Attorney General Kris Mayes is taking a bold stand against alleged misdeeds at a Mesa elder care facility, and she's asking the courts to step in swiftly. The facility in the crosshairs is Heritage Village Assisted Living, and the allegations are severe: elder abuse and consumer fraud. According to a press release from the Attorney General's office, Mayes filed a lawsuit against the facility's owners, and she's now seeking a court-ordered receivership to protect the residents in the interim.
The legal action came after the Arizona Department of Health Services announced plans to revoke Heritage Village's license over a "repeated pattern of numerous and severe violations" of state law. Mayes wants to act quickly to safeguard the approximately 150 residents from having to abruptly relocate. "In the near term we are asking the court to bring in a receiver to run the facility correctly and ensure the residents receive the care they are paying for," Attorney General Mayes stated in the release. "Ultimately we will ask the court to find new owners for Heritage Village and permanently block the current owners from any future contact with vulnerable adults in Arizona."
The defendants at the heart of the lawsuit, as detailed in the legal documents, are Madison Realty Companies, LLC, and its principals, Gary Langendoen and Matthew Arnold. But the lawsuit's net cast wider, ensnaring individuals and companies entangled in the facility's operations, including the medical director and the executive director of Heritage Village. A related hospice provider owned by the executive director's husband is also named in the suit.
Mayes didn't mince her words when speaking to the gravity of the lawsuit, stating, "When repeated fines and agency punishments are not enough to deter predators who maximize profits at the expense of elderly citizens, the job of protecting our most vulnerable falls on the Attorney General’s Office." She underscored her commitment: "I intend to do that job." The court has a proposed receiver ready, Peter S. Davis, whose credentials include CPA, ABV, CFF, CIRA, CTP, and CFE, as listed in the state's filing. The nominated Davidson is a figure with apparent experience designed to restore the facility to a state of respectable operation.
The lawsuit, cited as State of Arizona v. Heritage Village Bldg2, LLC et. al., carries the weight of the Adult Protective Services Act, which provides the AG with broad powers to pursue remedies against any enterprise involved in elder care. The tough stance taken by Mayes' office reflects a clear message: Arizona will not tolerate the mistreatment of its elder population, nor will it allow financial profiteering to corrupt the sanctity of care that should be afforded to its oldest citizens.
