Two former nursing home executives were ordered to pay $12 million for misdirecting millions of dollars from two failing Rhode Island nursing homes, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi found that former executive Antonio Giordano and his ex-CFO John Montecalvo misused funds from a Department of Housing and Urban Development contract. According to a lawsuit filed by HUD in 2009, Giordano and Montecalvo diverted $4.2 million from Mount Saint Francis Health Center, located in Woonsocket, RI, and $1.8 million from Coventry Health Centers while conditions in the facilities declined steeply, the Providence Journal reported.
Lisi, who doubled the damages the defendants must pay, said she wanted to deter individuals who might be tempted to steal from publicly funded projects. The IRS also is attempting to reclaim millions from Giordano.
