Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is asking a Pulaski County judge to order a New York nursing home operator pardoned by former President Donald Trump to report to an Arkansas prison and complete his state sentence, according to a court filing detailed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The filing states that Joseph Schwartz, 65, who once operated the now-defunct Batesville Health and Rehab and built a multistate nursing home chain before its collapse, still must serve 31 days in state custody following his April conviction for Medicaid fraud and tax evasion. Schwartz served 90 days of a three-year federal sentence before Trump pardoned him on Nov. 14, but the pardon does not affect his Arkansas convictions.
Authorities previously allowed Schwartz’s one-year state sentence to run concurrently with his federal term. However, Arkansas law requires he serve at least one-third of the state sentence, the motion says. Prosecutors argue Schwartz is a flight risk because he lives out of state, has international ties, and still owes more than $1 million of the $1.8 million restitution ordered.
According to the Democrat-Gazette, prosecutors said Schwartz’s management practices included falsified Medicaid information, unpaid employee tax withholdings and operational failures at multiple Arkansas facilities. He faces additional prison time if he does not finish repaying restitution by April 2027.
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