Former Haven Healthcare CEO Sentenced to Federal Prison for Defrauding Investment Firm

April 21, 2010 - Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAYMOND TERMINI, 48, of Middletown, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Underhill also ordered TERMINI to pay a fine in the amount of $6,000, and to forfeit $500,000 to the government. TERMINI was the Chief Executive Officer of Haven Healthcare, a defunct healthcare business with its headquarters formerly located in Middletown, Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, TERMINI and others engaged in a scheme to defraud Omega Healthcare Investors (“Omega”), a real estate investment firm located in Maryland. Omega owned nursing homes in Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire, which Omega leased to Haven Healthcare, who operated and managed the homes.

In September 2007, Omega agreed to provide funding to Haven Healthcare for capital improvements to the fire sprinkler systems at two of its facilities, Haven Health Center of Jewett City and Haven Health Center Soundview in West Haven. Omega agreed to reimburse Haven Healthcare for “Actual Costs” of sprinkler improvements for the fire sprinkler systems at the Jewett City and Soundview facilities, up to an amount of $2 million. TERMINI has admitted that he and others obtained the sprinkler funds from Omega, but did not intend to use the money for the sprinklers at the facilities. After receiving the sprinkler funding, TERMINI did not pay the vendors as he had told Omega he would, and did not spend the funds on the sprinklers.

In total, Omega wired $956,090 to Haven Healthcare to fund the improvements to the sprinkler systems.

Also, in February 2005, TERMINI obtained on behalf of Haven Healthcare a $6 million loan from Allied Capital Corporation (“Allied”), a Maryland corporation with its principal offices located in Washington, D.C. Although the purpose of the loan was to reduce Haven Healthcare’s debt, TERMINI has admitted that he spent the money on other purposes, including purchasing real estate in his wife’s name and under an LLC she controlled.

On January 5, 2010, TERMINI pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of unlawful monetary transaction in property derived from wire fraud. However, since that date, the court raised concerns about the factual basis for TERMINI’s guilty plea to the monetary transaction charge arising from the Allied loan. Today, TERMINI withdrew his guilty plea as to that count and, instead, pleaded guilty to a separate count of wire fraud arising from that loan. TERMINI was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts, concurrently.

This matter was investigated by the federal Health Care Fraud Task Force, including agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Sheldon and Auditor Susan Spiegel.

U.S. Attorney Dannehy encouraged individuals who suspect health care fraud to report it by calling the Health Care Fraud Task Force at (203) 785-9270, or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.