Wow. Just… wow. Federal prosecutors have indicted and arrested four East Bay residents in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently buy and operate a string of residential care facilities; the total amount borrowed under false pretenses exceeds $20 million. According to the Trib, Pleasant Hill residents Edith and Ronald Nelson have been barred from operating residential care facilities since 1998, for offering substandard care. So, federal prosecutors claim, the Nelsons found straw buyers to take out loans, lied about how much money they made to qualify for the mortgages, and bought a new crop of care facilities in their names. In addition, prosecutors claim, the Nelsons found a crew of illegal immigrant Filipina nurses, worked them around the clock, and paid them less than minimum wage. Two mortgage loan officers have also been indicted for allegedly helping them prepare the fraudulent loan applications. A history of inadequate care for elderly patients, an alleged scheme to fraudulently buy a new army of residential care facilities, and allegedly running a sweatshop of poor, exploited immigrant nurses? Looks like we’ve found our description of evil for the day.
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