November 30, 2010
Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Polk County Couple Arrested for Operating Assisted Living Facility Without License
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Polk County couple has been taken into custody on charges that they were operating an assisted living facility without a license. Jason Carl Burse Jr., 36, and his wife, Marquita Green Burse, 49, were arrested today by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
In October, the couple was arrested for operating an assisted living facility in Auburndale without a license, in connection with a facility inspection that took place in December 2009. At the time of their most recent arrest, investigators from the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s Patient Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PANE) Team inspected the facility again and after additional investigation determined the couple was still operating an assisted living facility without a license. The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) had previously revoked their licensed facility in Polk City, Florida.
In order to legally and properly operate an assisted living facility, there are various administrative and operational requirements, which must be met including: licensing procedures, staffing requirements, compliance with county health and local fire authority regulations, and the safe management of medication by trained staff personnel.
Both Jason Burse and Marquita Burse have been charged with one count each of operating and/or maintaining an assisted living facility without a license, a third-degree felony. If convicted, each could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and receive a fine of up to $5,000. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. The original charges from the first arrest are still pending.
The PANE Team plays a key role in detecting abuse and neglect of elderly and disabled adults, helping to ensure that efficient and effective health care is being provided.