Tulare (Calif.) County Superior Court on Nov. 14 sentenced a former hospital CEO for public corruption crimes related to his time at Healthcare Conglomerate Associates.
Yorai "Benny" Benzeevi, MD, former CEO of HCCA, was sentenced to $2.4 million in restitution, which must be paid to Tulare Local Healthcare District ($2 million) and Lone Pine, Calif.-based Southern Inyo Healthcare District ($400,000).
The sentencing also included two years probation, time served in custody and 600 hours of community service, which have been completed, according to the Tulare County district attorney's office.
The charges included six felony counts of conflict of interest and two misdemeanor counts of failure to timely disclose campaign expenditures and using an official position for personal gain.
"Our focus was to financially restore the losses caused by the defendant while having him admit his guilt. I believe that goal has been met — $2.4 million dollars in restitution has been returned to victims in Tulare and Inyo and the defendant is a convicted felon," District Attorney Tim Ward said in a statement. "Though we advocated for time in custody, we respect the court's decisions today. We now look forward to focusing our efforts on the remaining defendant in this case."
HCCA, under Dr. Benzeevi's leadership, took over Tulare Regional a decade ago. The hospital filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2017, shortly after Dr. Benzeevi and HCCA were ousted. Tulare Local Healthcare District later entered a management agreement with Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health.
In 2020, charges were filed against Dr. Benzeevi, CFO Alan Germany and the company's lawyer Bruce Greene. Dr. Benzeevi previously served as the CEO of Tulare Regional and Mr. Germany was acting CFO of Tulare Regional and Inyo Hospital. The three executives were accused of swindling taxpayer money from the hospital.
In December 2023, Mr. Germany accepted a plea deal involving embezzlement and conflict of interest. He was ordered to apologize to the community and pay $150,000 in restitution.
Mr. Greene's firm and the hospital district reached a $3 million civil settlement last year, and he was indicted by a criminal grand jury in May, according to The San Joaquin Valley Sun. He faces 16 felony charges for his involvement with Tulare Regional.
Neither HCCA nor Tulare Regional responded to Becker's request for comment.