On Friday, May 21st, Karen Mason (57), the former CEO of Havenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was sentenced to two years in prison and 3 years probabation for tax evasion. The 315 bed nursing home, of which she was CEO, administrator, and part owner, has been closed since July of 2005, when inspectors shut the facility down after discovering severe cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. A few of those nursing home abuse cases included patients being refused baths and clean sheets, and a man who jumped to his death after facility staff members failed to report his suicide threats.

In Mason’s time at Havenwood, she took money from a resident’s trust fund, from an employee’s 401(k) account, and from Havenwood bank accounts. Police allege that her theft totaled a little over 1 million dollars. The money went towards personal purchases for Mason; furniture, carpeting, jewelry, cars, concert and sporting event tickets, vacations, payments to the Milwaukee Yacht Club, and a wedding and honeymoon for one of her children.

Mason: Guilty of Nursing Home Abuse

Mason was sentenced in 2008 to 15 months in the Milwaukee County House of Corrections after being found guilty on felony charges of theft and abuse of a patient causing physical harm. That ruling also required Mason to pay back $20,696 to a Havenwood employee’s 401(k) account, and $64,435 to a Havenwood bank account.

The tax evasion case found that in 2004, Mason took in $642,000 in income. Of that total, $212,000 was salary from the facility, and the rest of it stolen. She paid taxes on none of it.

Mason was so busy stealing from her own company and living her lavish life, that she failed to make sure the residents in her nursing home were being properly cared for. The inspections by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services that shut the facility down found “dire conditions” within the home, involving the health and safety of residents. They were also tipped off by employees of possible medicare fraud.

Victims of Nursing Home Abuse: Seek Help!

Nursing home abuse is a serious problem in nursing homes and other long term care facilities. And as you’ve read, it’s not always physical abuse. In Havenwood’s case, much of the nursing home abuse was in the form of theft and fraud. If you or a loved one have suffered any kind of nursing home abuse or negligence, you’ll need to seek the assistance of a nursing home abuse attorney. The nursing home abuse attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are eager to represent you and help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us for a free case evaluation, or simply call for a free consultation at 856-833-0600 in New Jersey, or 215-567-2380 in Philadelphia.