Brighton Rehab faces federal health care fraud charges

BRIGHTON TWP. — Owners and former managers of a long-troubled Beaver County nursing facility are facing federal charges related to health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States government.

A superseding grand jury indictment unsealed Tuesday names five people and two for-profit skilled nursing facilities — Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Brighton Township and Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Allegheny County — as participants in schemes to defraud the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The first person named in the 15-count indictment is Brighton Rehab owner and CEO Sam Halper, 39, of Florida. Halper, the part-time owner of both facilities, is charged alongside former Brighton Rehab nursing director Eva Hamilton, 35, of Beaver; former regional manager Michelle Romeo, 46, of Hillsville, former director of social services Johnna Haller, 41, of Monaca; and Mount Lebanon administrator Susan Gilbert, 61, of Lawrence.

The indictment, announced at a Pittsburgh news conference Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, claims the employees knowingly provided, or directed others to provide, falsified staffing records to the Pennsylvania Department of Health during federally mandated surveys and lied on resident assessments provided to the government to boost Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

“Through our joint investigation … we found that Brighton and Mount Lebanon’s senior administrators used two criminal schemes to take advantage of federal programs and make extra money while putting residents at risk,” Shapiro said Tuesday.

From June 2018 to January 2020, Halper and nursing home managers allegedly falsified staffing sheets provided to Pennsylvania Department of Health for participation in Medicare and Medicaid. By clocking in for shifts they hadn’t worked, staff made it appear they were providing direct care to patients at higher rates in order to avoid government sanctions and other penalties, according to the indictment. Employees were reportedly paid bonuses for falsely clocking in, and Halper is accused of telling administrators to cut staffing costs despite knowing it could hurt residents' care and quality of life.

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Additionally, Halper and co-defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud for allegedly instructing nursing staff to falsely inflate residents’ needs and medical conditions on government assessments to increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. From 2014 to 2020, Brighton Rehab received tens of millions of dollars in reimbursements from both programs.

Brighton Rehab and owner Comprehensive Health Care Services are named in multiple other state and federal lawsuits related to mishandling of the site’s COVID-19 outbreak, patient neglect and past administrative mismanagement. The nursing home was once the site of Pennsylvania’s largest COVID-19 outbreak and one of the deadliest nursing home outbreaks in the nation.

First indictment:First indictment announced in connection with federal probe of Brighton Rehab

One civil lawsuit claimed Brighton Rehab’s failure to protect staff and elderly, disabled residents from COVID-19 exposure led to dozens of preventable deaths. Nearly 80 residents died from the virus, and hundreds more were infected.

More:Brighton Rehab ‘reckless’ during virus outbreak, lawsuit claims

State Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Ambridge, called Tuesday’s indictments “disturbing but, sadly, not surprising.”

“Seniors in skilled nursing facilities are an extremely vulnerable population,” he said in a statement. “When families make the gut-wrenching decision to admit a loved one, they have a right under the law to expect the highest level of care and an honest accounting of that care. According to the indictment today, that was not the case at Brighton Rehab, to the point of criminal charges being filed.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment.

“Our office will continue to hold individuals and facilities that break the law accountable,” said Chung. “Health care fraud is not a victimless crime. It affects everyone — individuals and businesses alike — and causes tens of billions of dollars in losses each year.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver County's Brighton Rehab faces federal health care fraud charges