Trump Pardons Schwartz, Former Owner of Collapsed Skyline Nursing Home Chain
Skilled Nursing News
November 17, 2025
By Amy Stulick
Pardon of Joseph Schwartz
- Action: President Donald Trump pardoned Joseph Schwartz, former owner of the Skyline Healthcare nursing home chain, on Friday.
- The Crimes: Schwartz had pleaded guilty to a $38 million employment tax fraud scheme, which included diverting payroll taxes intended for the IRS and mismanaging employee 401(k) plans.
- Sentencing: Prior to the pardon, Schwartz was sentenced in April to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
- Official Rationale: As of press time, the Office of the Pardon Attorney has not provided a specific reason for the clemency.
Context and Related Clemency
- Skyline Healthcare: At its peak, Schwartz’s company operated 95 nursing homes across 11 states [including Massachusetts].
- Other Trump Pardons:
- Paul Walczak: Pardoned in May for failing to pay over $10 million in taxes. Reports indicate this followed his mother’s attendance at a $1 million-per-person fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
- Philip Esformes: Pardoned during Trump’s first term regarding a $1 billion health care fraud scheme, the largest ever charged by the DOJ.
- Biden Pardon:
- James Burkhart: The former American Senior Communities CEO was pardoned by President Biden in December regarding a $19.4 million fraud and kickback scheme.
Trump pardons another long-term care convict; frees Schwartz, architect of Skyline chain collapse, $39M fraud
McKnights Long-Term Care News
November 16, 2025
By James M. Berklan
Pardon of Joseph Schwartz
- Executive Action: President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Joseph Schwartz, a former nursing home executive.
- Criminal Background: Schwartz was sentenced in April to three years in prison for defrauding the IRS of nearly $39 million in payroll taxes.
- Legal Impact: The pardon negates his prison sentence, a $100,000 fine, and $5 million in restitution.
- Potential Influence: While the administration provided no official reason for the clemency, reports indicate a lobbying campaign involving over $900,000 preceded the decision.
Skyline Chain Collapse
- Schwartz expanded the Skyline chain to 95 facilities across 11 states before being indicted in 2022.
- The chain’s collapse put 15,000 employees and 7,000 patients at risk, forcing states to appoint emergency conservators.
- Regulatory Legacy: The “debacle” is credited with driving new transparency requirements for federally funded nursing homes.
Pattern of Executive Clemency in Long-Term Care
Schwartz is the third high-level nursing home executive freed by Trump, joining other notable cases:
- Paul Walczak: Pardoned in May for $7 million in payroll tax fraud. The pardon followed a $1 million contribution by his mother to a Trump fundraiser.
- Philip Esformes: Trump commuted his 20-year sentence for a $1 billion fraud scheme in 2020.
- Jon Michael Harder: The former Sunwest Management CEO was pardoned in 2021 after serving five years for investor fraud.
Additional Context
- Jan. 6 Connection: On the same day as the Schwartz pardon, Trump pardoned a participant in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
- Previous Administration: The text notes that in December 2024, then-President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of James Burkhart, a former CEO convicted of a $19.4 million fraud scheme.
The case of a felon who paid lobbyists nearly $1 million to seek a Trump pardon
*Washington Post
November 23, 2025
By Michael Kranish and Aaron Schaffer
Nursing home magnate Joseph Schwartz was sentenced in April to three years for defrauding the government of $38 million. Seven months later, Trump pardoned him, but the White House denies a lobbying tie.
The Pardon of Joseph Schwartz
- Clemency Granted: On November 14, President Trump granted a “full and unconditional” pardon to Joseph Schwartz, a former nursing home magnate.
- Conviction Details: Schwartz was serving a three-year sentence for defrauding the government of $38 million in payroll taxes and overseeing a collapsed nursing home empire. He had served only three months at the time of the pardon.
- Sentencing Dispute: The pardon overrode the judgment of the sentencing judge and Trump’s own Justice Department, both of which had rejected lighter sentences due to the severity of the fraud.
Lobbying Involvement
- Large Payment: Disclosure filings reveal Schwartz paid $960,000 to lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl to seek the federal pardon.
- White House Response: A White House official denied that staff met with the lobbyists, characterizing such spending as “foolishly wasting funds.” The administration defended the pardon by citing Schwartz’s age (65), health issues, and payment of restitution, claiming he was targeted by the “Biden Department of Justice.”
- Defense Attorney Stance: Schwartz’s criminal defense lawyer stated he was unaware of the lobbyists’ involvement but maintained that the pardon was justified because Schwartz did not intend to enrich himself personally.
Background of Lobbyists Burkman and Wohl
- Criminal Record: The lobbyists are right-wing provocateurs convicted of telecommunications fraud in Ohio for robocall schemes intended to deter minority voter turnout.
- Ongoing Legal Troubles: They face sentencing in Michigan for similar voter suppression charges and have been subject to millions in fines by the FCC and the New York Attorney General.
- Additional Clients: The pair recently registered to lobby for a pardon for rapper Torence Hatch (known as Boosie Badazz).
Criticism
- Two-Tiered Justice: Liz Oyer, a former U.S. pardon attorney, noted that the massive payment to lobbyists raises concerns about a “special tier of justice for people who can afford to pay.”
Joseph Schwartz, The Biggest Nursing Home Crook in History, Has Been Pardoned!
Commentary by David Kingsley, President, Center for Health Information and Policy
November 19, 2025
In 2016, Joseph Schwartz was able to raise enough cash to buy 100 nursing homes in several states. Schwartz was a scam artist that pocketed Medicaid and Medicare dollars without providing a modicum of decent care for patients in his facilities. He deducted money from his employees’ paychecks for health insurance that he never bought. He failed to forward payroll deductions for income taxes to the IRS. Through stealing money from Medicaid/Medicare, from his employees, from vendors, and from a variety of lenders, Schwartz pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten funds. This has been without doubt the biggest scandal in the history of the nursing home system.
Schwartz was charged by both the DOJ and the State of Arkansas with fraud and other federal and state crimes. He was convicted in both cases. A few weeks ago, I was wondering about his sentence and if he would ever serve any time in prison. He was not showing up in the Bureau of Prisons as an inmate. I couldn’t find out anything from the state of Arkansas. I was ready to file a FOIA request with the Arkansas AG. However, CHIP Executive Director Kent Comfort came across the answer this morning in a trade publication (LevinPro). Apparently, Trump has pardoned Schwartz. So, he will suffer no consequences for becoming fabulously rich by stealing from federal and state governments as well as from his employees.
The Schwartz family operated under the business name Skyline Healthcare – an LLC. Fifteen Skyline facilities were licensed to operate in Kansas. For years, I attempted to find out from the Kansas AG’s office why Schwartz had not been charged with a crime for Medicaid fraud and theft from his employees. No information was forthcoming. Nor did the leading Kansas nursing home advocacy group – Kansas Advocates for Better Care – or politicians show any interest in helping me out. Eventually, the statute of limitations ran. The 15 insolvent facilities found their way into the hands of Skyway Capital Partners located in Tampa Bay, Florida, which set up a captive private equity firm and a management entity known as Mission Health Communities. Kansas, like the rest of the nation, has forgotten all about Joseph Schwartz and Skyline.
The decade long Skyline scandal has come to an end without consequences for the leading culprit. Schwartz’s exoneration was not determined in the courts but through executive fiat. The scandal is about more than an unscrupulous operator. It is a sign of the rot in the governmental nursing home regulatory system that has become endemic. The message is that financial crimes in elder care are ultimately negotiable. This is a chilling message for and contemptuous disregard of elder care.