After several years of operation, both Christ Medical Center and the Diabetes Treatment Center in Citrus County, Fla., are closed and their owner has filed for bankruptcy protection, the Citrus County (Fla.) Chronicle reported. In 2017, the center fired its entire staff and closed temporarily before later reopening. Bankruptcy court documents also say Medicare stopped payments to the facilities before they closed earlier this week. The medical facilities are owned by Dr. Eihab Tawfik. In February, Central Bank in Tampa began foreclosing on Tawfik’s diabetes center, filing foreclosure documents seven months ago in Citrus County circuit court. The diabetes center is closely affiliated with Christ Medical and could be included in the foreclosure. The bank claims that Tawfik has not made payments toward its $2.52 million loan to the doctor since January. In addition to the $2.52 million principal loan, the bank claims Tawfik owes additional late fees and charges of more than $40,000. Pressured by the bank to either get its money back or take possession of his businesses, Tawfik in April filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville. The bankruptcy trustee this month requested that the bankruptcy petition be converted to chapter 7.
