The owner of the Batavia Nursing Home has been accused by federal authorities of committing wire fraud to help fund a "lavish" lifestyle.
Meanwhile, two employees of the nursing home on State Street have contacted The Batavian to say they've either not been paid or were paid late.
Marc L. Korn, 54, of East Amherst faces a possible 20 years in prison or a $250,000 fine or both. He was arraigned a week ago in federal court and is scheduled to appear again on June 2.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gretchen L. Wylegala, who is handling the case, said that Korn devised a scheme to obtain funds from a charitable organization he headed, the American Friends of Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, an organization which raised funds to support a medical center in Israel.
An IRS investigator told the Buffalo News he's diverted as much as $1 million for his personal use and has also kept employee payroll taxes.
For employees of the nursing home, they're wondering what's going on. Today, they were told there was no money in the payroll account so no checks would be issued.
"We've been told we would be paid, but we don't know when," an employee said.
This has happened before, according to another employee, who said two weeks ago the employees were given checks but told they couldn't cash them until the following week.
Korn could not be reached for comment.
One of the employees said that the Department of Labor has visited the facility, but she's not aware of any action beging taken.
She said all deliveries -- including food for residents -- are now C.O.D. (collect on delivery)
"The residents have their Social Security checks sent to the nursing home," she said. "Where's the money going?"
A relative of hers is a resident at the facility and the family is trying to move her, but she said she doesn't think the community really understands what's going on at the nursing home.
Five people quit today, she said. She figures she will start pulling 80-hour work weeks to keep up with the work load.
She continues her employment there, she said, because she believes it would be unethical to leave the residents without care.
Her husband's income has also been uneven lately, she said, so times are tough.
"I have to go home and tell my kids we may not eat today," she said.
She said all of the employees are facing similar difficulties, including falling behind on mortgages and car payments.
The woman said employees have been told Korn is trying to sell the facility, but they're not aware of any progress on that front.
We tried Korn's pager number, but it's disconnected. We also emailed him and asked for comment.
20 years and $250,000 fine...
20 years and $250,000 fine... how about a million dollar fine, since that's what the IRS said he diverted? I hope they are able to recover that money. There's no way those residents got everything they should have, not with that much money missing. I'm glad to see the employee doing what she can to hang in there. Those poor residents don't deserve to be abandoned after all of this.
My heart goes out to those
My heart goes out to those who will not be paid and to the residents in the nursing home.
Where is the safety net for those who chose a private home for their loved ones, or those who chose to work there when the owner skips?
This is one of those cases of
This is one of those cases of "there ought to be a law"
...privately owned nursing homes should be required to have a minimum of 6 months of operating expenses set aside in a restricted account to be used in the event of insolvency or malfeasance.
Given the highly regulated nature of nursing homes, hopefully there already is such a law to protect the residents and employees.
The problem with this
The problem with this scenario is if hes convicted it will be of a white collar crime. And he'll do time in a white collar prison like Martha Stewart did. As for the fine the feds and state will seize his assets. All I got to say is you have to be the lowest of the low to take advantage of the elderly and not pay your employees while you live lavishly. WOW WHAT A GREAT INDIVIDUAL!
...in the meantime, what
...in the meantime, what happens to the residents of the nursing home? They will have to be placed elsewhere for the care they need.
Can the county home accomodate all of the Batavia Nursing Home residents for a short amount of time until the families can make other arrangements?
Apparrently this same guy
Apparrently this same guy owns ANOTHER nursing home in Lewiston NY - and is in the SAME trouble THERE. http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/Nursing-Home-Employees-Claim-They-are-Un…
Is that correction Liberal
Is that correction Liberal enough Howard?
Joseph, it's not about
Joseph, it's not about liberal or conservative, rather it's about our policy of no name calling. No one would applaud this person. The accusations, if true, speak for themselves.
I guess I cant say im taking
I guess I cant say im taking the Trash out on Wednesday anymore. I would now have to say Im taking out the waist receptacles.
Joseph, trying to make this
Joseph, trying to make this into some sort of PC/liberal thing is just plain silly.
We have a no name calling rule. If you don't like it, don't comment.
Does everyone see the picture
Does everyone see the picture of the girl on the genesee dental advertisement that is how you should exercise your First Amendment Right. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT.FREEDOM OF SPEACH IS NO LONGER FREE! AND THE SIGN SAYS YOU GOTTA HAVE A MEMBERSHIP CARD TO GET INSIDE HOOH!
Joseph, this is my business.
Joseph, this is my business. We have standards for conduct we enforce. The vast majority of people who participate in the site like and appreciate that this is a safe and civil place to discuss issues.
All you were asked to do was take out one word from your comment. Nobody censored you (only the government can censor -- this is my business and the First Amendment gives me an absolute right to run it as I see best). Your opinion was not in anyway abridged.
Again, if you don't like it, don't participate. If you want to say things that we won't allow, set up your own blog at wordpress.com. You can say whatever you want there and you won't have to deal with any pesky site owner insisting on civility.
(And to emphasize the fact that your freedom of speech isn't being abridged, there are plenty of places on the web (including wordpress.com) where you can say whatever you want. Here, we set the rules and we enforce the rules).
Howard & Billie, Regardless
Howard & Billie, Regardless of wether we see things eye to eye were all Americans, Geneseans and I Sincerely wish you both a Happy Memorial Day. I guess Im just having an off day Im Sorry!
Howard is a liberal? I'm
Howard is a liberal? I'm getting a really good laugh at that.
When I worked online, this
When I worked online, this was a constant debate. People who posted to various sites were upset when their posts were removed because the content went against the terms of service (to which they 'agreed' when they registered on a site).
"You are violating my right to free speech!", was a common complaint.
Just as Howard explained, this site is a business. As a business he has the right to set his own terms of service - much like "no shirt, no shoes, no service" signs in a restaurant.
I often wonder how many people actually read the terms of service.
There are sites where anything goes. HBO is a prime example. Their protocol was, "If it can be said on HBO, then it can be posted.". It made for easy moderation.
Others are extremely rigid and insist that posters be civil and stay on topic or the post is gone.
Howard's moderation is pretty lenient. Off topic; bantering and even needling other posters are okay. He only asks that people not resort to name calling.
Oh great, now Genesee Dental
Oh great, now Genesee Dental is promoting the abridgement of free speech. I thought the picture merely represented bad chicklets or halitosis.
I guess most of us get a
I guess most of us get a little testy when we read stories like this. If this guy wasn't paying his employees, can you imagine the level of care the patients were receiving, or should I say the level of neglect.
Mr. Korn is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but if convicted,a life sentence would be lenient in my opinion.
Name calling has been allowed
Name calling has been allowed on the site in the past, it depends on who is being called names. Just saying...
See posts from April 22, 2011.
Jeff, dental groups have been
Jeff, dental groups have been abridging free speech for years, ever tried to state your case after Novocain.
Frank - It's impossible to
Frank - It's impossible to search by date, could you provide links? I think that Howard does a good job of balancing the tightrope of determining what is a professional criticism and what is blatantly a personal attack. He also, instead of calling out the person who engages in a personal attack by name to embarrass them in front of everyone, will first contact them privately to ask them to correct their post. I know because I've been in that position where I posted something a little too strongly worded. I think he's fair about it.
Dan, 04/22/11, Suspected drug
Dan, 04/22/11, Suspected drug dealer allegedly scuffles with task force members during arrest. (Page 20)
I agree, Howard does a great job keeping everyone civil.