More Backlash For Former Fort Wayne Group Homes

By Valerie Caviglia

More Backlash For Former Fort Wayne Group Homes

December 11, 2010 Updated Dec 11, 2010 at 10:46 AM EDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) -- Group homes in Fort Wayne involved in a highly publicized scandal caused by its former chief operating officer are now in the foreclosure process.

The Journal Gazette reported that documents filed this month in the Allen County Superior Court indicated Wells Fargo Bank has filed two foreclosure actions against Pejus Inc., the parent company of Your Friends and Neighbors.

Court documents indicate Pejus last made a payment to Wells Fargo for the two properties, one on Cimarron Pass and the other on Highwood Drive, in August. Those documents also said the bank is asking Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries to sell the properties.

Your Friends and Neighbors former COO, Ernest Beal, 56, was charged with theft after he used money from developmentally impaired group home resident's trust funds he claimed to put toward operating expenses. Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull sentenced Beal to two years in prison.

Also contributing to the collapse of Your Friends and Neighbors in Fort Wayne was the discontinuance of Medicaid funds in August when the state determined the company was no longer eligible. Residents were removed from homes and caretakers lost their jobs as a result. The homes were shut down a few months later.




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