25 Investigates: Receiver unravels financial mess at Boston nursing home

A new report from the Temporary Receiver of the Edgar P. Benjamin Healthcare Center in Boston reveals the historic nursing home’s previous administration left $772,000.00 in unpaid bills.

A Suffolk County Superior Court Judge placed the Benjamin in receivership in April after the former President and CEO announced plans to close the 81-bed facility, citing overwhelming financial challenges.

Receivership is a legal tool used to protect and preserve a property from liquidation or bankruptcy.

In his most recent report to the court, Temporary Receiver and attorney Joseph Feaster noted that morale and resident care has improved since the court-ordered takeover, but “long-term challenges remain”.

Those challenges include strained banking relationships, deferred building maintenance, and demands and penalties from the IRS for six years of tax filings that were never submitted by the previous management, according to Feaster.

Feaster reported turning over “volumes of documents” to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office that support claims of “irregularities” discovered during an audit of the facility’s financial records.

Tony Francis was the President and CEO of the Benjamin for nearly 10 years prior to the court takeover.

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis was one of the highest-paid non-profit nursing home administrators in the state with a salary of $628,592.

Feaster is “considering lawsuits to recoup monies believed to have been improperly expended,” according to his report. Feaster did not name who might be targeted by the suits.

“When we filed the emergency petition earlier this year on behalf of families of residents, there were a lot of irregularities that we had already uncovered at that point. But since that time, since the receiver has been on board, he and his team have uncovered more financial irregularities from the prior administration,” said Oren Sellstrom, Litigation Director, Lawyers for Civil Rights.

Sellstrom is working on behalf of Benjamin families to save the home, which has long served communities of color in Boston.

“It has existed in the community for 100 years now, and our hope is that with additional time, additional stabilization, it will be able to exist for another 100 years and provide that quality care that it’s known for.” Sellstrom said.

Tony Francis didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

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