Owner of nursing homes evacuated to warehouse during Hurricane Ida arrested, AG says
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By Breaking News Team, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
The owner of seven Louisiana nursing homes that were evacuated to a warehouse before Hurricane Ida hit has been arrested on charges including cruelty to persons with infirmities and Medicaid fraud, authorities said Wednesday.
Officials with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office said that Bob Glynn Dean Jr., 68, has been charged in Tangipahoa Parish with eight counts of cruelty to persons with infirmities, five counts of Medicaid fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice.
Authorities said an investigation found that “Dean refused to move his residents out of the warehouse following Hurricane Ida, billed Medicaid for dates his residents were not receiving proper care, and engaged in conduct intended to intimidate or obstruct public health officials and law enforcement.”
Officials said last year that more than 800 people from seven nursing homes were evacuated to a warehouse in Independence in August, days before Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon. State health officials said that during checks of the warehouse after the hurricane passed, they found dangerous conditions for evacuated residents, though they said they were unable to conduct a full assessment of the facility.
“(Louisiana Department of Health) team members were subject to intimidation by the owner of the seven nursing facilities,” officials with the health department said in September.
Photos: Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana Montegut fire chief Toby Henry walks back to his fire truck in the rain as firefighters cut through trees on the road in Bourg, Louisiana as Hurricane Ida passes on August 29, 2021. (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana Bourg fire chief TJ Pellegrin asks a couple if they are okay after Hurricane Ida passed in Bourg, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021. (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana Debris is seen in an intersection in downtown on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana Michael Brown, who is homeless, rides out Hurricane Ida from his bed under a highway overpass on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ida made landfall earlier today southwest of New Orleans. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana A dumpster tossed by gusting winds along Canal Street during Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Photos: Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana Vehicles are damaged after the front of a building collapsed during Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ida made landfall earlier today southwest of New Orleans. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 29: Ann Colette Boudreaux comforts her grandson Abel ahead of Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Residents of New Orleans continue to prepare as the outer bands of the hurricane begin to cut across the city. Ida is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm later today. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (BRANDON BELL/Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath A man passes by a section of roof that was blown off of a building in the French Quarter by Hurricane Ida winds, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
Hurricane Ida aftermath An abandoned vehicle is half submerged in a ditch next to a near flooded highway as the outer bands of Hurricane Ida arrive Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Bay Saint Louis, Miss. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (Steve Helber/AP)
Hurricane Ida aftermath A vehicle drives through rain and high winds across Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2021 during Hurricane Ida. - Hurricane Ida made landfall as "an extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm in Louisiana on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. "Extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the NHC wrote in an advisory. Ida struck the port, which is located 100 miles (160 kilometers) directly south of New Orleans, at 1655 GMT, packing maximum sustained winds estimated at 150 miles per hour. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 29: Utility workers play in the wind from Hurricane Ida as they wait for the storm to pass to begin repairs on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ida made landfall earlier today southwest of New Orleans. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath Tony Hilliard, left, and his family expose themselves to the elements as Hurricane Ida begins to make landfall, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
Hurricane Ida aftermath A cyclist wears a face mask as they ride through rain and high winds on Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2021 during Hurricane Ida. - Hurricane Ida made landfall as "an extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm in Louisiana on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. "Extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the NHC wrote in an advisory. Ida struck the port, which is located 100 miles (160 kilometers) directly south of New Orleans, at 1655 GMT, packing maximum sustained winds estimated at 150 miles per hour. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath TOPSHOT - Rain comes down at a wall of sandbags in Montegut, Louisiana before Hurricane Ida lands on August 29, 2021. - Hurricane Ida was upgraded to a Category 4 storm as it stayed on course to hit New Orleans with maximum sustained winds reaching 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said Sunday. Ida was due to make landfall on Sunday, 16 years to the day Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern US city, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans, and leaving behind 1,800 casualties and billions of dollars in damage. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images) (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath Firefighters look out the window from a shelter as hurricane Ida passes in Bourg, Louisiana on August 29, 2021. - Hurricane Ida struck the coast of Louisiana Sunday as a powerful Category 4 storm, 16 years to the day after deadly Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern US city of New Orleans."Extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the National Hurricane Center wrote in an advisory. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images) (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath High winds blow palm trees as Entergy Corp. electric utility company bucket trucks are staged on Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2021 during Hurricane Ida. - Hurricane Ida made landfall as "an extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm in Louisiana on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. "Extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the NHC wrote in an advisory. Ida struck the port, which is located 100 miles (160 kilometers) directly south of New Orleans, at 1655 GMT, packing maximum sustained winds estimated at 150 miles per hour. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath A truck is seen in heavy winds and rain from hurricane Ida in Bourg, Louisiana on August 29, 2021. - Hurricane Ida struck the coast of Louisiana Sunday as a powerful Category 4 storm, 16 years to the day after deadly Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern US city of New Orleans."Extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the National Hurricane Center wrote in an advisory. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images) (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 29: The Boudreaux family sits on their front porch as they await the arrival of Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Residents of New Orleans continue to prepare as the outer bands of the hurricane begin to cut across the city. Ida is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm later today. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (BRANDON BELL/Getty Images)
Hurricane Ida aftermath Firefighters use a wet vaccum to soak up water leaking into a shelter as hurricane Ida passes in Bourg, Louisiana on August 29, 2021. - Hurricane Ida struck the coast of Louisiana Sunday as a powerful Category 4 storm, 16 years to the day after deadly Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern US city of New Orleans."Extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the National Hurricane Center wrote in an advisory. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images) (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials ordered the closure of the nursing homes, in Orleans Parish, Lafourche Parish, Jefferson Parish and Terrebonne Parish. Authorities subsequently revoked the homes’ licenses.
Seven people who were evacuated to the warehouse died, authorities said, including five people whose deaths were deemed to be storm-related.
In a statement released last year, Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Courtney Phillips called the situation in Independence “reprehensible.”
“The lack of regard for these vulnerable residents’ wellbeing is an affront to human dignity,” Louisiana State Health Officer Joseph Kanter said.
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Crews begin work on downed power lines leading to a fire station, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Waggaman, La., as residents try to recover from the effects of Hurricane Ida. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana A car is submerged in water in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Debris and a boat are scattered over a roadway in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Homes, businesses and roads are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Worker checks on a flooded house in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana The remains of destroyed homes and businesses are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana The remains of destroyed homes and businesses are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos: Scenes from Hurricane Ida's aftermath in Louisiana Homes, businesses and roads are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)