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FBI agents conduct search warrants at Beaver County nursing home hit hard by COVID-19

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted search warrants at two local nursing homes on Thursday, the Department of Justice confirmed.

The US attorney told Channel 11 agents from the FBI, the office of inspector general for Health and Human Services, IRS-Criminal Investigation and state attorney general’s office showed up here and at Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, both owned by the same company, to execute federal court-authorized warrants.

Channel 11 learned this is a joint case with the FBI’s fraud unit and the AG’s Medicaid fraud unit looking into fraud and neglect during the pandemic.

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Brighton Rehab is the site of the worst COVID-19 outbreak of any nursing home in Pennsylvania. Numbers show 332 of Brighton’s residents tested positive for COVID-19 and 82 died.

In July, Brighton Rehab announced being coronavirus-free for the first time since March.

Brighton Rehab also defended its experimental use of hydroxychloroquine to treat and prevent COVID-19. In a statement, the facility disputed reports that it didn’t get state approval to give residents the drug.

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In August, the Pennsylvania auditor general said Brighton Rehab refused to cooperate with an audit.

As of right now, those warrants are sealed so we don’t know exactly what agents were looking for or what they took out of the facility.