An amended complaint has been filed by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in the ongoing lawsuit against Heritage Village Assisted Living, adding racketeering claims and asking the court to take control of Visions Mesa and Visions Apache Junction, two other assisted living facilities controlled by the owners of Heritage Village.
According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the new claims stem from evidence discovered during the lawsuit, as well as evidence uncovered by Peter Davis, the receiver appointed by the court to take over operations of Heritage Village.
After filing the original lawsuit in March 2024, the Attorney General asked the court to appoint Peter Davis as receiver for Heritage Village, with the twin goals of bringing in a new professional management company to improve resident care, and preventing Heritage Village from losing its license to operate in a revocation proceeding initiated by the Arizona Department of Health Services (“ADHS”).
Davis has achieved both of those goals, engaging Mission Management Services LLC to improve resident care and negotiating a settlement with ADHS to preserve the license. Mr. Davis is now working on finding experienced owners to purchase Heritage Village.
Between the receiver’s investigation of the facility’s financial condition and the ongoing litigation, new facts emerged about the previous ownership and management of the facility, including:
More than $2.9 million was diverted from Heritage Village operating accounts at the behest of owners Gary and Tracy Langendoen. The funds that should have been used to pay for the care of Heritage Village residents were instead used to pay debts for other properties in the Langendoen real estate empire or simply transferred directly to other companies controlled by the Langendoens.
The transfers included at least $890,000 moved from Heritage Village to Visions Apache Junction and at least $52,000 to Visions Mesa.
The insurance policy for Heritage Village was cancelled after the owners failed to pay the premiums. Gary Langendoen raised $200,000 from investors to reinstate the insurance, but he never gave that money to the insurance company. As a result, the receiver had to secure coverage from an “insurer of last resort” at a cost of more than $500,000.
The Langendoens treated all of the facilities they owned as “one big family,” freely moving money and even supplies between Heritage Village and other facilities in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and California, all without proper accounting or documentation.
Heritage Village filed at least six license applications with ADHS between October 2022 and August 2023, and every one of those applications was a forgery under Arizona law. Not only did the applications contain false information, but Heritage Village also submitted fake supporting documents (including leases and operating agreements) containing forged signatures.
While Heritage Village residents suffered horrific abuse and neglect and their rent payments were diverted to uses other than resident care, the Langendoens forced Heritage Village to pay $25,000 per month to one of their own companies for management and accounting services.
In addition to expanding the receivership, the updated lawsuit seeks treble damages against Gary Langendoen, Tracy Langendoen, and two high-level employees for racketeering activities, including forgery, scheme or artifice to defraud, and illegal conduct of an enterprise. The amended complaint also expands on the allegations of consumer fraud and elder abuse in the original complaint.
