Plea Deal Rejected by Federal Judge for Infamous New Jersey Nursing Home Operator
After establishing Skyline Healthcare, Joseph Schwartz’s nursing home chain rapidly expanded; by 2017 the operator was running 95 facilities in 11 states from his office above a New Jersey pizzeria. But thanks to alleged fraud, mismanagement, and serious resident neglect amounting to nursing home malpractice, the empire swiftly crumbled, displacing hundreds of elderly residents and leaving state regulators across the country to pick up the pieces.
A federal judge has rejected the plea deal negotiated for a New Jersey nursing home operator who admitted he devised a $38 million tax scam to finance a massive nursing home chain that collapsed after rampant, unchecked growth, a NJ.com article reports.
Joseph Schwartz, 64, the former CEO of the now-defunct nursing home chain Skyline Healthcare, pleaded guilty in January to failing to pay employment taxes withheld from Skyline employees and also to failing to file annual financial reports related to his employees’ 401k plan with the Department of Labor. Under the terms of Schwartz’s plea deal, which was negotiated between defense counsel and federal prosecutors, he would serve a year and one day in prison and pay $5 million in restitution; however, on May 23, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton threw out the plea agreement and said Schwartz has until June 21 to retract his guilty plea. If he does not, sentencing will go as scheduled on July 17.
According to the article, court filings claimed Skyline Healthcare used a number of shell companies that existed only nominally and for the sole purpose of avoiding accountability and liability.
Beyond its failure to pay vendors, utilities, landlords, or wages to its staff, Skyline’s nursing homes subjected residents to a range of undesirable conditions equating to nursing home malpractice, including food shortages, drastic cuts in resources, staffing issues and cuts, and alarming reports of serious neglect including the following instances of nursing home malpractice:
- In Arkansas Skyline facilities: heightened unnecessary falls, unbathed residents, and gross neglect. One serious incidence of nursing home malpractice involved a resident had maggots living in their medical equipment; another involved a resident who was ignored for 45 minutes after falling to the floor and injuring his face.
- In Massachusetts Skyline facilities: drastic staff reductions and the rationing of adult diapers, leaving residents sitting in their own urine and filth, a dangerous example of nursing home malpractice that can lead to bed sores and infection.
- In a Tennessee Skyline facility, a grave incident of nursing home practice involved a resident who’d undergone a leg amputation and was discovered lying in his own feces with maggots and gangrene in his leg. The man died two days later, a circumstance that merits the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.
If you’re concerned about low staffing or serious neglect in your loved one’s nursing home, it is important to reach out to a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney.
Your Advocate against Nursing Home Neglect and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy is dedicated to protecting the safety and preserving the rights of residents in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing homes. Your loved one should not fear that his or her nursing home will be understaffed or otherwise mismanaged by negligent operators, leading to such consequences of nursing home malpractice as bed sores, injuries, or especially wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy is experienced in taking to task negligent nursing homes in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. As a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, he holds Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes accountable for all types of nursing home malpractice. 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 to discuss your legal options.
