More than a decade ago, she arrived from the Philippines to work as a caregiver in a care home in Contra Costa County. The caregiver broke down on the stand, expressing her anger against Stephanie Costa, the owner of a group of assisted living homes in Fresno and Clovis. Care homes with just one caregiver on duty can require that worker to stay for rest and meal breaks, he noted, adding: "If you have two caregivers there, they have to be able to leave. She could not sit down again to rest until 10 p.m., after she tucked residents into bed and organized their prescriptions for the next day. About two-thirds are smaller facilities with four to 25 residents, many with dementia. Plus, there's a "nice exception" in state law, Kutnerian continued. I cry.". Residents in these care homes typically are more than 60 years old. Patti's second client is an attractive, young millionaire, Stephanie Costa, who has a squeaky voice and an unlikely career as a retirement-home magnate. She worked around the clock as a caregiver in one of their care homes for nearly a decade, earning about $2 an hour. Summary: Stephanie Costa is 38 years old today because Stephanie's birthday is on 04/06/1982. The caregivers are bearing the brunt.". They treated us like animals.". Pineda said, "We worked hard we didn't sleep, that time we have hospice.". Because these workers often live where they work, they are under the watchful eye of their bosses. ", As he spoke, Simpson was busy organizing one of the group's all-day workshops for care-home operators on labor laws, which the 6Beds website promised would give them a key bit of advice: how to "minimize labor costs.". For the first three years, Riduta slept on a thin piece of foam on the floor next to the residents. 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Then the investigator overheard Sarkeshik shout at the worker over the phone: "You need to get him out of there or you will be fired!" But the structure and administrative staff in the care homes? In fact, manicurists in California require more training. "What you're doing is not a service to the industry," he said. According to federal Labor Department records, the Publicos submitted false documents to labor investigators purporting to show they'd paid the back wages. State prosecutors say Gamos family members preyed on Filipino immigrants and "enslaved" some in their Rainbow Bright facilities. Two caregivers reported having miscarriages after lifting heavy residents and being denied time off. The profit margins can be huge and, for violators of labor laws, hinge on the widespread exploitation of thousands of caretakers, many of them poor immigrants effectively earning $2 to $3.50 an hour to work around the clock. Three of Deza's co-workers said in interviews that they also were forced to return the back wages. State and federal regulators say privately that they need many more investigators and lawyers to chase down scofflaws and force them to pay. Three weeks after Costa's care-home business filed for bankruptcy, her father registered a new company with the state called Property Investment Housing LLC. All consultation appointments will be offered via phone. "I needed that money for my medications and food, but he got away with murder by not having to pay. "Their entire business model is predicated on not making payroll. Leave right now!". "When you have multiple homes, you can literally make $20,000 profit a month," he said. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? They still are waiting. Last time she was a client, she disobeyed all of Patti's rules. "It makes the whole industry look like they're getting rich and ripping people off. They simply abandon their company names - and the judgments against those named entities - rendering the penalties and wage theft judgments meaningless. Hayes declined to comment. For owners who treat their workers properly, the market pressure is intense. While some are unsure how to pay their workers properly, care-home owners are certain about one thing: There is money to be made. Some workers who were injured on the job were told to lie to emergency room doctors about how they were maimed. Patti’s second client is an attractive, young millionaire, Stephanie Costa, who has a squeaky voice and an unlikely career as a retirement-home magnate. The cause was unknown. "I still have this dream that there's a baby crying all the time. ''My net worth is $3 to $4 million, probably." Soon afterward, the facility changed hands and now operates under a different name. She also installed surveillance cameras in her care homes to monitor caregivers, workers said. Stephanie Costa currently lives in Fresno, CA; in the past Stephanie has also lived in Beverly Hills CA and Clovis CA. A man at the care home said the facility is now called Elizabeth Care Homes 2. "Those allegations are false," said David Cohen, an attorney for Joshua Gamos. Attorneys for Joshua and Carlina Gamos said no workers were forced to work at the facilities. A substantial number are working in the U.S. without authorization or applying to remain legally in the country. "But we were helpless. For example, owners do not need to hire two caregivers when they could get away with one, Kutnerian said. Patti hopes Robin has learned, and promises that if she listens, she'll have a chance at love. She earned $2 an hour to work 24 hours a day. Stephanie Costa's attorneys declined to comment, but in cross examination, have poked holes in some of the caregivers testimony, even identifying confusion in their roles and duties. Precilla San Miguel, an owner of San Miguel Homes for the Elderly, which operates three facilities in Union City, near Silicon Valley, kept timesheets that showed caregivers worked eight hours a day, even though their employment manual required them to be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to seniors. Residential care facilities for the elderly receive among the largest wage theft judgments of any industry. Attorneys representing the caregivers have said in past interviews that they hope this case sets a precedent. His medical bills are crushing. "People wanted to work because they wanted the money. She just turned 30 and is ready for a serious man, but is used to dating jobless losers with no ambition. Stephanie Costa provides a case study in exploiting workers, getting caught breaking labor laws and circumventing full punishment. "It breaks my heart. The show helps self-described millionaires find suitable romantic partners. One man explains how "to turn a single-family home into a cash flow machine." Residential senior care homes are treating workers as indentured servants - and profiting handsomely. Police accuse her of damaging her boyfriends garage door and bedroom door before scratching him on the face. The company then took over as the new owner of Costa's six care homes. In late 2017, the Publicos sold the care home where Lim worked. Speaking through an interpreter, Mercedes Pineda told a state hearing officer that her former boss didn't give her a day off for six months. Stephanie Costa was arrested at her Clovis home. Still other workers never received a check in the first place. I've never been like, 'I'm the boss. "It's a classic tale of human greed," said Tia Koonse, legal and policy research manager at the UCLA Labor Center. She said she stayed on as a caregiver for just a month under the new owner. Gamos also is charged with raping a caregiver. Workers are left feeling desperate and trapped. Sign in. How could we leave?". On Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays, her three children visited her in the cramped room she lived in down the hall from the residents. Hayes assured residents that they would remain the same. People are living longer and they're sicker.". She went as far as fabricating evidence to cover up her wage theft, court documents show. She just turned 30 and is ready for a … Three months after Costa's star turn on Bravo in 2013, the state labor commissioner's office ordered Costa and her company, Bedford Care Group, to pay about $1.6 million for unpaid wages and penalties. This has resulted in an increasing number of gravely ill people or their family members seeking an alternative to costly nursing home care. Across the country, states are charged with regulating board-and-care facilities. In December 2014, following an appeal, the amount owed for the labor violations was reduced to $665,000. She just turned 30 and is ready for a serious man, but is used to dating jobless losers with no ambition. Then in 2013, federal regulators ordered Deza's bosses, Glenda and Rommel Publico, to pay Deza and 21 other workers more than $133,000 in back wages for violating federal minimum wage and overtime laws. They routinely are harassed and fired if they report abysmal pay or overtime violations, according to interviews and court documents. The Publicos wrote Deza two checks totaling more than $17,700 in back wages. It relies on people being willing to work for 24 hours a day for less than a dollar an hour. She excoriated the investigator for the intrusion: "You didn't tell me you were coming. In court filings, prosecutors allege that some workers slept on mattresses on the floor and in garages and were prohibited from leaving the facilities, where they cared for children, the disabled and some seniors. … They now operate several care homes. They changed adults' diapers, comforted the dying and hoisted infirm residents into bed. These new companies then received licenses from the state to run the six former Bedford care homes. Police accuse her of damaging her boyfriends garage door and bedroom door before scratching him on the face. He called it a bonus, she said. Reyes said she was not allowed to leave the home without permission when clients were present. The assisted living provider who appeared on an episode of "Millionaire Matchmaker" is accused of labor law violations. (James Tensuan/Reveal via AP). Workers said she offered them bribes to falsify timesheets and required them to sign agreements not to sue her. She alights from a black Ferrari convertible, her Christian Louboutin stilettos glinting in the sunlight. "Go to the mirror and look at yourself," Riduta recalled her boss saying. FRESNO, Calif. 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