Norwich retirement home at center of fraud probe closed

NORWICH – Monday marked the official closing of an Oxford County retirement home at the center of an alleged fraud investigation.

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Trillium Care Norwich emailed residents and their families on Oct. 25 declaring it would “officially close its doors on Nov. 11, 2024” citing diminished income.

As of Oct. 28, days after the announced closing, the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority – the independent body mandated by the province under the Retirement Homes Act to regulate Ontario’s nearly 800 mainly privately operated retirement homes – said Trillium housed 18 residents.

On Monday morning only two vehicles were parked out front of Trillium Care Norwich and there was no activity observed outside or inside when a reporter went to one of its doors for comment.

A spokesperson for the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority confirmed on Monday afternoon all of Trillium’s residents have found alternative arrangements.

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“I’m pleased to report that all residents of Trillium Norwich have now secured alternate housing arrangements, whether in other retirement homes, long-term care facilities or with family, and were out of the home as of Friday, Nov. 8,” Raymond Chan, the authority’s manager of public affairs, said in a statement.

Miranda Guitard, whose husband’s grandmother began living at the facility in June, moved the 90-year-old woman out of Trillium Care Norwich Nov. 7. She said she already was searching for a new home for her elderly relative but was blindsided by Trillium’s announcement that gave her only two weeks to find accommodation. Guitard’s grandmother-in-law, who has dementia, is now living at Caressent Care in St. Thomas.

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“(It’s) not ideal for location, but we had no choice, because she was on a crisis list, and she was on the roster for long-term care,” Guitard said.

Trillium Care Norwich first received attention in August after the OPP announced it was investigating a series of frauds totaling more than $50,000 at a retirement home in Norwich.

Although OPP haven’t publicly identified Trillium as the site of the police probe, Guitard noted that $6,000 in payments meant for her grandmother-in-law’s rent were never received by the home.

On Monday, Oxford OPP Const. Randi Crawford said the investigation is ongoing.

The home also received attention after Guitard told The Free Press it was raising the rent for her grandmother-in-law by more than double, from $1,500 to $3,920. Two weeks later, the home announced it was closing its doors.

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Guitard said: “Because of this fraud issue and money and what not that we’re dealing with, (then) we’re going to increase your rent. . . then after that, it was, ‘Hey, we actually don’t have any money, we’re going to close down.’ It was just terrible from start to finish. It was an awful experience.”

In its email to residents and their families, Trillium stated it was “an emergency lack of financial resources necessary to sustain daily operations” as the reason for closing.

Two GoFundMe pages were initiated to raise money for staff who worked at the facility without pay.

“We have recently started a Go Fund Me page for the staff that has been working at Trillium in Norwich with no pay,” read a Nov. 8 post by Tammy Lyn Moyer to a Norwich Facebook group.

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Guitard said a staff member with whom she had spoken told her some employees had worked for a month without pay.

A Nov. 5 post by Amanda Rae last week supported Guitard’s assertion.

“Staff at Trillium have not received any pay for October,” posted Rae to the same Facebook group.

Both GoFundMe pages have been disabled but had accumulated a total of $1,815.

In a previous email exchange, Chan said retirement homes are required to provide “at least 120 days’ notice to residents” and the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority before a home is scheduled to close.

Chan said homes that don’t comply with the regulator’s measures could face consequences, but at the time, it was more concerned with finding accommodation for residents.

“The RHRA is currently reviewing the non-compliance with the Retirement Homes Act and will determine if any further enforcement action is warranted, based on the circumstances,” Chan said on Monday.

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@BrianWatLFPress

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