BREAKING NEWS

Jun. 30, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The owner of an unlicensed Hamilton County assisted living facility has been

arrested on charges that she neglected the welfare and health of five

disabled adults, operated the Jasper facility without a license, and

engaged in the practice of nursing without a license, Attorney General Bill McCollum said today.

Gwendolyn Ann McClain, owner of Gwen's Assisted Living, was arrested by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with assistance from the Hamilton

County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating

McClain, 47, after receiving information from the Florida Department of

Children and Families, Adult Protective Services. The investigation

revealed that the residents were living in a condemned and uninhabitable

mobile home that had no running water, inadequate sources of heat and air

conditioning, and no operational bathroom or kitchen, authorities said. Reports indicate there was exposed wiring in the building, no room doors for privacy, no operational telephone, and holes in the floors, walls and ceiling. In addition, McClain allegedly administered medications to the residents and made medical decisions for them without any license, training or certification. Investigators say McClain was taking the residents' Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability checks as payment for her services.

McClain is charged with two counts of operating an assisted living

facility without a license, five counts of neglect of an elderly or

disabled adult, and one count of practicing nursing without a license, all

third-degree felonies. If convicted, she faces up to 40 years in prison

and a $40,000 fine. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney's

Office for the Third Judicial Circuit.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0372-36133505