RIVERSIDE (CNS) - California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday that three Riverside County hospice workers convicted of abusing dependent adults were responsible for "horrific neglect" that harmed a half dozen patients under their supervision.
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Nimfa Molina, 64, Joel Gallano Ombao, 70, and Ronnel Tiburico, 58, were convicted Monday following a six-week trial at the Riverside Hall of Justice stemming from offenses that occurred in the 2010s at an unlicensed board and care facility in Riverside owned and operated by Ombao.
"Caretakers of elderly and dependent adults have the responsibility of protecting their patients' dignity, safety and health," Bonta said. "Instead, the victims in this case suffered horrific neglect and lack of care at the hands of those who were trusted with their well-being."
Following four days of deliberations, a jury convicted Molina of one count of misdemeanor cruelty to a dependent adult, while Ombao was found guilty of four felony counts of dependent care abuse, and Tiburico was convicted of six felony counts of abuse.
Both he and Ombao are being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Molina is free on a $100,000 bond. The trio is slated for sentencing on Aug. 25.
Ombao and Tiburico are each facing between seven and nine years in state prison. Molina is facing six months in county jail, fines and probation.
"We are grateful for the continued partnership with the California Department of Justice to help bring an end to this network of fraud, abuse and, essentially, a form of human trafficking," Riverside police Chief Larry Gonzalez said. "To prey on the vulnerable deserves nothing less than the harshest consequences available."
According to prosecutors, the defendants were responsible for six patients between the ages of 32 and 66 with disabilities, residing at Ombao's Secure Hands facility, which came under investigation following revelations that the victims were living in filth, lacking basic provisions.
"Many of them were emaciated and dehydrated and were not being provided the care they needed," according to a DOJ statement. "They (were) in a house that did not have the staff, equipment or licensing (required) for the residents."
The case was jointly investigated by the Riverside Police Department and the DOJ's Medi-Cal Fraud & Elder Abuse Unit.
In addition to Molina, Ombao and Tiburico, prosecutors also originally charged a caregiver, Beverly Guerrero, with three counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. She pleaded guilty to a charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor in December 2020 and was sentenced to 36 months' probation.
"Let (these) convictions serve as a warning: We will not allow those who abuse California's most vulnerable adults to get away with their despicable crimes," Bonta said.
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