A Tucson man who ran a string of assisted living homes is facing fraud and theft charges over claims he refused to give residents refunds when the facilities closed.
A grand jury has indicted Jerone Davis, 56, on 14 counts of theft and one count of fraudulent schemes related to his operation of Rancho Verde Care Homes in 2017, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said in a news release this week.
Fourteen elderly residents lost a total of more than $100,000 for fees they paid in advance, the news release said. Davis has entered a plea of not guilty and a public defender is expected to represent him, court records show.
Katie Conner, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said the investigation is ongoing and is being handled by agents with the state’s health care fraud and abuse section.
Davis once ran a half a dozen or so Rancho Verde facilities in Sahuarita, Casas Adobes and across Tucson, records show. The indictment doesn’t specify which locations were involved in alleged wrongdoing.
His two Sahuarita homes made headlines in May 2017 when the Sahuarita Sun reported residents were being removed by Arizona Adult Protective Services.
Several workers at the Sahuarita homes claimed Davis hadn’t been paying his employees, a claim he denied.
But public records show the Industrial Commission of Arizona’s labor department issued five judgments against Davis in 2017 for non-payment of employee wages.
Davis ran the care homes under the business entity JDD Enterprises LLC, one of five corporations he registered in his name over the last decade or so.
Davis’ LinkedIn profile does not mention his troubled former nursing homes. It describes him as a “business specialist providing ethical and profitable business solutions for over 3,000 businesses throughout Arizona.”
Davis’ next court date is Dec. 13.
