KBWB Operations LLC, known as Atrium Health and Senior Living (KBWB-Atrium), has become the focus of a healthcare fraud and tax conspiracy investigation for the Justice Department.
Former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Member Kevin Breslin of KBWB-Atrium and the company itself pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud and one count of tax conspiracy related to the operation of numerous skilled nursing facilities.
Breslin, a Hoboken native, is one of six owners of KBWB-Atrium. The company operates nursing facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
KBWB Operations LLC enters tax and healthcare guilty pleas
“The guilty pleas of Kevin Breslin and KBWB Operations LLC serve as a reminder that healthcare fraud is not only a direct violation of patient care but also an attack on the financial systems that underpin public and private trust,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chicago Field Office.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provided KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin with a steady income stream, and Breslin oversaw the operations of 23 skilled nursing facilities in the region.
He and KBWB-Atrium were responsible for “diverting CMS funds intended for the operation, management, maintenance, and care of the residents of the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities for other purposes and personal expenses,” according to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department further points the finger at Breslin and the company for giving owners of the company guaranteed financial payments regardless of the company’s performance and economic health.
In his capacity at the company, the report stated that Breslin instructed that “income taxes and employment taxes withheld from KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin employees’ paychecks not be paid to the IRS.”
U.S. District Judge William M. Conley for the Western District of Wisconsin will apply sentencing to the defendants on May 7. Breslin faces ten years and five years, respectively, for the count of healthcare fraud and the conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States count.
“Americans rely on skilled nursing facilities to care for themselves, family members, and other loved ones, and the operators of these institutions must live up to their obligations and the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
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