COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — When 67-year-old Leroy Cole suffered a stroke that left him with a limited ability to speak or move, his family members said they had no choice but to take him to Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
"We didn't want to go there, but it was the only option that we had," his son Diante Harper said.
But they said they became concerned by what they saw, and smelled, inside the nursing home.
"One thing that really, really, really stuck out to me is the aroma in the air," Harper said. "I didn't know exactly what it was, so like, later on as things progressed, my father got worse, and he ended up having bed sores ... that was the smell that I got. That's the smell that I always smelled walking into this facility."
Cole’s pressure injuries are cited in a $20 million lawsuit the family filed against multiple companies and people allegedly connected to the ownership and management of the facility. It claims they participated in business practices that resulted in poor quality of care.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Colonial Heights nursing home fined $1,300 per day amid new violations of care standards
The named defendants are Colonial Heights Operator LLC, Virginia Care Holdco LLC, Innovative Healthcare Management LLC, 831 East Ellerslie Avenue LLC, Moshe Rajchenbach, Israel Birnbaum, and Hindy Spiegel.
A spokesperson for the defendants rejected the allegations in the lawsuit as false and fabricated. A defense attorney for most of the named parties added the business structures at the center of the complaint were common and appropriate.
Colonial Heights isn’t alone. Court records show lawsuits targeting the business operations of other nursing homes are active as well.
Alleged pressure ulcers, weight loss, and falls
According to the complaint, Leroy Cole became a resident in June of 2023 until alleged injuries led to his hospitalization and subsequent death in October of that year.
“The decline with him started immediately,” his sister Francine Cole said.
While there, the lawsuit claims he lost 7.5% of his body weight within 45 days, suffered several falls, and acquired pressure ulcers.
The lawsuit says one of the wounds progressed to an “unstageable” level.
"When they took the bandage off, the smell just was horrible,” Cole’s daughter Tamisha Anderson said.
“It was frustrating. You see your father dying in front of your eyes and you can't do anything,” Harper said.
The complaint alleges a host of care failures that led to Cole’s injuries, but it takes a particular aim at how the nursing home’s operation was allegedly structured.
Lawsuit alleges money ‘siphoned’ through ‘corporate shell game’
The lawsuit claims the defendants created a “corporate shell game” that sought to hide the identity of the actual owners and pushed profits to related companies including the entity that owned the real property in which residents of Colonial Heights lived.
This structure, as alleged in the complaint, was designed to “siphon” money out of the nursing home and compromised patient care.
The family is being represented by attorney Justin Sheldon, partner at the law firm Breit Biniazan.
"Really, what it comes down to is the corporate decision to understaff facilities, and they're making that decision because it's the largest line item in the budget,” Sheldon said. “So the more they're able to reduce that number, the greater their profits are. But then one of the problems that they have is, well, what do we do with all this extra money?”
He continued, “So they're siphoning that off through different various corporate affiliates."
The suit cited federal data to allege a related real estate company, 831 East Ellerslie Avenue LLC, charged Colonial Heights “grossly inflated” rent from April 2023 through March 2024— $7.7 million, which was 27% of the facility’s total revenue.
In a previous CBS 6 investigation, a nursing home administration expert said the percentage of expenses at Colonial Heights attributed to rent in fiscal year 2024 was the highest he’d ever seen for a nursing facility.
"The most. Number one by far. By far. I've never seen more than 10% rent in any of the cases I've looked at,” said former administrator Julian Rich, who provides expert testimony in nursing home cases.
Meanwhile, a Colonial Heights spokesperson told CBS 6 the rent reflected fair market value.
During the same time period in which the complaint alleges Colonial Heights was charged “inflated” rent, it also alleges the facility’s staffing levels fell well below industry standards.
"They can't get around to doing what they're supposed to do with everybody. They can't turn and reposition. They don't have time to give everybody a shower. They don't have time to sit with Mr. Cole and feed him, even though he was completely unable to do that himself,” Sheldon said.
The complaint claims the owners implemented this same pattern across their portfolio of more than 30 other nursing homes in Virginia, including Westport and Henrico Health and Rehab.
CBS 6 has confirmed lawsuits alleging similar business practices have been filed against those facilities as well.
"It's not just at the local facility level where most of the regulators are focusing, it's really everything is being controlled up this corporate chain,” Sheldon said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Nurse's 'mind was blown' after state inspection led to improved staffing at nursing home
In addition to negligence and wrongful death, the lawsuit against Colonial Heights alleges a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, arguing the defendants misrepresented the quality and safety of Colonial Heights’ services.
"If you're going to treat people like this, then you definitely should not be in this business. You can pass the buck and say it's the nurses, it's the aides, the staff, but it's ownership. It's management,” Francine Cole said.
Defense says business structures are ‘common’ and ‘entirely appropriate’
Defense attorney John Owen of the firm Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman, who represents the individuals and corporate entities named in the lawsuits but not the facility itself, said allegations suggesting his clients "participated in a scheme to divert funds or otherwise undermine resident care are inaccurate and mischaracterize the corporate structure and business relationships involved."
“Resident care at the operating facilities is a priority, and there is a commitment to ensuring that residents receive appropriate care and support. It is common and entirely appropriate for owners of multiple business entities, including assisted living facilities, to establish separate legal entities that operate independently. The existence of such a structure does not support the conclusions plaintiffs seek to draw,” Owen said in a statement.
Spokesperson for the defendants, Mindie Barnett, said the lawsuit filed by the family of Leroy Cole is “based on fabrication, not facts.”
“It is without merit and should be dismissed,” Barnett said. “The parties named in the lawsuit are taking the matter seriously and intend to vigorously fight the false allegations in court and not in the media.”
CBS 6 also asked about the lawsuits against the Westport and Henrico facilities, but Barnett’s statement did not directly address those.
According to court records, defendants have not yet filed formal responses to the complaints in any of the three cases.
For the Cole family, they said their push for accountability also extends to the system that they believe let them down.
"I think the state and the local agencies have to take some responsibility for allowing a nursing home to operate under those conditions,” Francine Cole said.
Of note, Colonial Heights, Westport, and Henrico Health and Rehab underwent a change of ownership in June of this year.
This is a developing story, so check back with WTVR.com for updates. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have info, photos or videos to share.
Facebook
Instagram
Threads
Blue Sky
X
TikTok
YouTube
