Jan. 24 (UPI) — The Justice Department announced on Friday that a health care company and its CEO pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and one count of tax conspiracy.

KBWB Operations LLC and its CEO Kevin Breslin, of Hoboken, N.J., entered guilty pleas to the single count of health care fraud and one count of tax conspiracy related to the operation of numerous skilled nursing facilities.

The case is related to investigations in which Breslin was accused of diverting Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services funds meant for the operation and management of facilities for personal expenses and other uses.

“Americans rely on skilled nursing facilities to care for themselves, family members, and other loved ones, and the operators of these institutions must live up to their obligations and the law,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in a statement.

Breslin had entered a guilty plea in U.S. district court in Western Wisconsin on Dec. 17 while KBWB-Atrium, which Breslin co-owned, entered a guilty plea in the same court on Tuesday. KBWB-Atrium, which has headquarters in Little Falls, N.J., and Appleton, Wis., operated nursing facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin and Michigan.

A federal grand jury in Wisconsin issued a 12-count indictment against the Breslin and KBWB-Atrium on Feb. 1, 2023, over its use of Medicare and Medicaid funds from 2015 to 2018.

“According to court documents, the defendants’ alleged health care fraud scheme involved unlawfully diverting CMS fund intended for the operation, management, maintenance, and care of the residents of the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities for other purposes and personal expenses,” the Justice Department said.

Chad Yarbrough, assistant director of the FBI criminal investigative division, said the alleged scheme violated the trust of vulnerable populations.

“Breslin’s actions not only eroded the public trust but endangered the well-being of patients who rely on our health care system,” Yarbrough said.