New Jersey Nursing Home Owner Who Masterminded $38 Million Tax Scam Reaches Second Plea Deal
A New Jersey nursing home owner responsible for a $38 million tax scam related to a nursing home empire fraught with nursing home malpractice has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors for the second time this year, says a NJ.com news article.
In late November, Joseph Schwartz, 64, of Suffern, New York, pleaded guilty to an indictment in which he is charged with willfully failing to pay employment taxes withheld from his employees, and willfully failing to file an annual financial report with the Department of Labor for his employee 401K Benefit Plan, said the article.
Schwartz’s initial admission of guilt to these charges came months earlier, in January, but in May of this year his plea agreement was thrown out by a federal judge.
“The court has had an opportunity to review the pre-sentence report and the court hereby rejects the plea agreement,” said U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton of the agreement, in which Schwartz faced a year and a day in prison and would pay $5 million in restitution.
Schwartz, who is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2025, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the article, in his current plea deal, he has agreed to pay $5 million in restitution to the IRS at the time of sentencing.
Schwartz had run his company, Skyline Management, from an office above a pizzeria in New Jersey. By 2017 his nursing home chain included 95 facilities across 11 states. Schwartz also created companies that provided staffing and management for his nursing homes. Allegedly fraud and mismanagement ensued, subjecting vulnerable elderly residents to serious incidences of nursing home malpractice, like food shortages, cuts in resources, and neglect. Ultimately, Schwartz’s chain collapsed, displacing hundreds of nursing home residents.
Eventually, disturbing reports emerged of unthinkable instances of nursing home malpractice across the country in Skyline facilities, including, in Arkansas, a resident who was left on the floor for 45 minutes after falling and injuring himself; in Massachusetts, residents left to sit in their own urine and feces; and, in Tennessee, an amputee resident who had gangrene and maggots in his surgical wound, from which he later died.
Such circumstances show extreme examples of neglect; however, nursing home malpractice is sadly more common than one would think. If you’re concerned about such issues as poor staffing, improper wound care, or insufficient fall protection in your loved one’s nursing home, don’t hesitate to reach out to an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney for information and legal advice.
Your Advocate Against Abuse, Nursing Home Malpractice, and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy dedicates his practice to protecting the rights and safety 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 live comfortably without concern about being subjected to any dangerous circumstances equating to nursing home malpractice. 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, particularly any circumstances that necessitate the intervention of a wrongful death attorney. 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.
