Tulare County healthcare executive arrested at LAX, accused of financial crimes
A Tulare County healthcare executive, accused of multiple financial crimes, was taken into custody Wednesday night at Los Angeles International Airport.
Dr. Yorai “Benny” Benzeevi, chief executive officer of Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, was wanted by the Tulare County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation after he and two others were charged on Aug. 11 with 40 felonies and six misdemeanors.
Those alleged crimes include embezzlement, misappropriation of government funds, conflicts of interest, money laundering and failure to disclose funds intended to influence a political campaign.
Healthcare Conglomerate Associates is a company that formerly ran the Tulare Regional Medical Center.
Benzeevi, who left the country on March 1, 2019, agreed to return to Visalia after his lawyer met with federal officials at the American Embassy in Manila, Philippines to arrange for his self-deportation and return to the United States.
He was taken back to Tulare County where he was booked and released on a $4 million bail. The District Attorney’s Office, with the assistance from the FBI, revoked Benzeevi’s passport while he was in the Philippines.
Benzeevi along with two other Healthcare Conglomerate Associates officials — Chief Financial Officer Alan Germany of Arizona, and Tulare Regional Medical Center and HCCA counsel Bruce Greene of Los Angeles — are accused by prosecutors of using their positions with public hospitals to enrich themselves with taxpayer funds and private loans.
Benzeevi is scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 6. Greene and Germany will return to court on Dec. 18 for a scheduled hearing.
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said if convicted each defendant potentially faces a significant state prison commitment.
If convicted on all charges Benzeevi is facing more than 40 years in prison. Greene and Germany have potential maximum sentences of more than 10 years.
