Kickback Scheme at Pennsylvania Nursing Home; Former Worker Charged with Stealing $500k
An ex-employee of a Pennsylvania nursing home is facing nursing home malpractice charges in connection with a kickback scheme, says a Lockhaven.com news article. Paul Polen, 71, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to engage in theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds between 2002 and 2022. In that time, says the article, while working as the workers’ compensation director at the then county-owned Susque-View Home Nursing and Rehabilitation Center nursing home in Clinton County, Polen and an unnamed physician conspired to steal more than $500,000 through a kickback scheme.
The scheme, as outlined by the article, unfolded according to the following timeline: in 2002 Polen approached an emergency medicine doctor about filling a vacant physician consulting position. The duties, involving just a few hours of work a month, would involve conducting physical examinations for employees and evaluating them for worker’s compensation claims. Polen told the doctor that conditions for the position required him to pay half his compensation to Polen as a kickback every month. The doctor would furthermore provide a medical evaluation for Polen’s personal workers’ compensation claims, which led to him working fewer hours for Susque-View, but for the same pay.
Consenting to the agreement, the physician made the monthly kickback payments by check to Paul D. Polen Inc., a company Polen established with his wife as an in-name-only president. Over time, both kickback payments and the doctor’s compensation grew. According to the article, the kickback payment grew from about $1,700 to nearly $2,500. Allegedly Polen pocketed $528,450 from Susque-View over the period of 20 years before the home was sold.
As Susque-View was a recipient of Medicare benefits in excess of $10,000 per year, and since, under federal law, it is an offense to embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud, or misapply property worth at least $5,000 from an organization receiving Federal funds in excess of $10,000 in a year, the allegations of nursing home malpractice were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to the article, an agreement to plead guilty and forfeit $628,450 was signed by Polen and filed. No explanation for the discrepancy between the stated loss of $528,450 and the expected forfeiture was given.
It was not until after Susque-View was sold in 2022 to Allaire Health Services of New Jersey that any financial discrepancies were discovered and reported to authorities, the article said. The doctor, who has not been charged, apparently left his position before the sale of the nursing home.
If you’re concerned about acts of theft or embezzlement or any sort of wrongdoing that amounts to nursing home malpractice in your loved one’s nursing home, or if your loved one is the victim of circumstances requiring the involvement of a wrongful death attorney, don’t hestitate: contact a nursing home malpractice or wrongful death attorney immediately.
Battling Fraudulent Practices, Nursing Home Malpractice, and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy endeavors to protect the safety and rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey nursing home residents, preserving them from every kind of nursing home malpractice. Your loved one living in a Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home should not need to worry about the quality of his or her facility or about being subjected to any dangerous circumstance amounting to nursing home malpractice, particularly any that would require the involvement of a wrongful death attorney. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy holds accountable those Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for any sort of negligence and abuse. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today.
