(The Center Square) – Arizona recently reached a settlement, requiring the former owners and operators of an assisted living home in Mesa to pay $100,000 in civil penalties.
On top of the fine, the settlement prevents Gary Langendoen, Tracy Langendoen, or any of the companies the Langendoens own, from administering health care services to Arizona seniors.
State Attorney General Kris Mayes originally filed the lawsuit against the Langendoens in 2024 after Heritage Village was accused of violating Arizona laws, including the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and the Adult Protective Services Act.
The APSA allows Mayes to sue to prevent the abuse, mistreatment and exploitation of vulnerable adults.
Mayes said she sued the assisted living home “to make sure that the people responsible for Heritage Village horror stories can never again put Arizona’s elderly at risk of serious injury or death.”
“This settlement achieves that goal. But we still have plenty of work ahead of us in this case and others,” she said, answering The Center Square’s questions by email.
In 2024, Heritage Village faced numerous issues, including residents experiencing violence and sexual assault by other residents or staff, according to a news release from Mayes’ office.
When Mayes filed the lawsuit, Heritage Village was about to go out of business. However, when the receiver got involved with the facility, Heritage Village made improvements and remained open.
Heritage Village sold to new owners last year, according to Mayes’ office.
“Although Heritage Village is gone forever, the facility itself is still going strong under new management,” Mayes said. “My office has not received any consumer complaints about the former Heritage Village since the new owners took control.”
Mayes told The Center Square that she “will pursue all facility operators and caregivers who refuse to comply with the laws and regulations that protect our most vulnerable citizens.”
As part of the settlement, the defendants disputed the claims and admitted “no liability or wrongdoing with respect to events at the Heritage Village facility.”
The Center Square attempted to contact Heritage Village, but it did not respond before press time.
Earlier this month, Mayes announced a settlement with Brookhaven and its owners, Levi and Holly Walker, after numerous failures to comply with door-alarm requirements at the assisted living home.
In 2024, a resident at Brookhaven named Robert Pollmann, who suffered from dementia-related wandering, walked out the front door of Brookhaven without the door alarm going off. Pollman was found two days later dead.
Pollmann’s daughter sued Brookhaven, and Arizona acted as an intervenor in the case.
The settlement required the Walkers to divest from Brookhaven.
