In the deposition from September, which was in relation to a wrongful death suit filed last year in Arkansas on behalf of a resident named Lois Rack, Schwartz insisted that Skyline delivered high-caliber long-term care. It terminated a third in the state in 2018.ĭuring the investigation, the company's medical director told inspectors, "I have no support, no direction." Staff members told investigators that problems arose in part when Skyline told nurses to abandon electronic medical records and go back to paper record-keeping.Ī month after the death, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees the nursing home industry, terminated Medicare certification for the facility and another Skyline property in Tennessee. His death two days later prompted a state investigation, which revealed that the man's dressing had not been changed for two days. Less than two months later, a resident whose leg had recently been amputated was taken from the nursing home, where he was found lying in feces, to a hospital, where nurses discovered maggots and gangrene in his leg, according to the police report obtained by NBC affiliate WMC. In 2017, Skyline had taken over Ashton Place, a nursing home in Memphis, Tennessee. In Arkansas, maggots were found in a resident's catheter, according to documents when the state attorney general issued fines. The company left a wake of documented cases of extreme neglect. The deposition was taken by lawyers representing a plaintiff alleging a wrongful death. In a sworn deposition in September, newly obtained by NBC News, Schwartz said that before he owned them, he had no work experience involving nursing homes other than selling them liability insurance. Schwartz went from owning no nursing homes to owning more than 100 in a short span. "I have not heard or seen anything to believe these allegations are true," James said. James said Schwartz will aggressively fight the charges and plans to plead not guilty. Joseph Schwartz listed a tiny office above this pizzeria in Wood Ridge, N.J., as the location where he ran over 100 nursing homes nationwide. Schwartz received tens of millions of dollars in gross income from his Arkansas facilities in 20 but failed to file an Arkansas tax return as required by law, Rutledge said. The tax charges are related to allegations that Schwartz did not pay the state funds that were withheld from his employees' paychecks and also did not pay state income taxes. The charges allege that Schwartz made false statements in Skyline's monthly Medicaid cost reports to the state, causing the state to overpay the companies controlled by Schwartz by more than $3 million, a person close to the investigation said. "It's important for Arkansans to know if they suspect Medicaid fraud, they should immediately contact my office." "These charges come after a 44-month-long investigation into Skyline's wrongdoings, and I will not sit idly by while anyone defrauds the State and Federal government out of millions of dollars to line their own pockets," Rutledge said. They all have every program that's necessary for patient care." Ace Reportersįrom 2017 to 2019, the chain crumbled, and more than a dozen Skyline-operated nursing homes shut their doors, throwing residents, vendors, employees and state regulators into chaos, according to court filings, state officials and former employees. He told the lawyers: "All our facilities are very, very, very, very compliant with all clients. Joseph Schwartz speaking to lawyers during a sworn deposition in June 2017 in a neglect case he settled. With a handful of staff members, Schwartz managed them from a tiny office over a New Jersey pizzeria. Arkansas is working with a group of other state attorneys general who are also considering possible civil action against Schwartz, said a person familiar with their discussions.Īt one time, Schwartz oversaw the care of more than 7,000 older Americans through his company, Skyline Healthcare, which at its peak owned or ran more than 100 facilities in 11 states.
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