Pennsylvania’s state’s top attorney has launched an investigation into senior living facilities accused of seizing their residents’ stimulus checks, KDKA (Pittsburgh) reported. Investigator Meghan Schiller found a local man who claims this happened to his loved one. Justin Ciesielski says he will do anything to keep his dad comfortable. “My dad is clean and healthy and seems to be happy every time I go to see him,” he said. At 62 years old, his father now lives at Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, and his dad’s life savings and Medicare funds funnel directly to this facility, in exchange for his care. But in April, Ciesielski received this letter about his dad’s stimulus check. “I got a letter from the IRS basically saying it went into his account so I went and checked his account and it did not.” He called the facility and learned it planned to use his father’s stimulus check to pay down his balance and other expenses. Ciesielski said it didn’t seem right. “We have advised those nursing homes that they can’t do that. That money belongs to the individual,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “They can’t effectively garnish that stimulus check from the resident.” The state’s longterm care ombudsman Margaret Barajas said she’s tracking 200 complaints statewide, in addition to the cases Attorney General Shapiro’s office will handle. “I think in some cases the providers saw this as an opportunity to shore up some past debt,” Barajas said. “The federal government has made it clear that the stimulus check is not considered income. It is not taxable income and for that reason, it would be excluded from any contracts that a resident has signed and agreed to for provision of their care.” In Ciesielski’s case, he said the facility told him his father signed one of the forms Barajas is referencing.
