The former owner of a nursing home group that operated a facility in Batesville has been ordered by a U.S. District Court judge to pay almost $7.7 million to a medical supply company.
Joseph Schwartz, 62, of Suffern, N.Y., is currently facing federal and state charges. He owned Skyline Health Care which was in charge of 21 nursing homes, including the former Batesville Health and Rehab.
According to an article in the latest issue of Arkansas Business, Schwartz and his companies were sued for breach of contract by Twin Med LLC of California. Twin Med said it was owed $5.1 million for outstanding invoices related to medical supplies and other equipment sold to Schwartz’s nursing homes. On Aug. 18, U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr. awarded Twin Med $5.1 million in damages, $2.4 million in interest, and $145,000 for attorneys fees and costs.
In December of 2021, the Arkansas Attorney General’s office accused Schwartz of submitting false statements in cost reports and other documentation to the state’s Medicaid program. A jury trial in Little Rock before a Pulaski County Circuit Court judge is scheduled for next year.
Earlier this year, Schwartz was indicted in federal court in New Jersey on 22 criminal counts related to benefit plan fraud and failing to pay $29.5 million in payroll and unemployment taxes.
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