Ex-Tulare hospital CFO tenders apology in plea deal over role in embezzlement

Former Healthcare Conglomerate Associates CFO Alan Germany will stay out of jail in the fraud case surrounding Tulare Regional Medical Center. 

Germany has taken a plea deal and apologized for his role in the financial crimes committed while operating the hospital. 

The backstory: Germany, former HCCA CEO Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi and former HCCA lawyer Bruce Greene were charged with 40 felonies and six misdemeanors including money laundering, embezzlement and theft. 

• HCCA operated Tulare Regional Medical Center from 2014 to 2017. 

The big picture: Germany presented an apology letter to the Tulare Local Healthcare District on Nov. 29 as part of a plea deal that will keep him out of prison. He agreed to a deal with Tulare County prosecutors to plead no contest to conflict of interest and failure to file a statement of economic interest in early October.

• Tulare County Superior Court Judge Michael Sheltzer ordered him to write the letter, and he also was required to pay the Tulare Local Healthcare District $100,000 in restitution. 

• In 2016 Benzeevi and Greene signed a $250,000 line of credit agreement to Southern Inyo Healthcare District, where Germany was the chief restructuring officer. 

• The Tulare Local Healthcare District did not grant them permission for the line of credit, and they did not disclose it to the board until 2017, when it had increased to $500,000. 

• Germany also had to pay $50,000 to Southern Inyo Healthcare District in restitution. 

The letter: “Thank you for the opportunity to have worked with Tulare Local Healthcare District from 2014 to 2017,” Germany wrote. 

• “I recall the farmlands of Tulare County and remember the tremendous work ethic of its residents. I strove to emulate that daily as I worked on behalf of the District. 

• “I apologize and regret my involvement in the 2016 Line of Credit between Tulare Local Healthcare District and Southern Inyo Healthcare District. 

• “I also apologize for and regret my failure to file a Form 700 which would have disclosed my personal interests. I wish Tulare Local Healthcare District the best in the future.”