The Arizona Attorney General has asked the Maricopa County Superior Court to appoint a receiver to take control of a Mesa elder care facility, alleging elder abuse and consumer fraud by the owners of Heritage Village and others involved in the enterprise.
The Attorney General seeks to remove the current Heritage Village owners from control while the lawsuit is pending.
The Arizona Department of Health Services announced in January that it intends to revoke the Heritage Village license due to a repeated pattern of numerous and severe violations Arizona law. The Attorney General filed the lawsuit and receivership application to make immediate changes at Heritage Village and prevent the need to relocate approximately 150 residents.
The Adult Protective Services Act authorizes lawsuits against anyone involved in an “enterprise” that provides care for vulnerable adults. The lawsuit alleges Madison Realty Companies, LLC and its owners, Gary Langendoen and Matthew Arnold, sit at the center of a web of real estate entities controlling Heritage Village. Several other defendants are individuals and companies involved in the enterprise, including the medical director and executive director for Heritage Village.
The suit also names the owners of Ability Hospice, a company that provides care at Heritage Village and is owned by the husband of the facility’s executive director. The Act authorizes the Attorney General to request extraordinary remedies for proven allegations of elder abuse, including forcing the owners of companies providing elder care to sell their interests, or even dissolving the companies entirely.