Oct. 15 (UPI) — An ex-healthcare executive who former President Donald Trump gave a commuted sentence to has been arrested on charges of domestic violence, according to reports.
On Sunday, 56-year-old Philip Esformes was arrested by local police on his birthday on charges of witness or victim tampering, criminal mischief that involved property damage of more than $1,000, according to court documents in Miami-Dade County.
Esformes was released Monday from Miami-Dade County jail after posting a $150 bond, according to records. He has a Nov. 12 arraignment date.
Records show the two felony charges are related to domestic violence. Nobody is listed as injured in the incident.
It was reported that on Sunday Esformes allegedly verbally threatened a woman who relatives described as his wife. It’s alleged Esformes proceeded to intimidate them by breaking glassware on a table, the woman’s relatives told The New York Times.
The arrest affidavit says the argument began at about 10:30 p.m. local time and was over a minor son’s bedtime. Esformes’ wife, Aurelia Castiel, 42, allegedly tried to defuse the “verbal altercation” but Esformes “began yelling at her.”
The pair have been married three years, according to the arrest report.
According to the relatives, Esformes then later pushed the table toward one of the family members and tried to prevent his wife from calling police by allegedly breaking her cell phone. She reportedly ran out of the West 48th Street house and called for help.
Esformes is at least the 7th person granted clemency by Trump who has been charged with new crimes after receiving a presidential reprieve, according to an NYT analysis. And he is now the third of that group granted clemency to be charged with a domestic violence-related offense.
In 2019, Esformes, then 50, had been found guilty by a jury of making $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims for a string of services that were not provided, weren’t medically necessary or had received money through alleged kickback payments through a chain of assisted living homes he owned.
Evidence showed Esformes bribed physicians to admit patients into his facilities, and allegedly paid off a Florida state regulator for notification of planned inspections.