while trying to take herself to the bathroom when her call bell went unanswered. Following a fall in October 2020, the facility’s staff informed the woman’s daughter that she had not been injured. Three days later, the resident complained of pain and was sent to the hospital, where the emergency room doctor discovered she had a dislocated hip that required emergency hip replacement surgery. Doctors at the hospital also found that the resident was suffering from a severe diaper rash covering the majority of her lower torso, indicating a lack of proper care. The resident has since left Beth Abraham.

A man was a new resident in the dementia unit at Buffalo Center. When the resident’s son was on his way to visit his father, he passed someone who “looked like a zombie or a ghost,” wandering down the street. When the son arrived at Buffalo Center, he was asked to wait to see his father. When staff finally brought his father out, the son realized the person he had seen wandering the streets earlier was his father, and that he had managed to leave the facility without staff noticing. His father was sent to the hospital that same day, where he was diagnosed with severe dehydration. Upon his release from the hospital, his son moved him to a different nursing home. He was a resident at Buffalo Center for just three weeks.

A woman fell from her bed at Holliswood Center and was returned to bed without a medical examination or treatment. No notice was sent to her family. When her daughter was unable to get in touch with her, she visited Holliswood Center but was turned away by staff and told she could not visit her mother. Her daughter called the police, and then watched as her unconscious mother was wheeled out by paramedics. Staff at the nursing home would not provide an explanation for her mother’s condition, and a CT scan at the hospital showed her mother suffered a brain bleed caused by traumatic impact requiring emergency surgery. The woman no longer resides at Holliswood but continues to suffer from speech defects and emotional extremes as a result of the injury.

A woman at Martine Center appeared to be in pain while she was visited by her daughter. When the daughter pulled her mother’s hand out from under her blanket, it was covered in feces. The daughter found that her mother, who used a colostomy bag, was wrapped in a towel filled with feces and without a colostomy bag. When she unwrapped the towel, she saw her mother’s exposed intestines and the surrounding area covered in feces. While staff attempted to clean her mother, she complained that the area burned, and when they were done, there was still visible feces smeared around the wound.

A resident at Martine Center did not receive adequate care for his bed sores. When his wife visited in October 2021, she was shocked to find that his wounds had progressed to Stage III and Stage IV ulcers, one of which was eating away most of his buttocks. His wife began the process of having her husband removed from Martine Center to be cared for at home. Before she got the chance to bring him home, he developed sepsis, was hospitalized, and died.

One family, the Dunns, recalls the neglect suffered by their father, Albert, during his stay at the Martine Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in White Plains. Marie Dunn, Albert’s daughter, vividly remembers the poor conditions she encountered when visiting him in February 2020. She found her father halfway off the bed, his diaper soaking wet, and a foul stench in the room. This experience was a stark contrast to the joy and vitality Albert had once exuded.

The Dunn family is among several families joining forces with Attorney General Letitia James in suing Centers Health Care, the company that owns and operates Martine Center, as well as the Beth Abraham Center in the Bronx and the Holliswood Center in Queens. The families allege that their loved ones developed infections, sepsis from untreated bed sores, and sustained severe injuries from falls due to the negligent care provided by the facilities.

Attorney General Letitia James seeks immediate action to protect residents and hold the nursing home operators accountable for their actions. The lawsuit demands that the facilities be barred from admitting new residents until appropriate staffing levels are established. Additionally, James calls for the appointment of monitors to oversee both the financial and healthcare aspects of the facilities.

James emphasizes that the lawsuit serves as a warning to nursing home operators and owners to rectify the deficiencies within their facilities. The legal action highlights the alleged diversion of over $83 million in Medicare and Medicaid funds by the owners for personal enrichment, instead of utilizing the funds to address staffing shortages and improve resident care.

To prevent similar incidents from occurring in other nursing homes, Attorney General James plans to engage in discussions with state legislators and the speaker.

“Nursing homes are meant to be safe spaces where the most vulnerable members of our community receive the care and dignity they deserve. Instead, the owners of Centers Health Care allegedly used these four nursing homes — and the vulnerable New Yorkers who lived there — to extract millions of dollars for their personal use, leading to elderly residents and those with disabilities suffering unconscionable pain, neglect, degradation, and even death,” said Attorney General James. “Rather than honor their legal duty to residents to provide the highest possible quality of life, Centers leadership and their associates seized every opportunity to put personal profit over resident care. My office will always protect and defend nursing home residents statewide, and I encourage anyone who has witnessed disturbing conditions, neglect, or abuse at a New York nursing home to contact my office.”

Jeff Jacomowitz, a spokesperson for Centers Health Care, vehemently denied the allegations and expressed the company’s determination to fight the case in court. He stated that Centers Health Care prides itself on its commitment to patient care and refuted the claims made by the Attorney General. According to Jacomowitz, the company had attempted to resolve the matter outside the courtroom, implying a disagreement between the parties regarding the validity of the allegations.

The shocking allegations against the operators of four New York nursing homes paint a distressing picture of embezzlement, neglect, and mistreatment of vulnerable elderly residents. The lawsuit filed by the Attorney General exposes a web of fraudulent transactions and corporations that allowed the operators to siphon off millions of dollars while failing to provide adequate care and staffing.  The pursuit of justice for the victims and their families must remain a top priority as the legal process moves forward.

Attorney General James emphasizes that the lawsuit serves as a warning to nursing home operators and owners to rectify the deficiencies within their facilities. The legal action highlights the alleged diversion of over $83 million in Medicare and Medicaid funds by the owners for personal enrichment, instead of utilizing the funds to address staffing shortages and improve resident care.