ALBION, N.Y. — On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she would be suing a Western New York nursing home for fraud and neglect of residents.
James filed a lawsuit against Comprehensive at Orleans LLC doing business as The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center (The Villages), which is a nursing home in Albion for fraud that she says resulted in the neglect of residents.
“Every individual deserves to live out their golden years in comfort and with dignity,” James said.
“Yet the abject failure of The Villages and its owners to uphold their duty under the law caused residents to suffer inhumane treatment, neglect, and harm. Instead of investing in staffing and resources, the owners allegedly disregarded laws designed to protect residents. I will continue to monitor nursing homes and residential care facilities statewide to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable communities. I encourage anyone who has witnessed alarming conditions, resident neglect, or abuse at a nursing home to contact my office.”
James said the owners of The Villages failed to meet their "special obligation" to provide a high level of care and quality of life for their residents by diverting funds for their own personal profit.
The Office of Attorney General (OAG) is seeking a court order in this civil case to compel the owners of The Villages to return up to $18.6 Million dollars that it says were fraudulently taken from the nursing home, appoint a receiver and financial monitor to stop the alleged fraud, as well as put in place a healthcare monitor to improve care. The OAG would also have The Villages stop admitting new patients for further notice.
James says there are other ongoing investigations in this matter which may reflect the point that federal funding through Medicare was also allegedly involved.