The former CEO of a skilled nursing facility provider has been sentenced to 90 months in prison and ordered to pay $146 million in restitution and $8.4 million in forfeiture, in a case involving fraud and conspiracy.

The SNF company itself – KBWB Operations LLC, which did business as Atrium Health and Senior Living (KBWB-Atrium) – also must pay the same restitution and forfeiture amounts.

Kevin Breslin, the former CEO and managing member of KBWB-Atrium, pleaded guilty in the case in December 2024 and was sentenced Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

KBWB-Atrium operated 23 SNFs in Wisconsin between Jan. 1, 2015 and September 2018, and the company’s portfolio included owned or operated SNFs in New Jersey and Michigan as well, the press release stated. The organization was based in Little Falls, New Jersey and maintained a Midwest corporate office in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The case involved allegations that the company diverted Medicare and Medicaid funds for personal expenses and prioritized multi-million-dollar payouts to owners, while resident care suffered and vendors were not paid. Other allegations included the diversion of health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions from employee paychecks and money from resident accounts.

“Protecting Medicare and Medicaid is not just about preserving the programs. It is about safeguarding the dignity, health, and financial security of the millions of Americans who rely on them,” Acting U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma for the Western District of Wisconsin stated in the DOJ release.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin investigated and initially prosecuted the case with assistance from an array of other entities, including the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation arm.

A significant number of Atrium’s facilities in the Midwest were acquired out of receivership in 2019.