Former Tulare Hospital CEO Dr. Benny Benzeev to pay more than $2 million in damages, plead no contest to 6 felonies

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) — In impact statements, the Tulare County District Attorney’s office and the defense shared their arguments before a judge Thursday afternoon in a Visalia courtroom in the years-long case against Dr. Benny Benzevi.

Dr. Benzeevi is behind one of the most significant corruption cases in Tulare County.

Earlier this year, he pleaded no contest to six felony and two misdemeanor charges related to embezzlement and money laundering.

The allegations include conflicts of interest related to contracts he entered into and loans for personal gain that took place from 2015 to 2017 while he ran Tulare Regional Medical Center.

“He ended up selling the hospital’s assets for $3 million and using the proceeds to pay off his company’s debt, which he then got a month before the hospital filed for bankruptcy and collapsed,” said Assistant District Attorney Trevor Holley. .

This eventually led to the hospital being closed for a year.

“One cannot fail to notice that patients were physically harmed. In some cases, it has resulted in eventual death,” said Dr. Patricia Drilling, a dentist in Tulare. She continued, “They died because of greed and a need for power, putting profits over people.”

The Benzeev investigation lasted more than three years and cost prosecutors approximately $1.5 million.

On Thursday, the prosecutor’s office asked for a year in prison and compensation.

In court, a check for $2.2 million was handed over to Benzeev by his lawyer, but there was no time behind bars.

“The downside is that I was unhappy with the verdict, and I always have been,” Holly explains.

The defense says Benzeev has already served 120 days of house arrest, 600 hours of community service and was in good standing during a two-year probation period that began when he pleaded guilty in February of this year.

“He’s a good person with good intentions, but he was given bad advice,” says Benzeev’s lawyer, Nina Marino.

While the funds will help expand the hospital, Adventist Health currently operates it.

One local resident says the damage is making recovery difficult.

“Because a lot of people lost their jobs, and I think when that hospital closed, there were people who were affected, and the wait times at other hospitals went up dramatically,” said Xavier Avila, who is also the secretary of Tulare Local Government. Health care district.

Benzeev’s co-defendant, Alan Germania, entered into a plea deal last year that allowed him to be released from prison.

The former financial director was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $150,000 in compensation.

Stay tuned for news updates in the South Valley Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.