Centers Health Care is being sued by the attorney general of New York because its owners stole more than $83 million from Medicare and Medicaid that was meant for patient care while disregarding residents at their facilities around the state.
The Beth Abraham Center in the Bronx and three additional facilities in Buffalo, Queens, and White Plains are all accused of engaging in a pattern of abuse that included unhygienic conditions and cases where patients sit in their urine and feces for hours.
“People, and particularly vulnerable New Yorkers, deserve better,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a press conference about the lawsuit on Wednesday.
“We will do everything in our power to protect our most vulnerable because no one should be treated this way.”
Contesting The NY Attorney Office
According to Centers Health Care spokesperson Jeff Jacomowitz, they will contest the accusations.
Centers Health Care takes great pleasure in its dedication to patient care, according to Jacomowitz. The Center made an effort in settling this dispute out of court and vehemently refutes the accusations made by the New York attorney general.
Co-owners of Centers Health Care Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler are accused of stealing money from the nursing homes through a variety of schemes, including a misleading real estate deal.
Hagler also acted as the landlord of these nursing homes by using several limited liability corporations, charging rentals that were significantly higher than those that were first disclosed to the state Department of Health.
Additionally, Centers Health Care frequently paid invoices for services rendered by businesses owned by Rozenberg, Hagler, or their relatives but which were either redundant or were never provided.
The Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, staffing levels and patient care declined as the owners squeezed money out of these nursing homes.
The attorney general is requesting that the court order Centers Health Care to appoint a monitor to keep an eye on its business and medical operations and prohibit the facilities from accepting any more patients until it hires enough staff.
James also wants Centers Health Care to pay the state’s legal costs and the expense of the inquiry into its operations in addition to returning the $83 million to Medicaid.
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