NYS Attorney General Letitia James sues East Meadow nursing home for fraud, abuse

State Attorney General Letitia James has filed suit, accusing Fulton Commons Care Center, on Merrick Avenue, of fraud and abuse, which she says led to insufficient staffing, resulting in “significant” neglects, mistreatment and abuse. The suit also alleges that the nursing home’s owners used the state’s Medicaid program money for themselves rather than the facility.

James described a “toxic culture of deceit” at the nursing home amid the coronavirus pandemic, including claims of under-reporting deaths, and claiming to families that the facility was free of the virus.

“Fulton Commons failed its residents and denied them the basic right of receiving comfortable, competent and respectful care at the facility entrusted to serve them,” James said in a release. “Rather than honor their legal duty to ensure the highest possible quality of life for the residents in their care, the Fulton Commons owners allegedly maintained insufficient staffing so they could take more money for their own personal gain. These actions led to a devastating pattern of resident abuse, neglect, and mistreatment.”

Named in James’s suit is Moshe Kalter, principal owner of Fulton Commons, along with his wife, Frady Kalter, and her brother, Aaron Fogel. Also named was Fogel’s wife, Esther, along with Kalter’s eight adult children: Mindy Steger, Sheindy Saffer, Chana Kanarek, Dovid Kalter, Yitzchok Kalter, Aryeh Kalter, Sheva Treff and Chaya “Sara” Lieberman.

Kalter’s nephew Steven Weiss, Fulton Commons’ comptroller, and Cathie Doyle, Fulton Commons’ administrator until Nov. 16, are also named.

The financial fraud that ensued included using $34.4 million to pay “inflated rent” to Fulton Realty, a shell company that the family created. The owners of Fulton Commons paid themselves $14.9 million through the fraudulent rent payments while not telling the Department of Health, and paying the eight adult children — who were each one percent owners of Fulton Commons —more than $1 million in salaries for no-show jobs. In 2020, the children received $410,875 alone. James believes that those 2020 “salaries” could have provided nearly 10,000 additional hours of direct care.

One East Meadow resident who declined to be identified recounted her family’s story.

“My mother was there in 2018 after a fall and surgery on her hip for rehab. She was 100 percent mentally healthy so she knew how much she was being neglected,” the woman wrote.

“My brother and I had shifts every day she was there to visit and even with us there every day, the neglect was clear. The staff was absolutely miserable and arguing with each other on who could be doing what because they were so short staffed and overworked. We ended up taking my mom out early and had physical therapy and post-op care at home. We believe that if my mom was not fully coherent, we would not have known of the neglect and the ones that can’t speak up to family members or for themselves are the worse victims.”

The allegations of resident abuse and neglect include sexual assault, missed medical treatments, unanswered call bells, unexplained bruises, and other injuries, restraints, beratement, and complete lack of supervision, among others.

The lawsuit does not aim to shut down the facility, however. James wants to remove the facility’s current medical director and replace him with a qualified physician while prohibiting the nursing home from admitting any new residents until staffing levels meet appropriate standards.

James also wants a monitor to oversee the facility’s financial operations, and another to oversee the facility’s healthcare operations. She also wants any money received through the alleged fraud repaid, and for the state to be reimbursed for its costs of the investigation.

A call for comment at Fulton Commons was not returned by press time.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of a Nassau County grand jury indictment of two workers over reported sexual abuse of a female resident and then covering it up.

Daniel Persaud, a former licensed practical nurse, was charged in part of an overall 13-count indictment that includes sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly or physically disabled, and forcible touching.

Carol Frawley and the facility where she was the nursing direct, Fulton Commons Care Center, were indicted on charges that include endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, and falsifying business records.