Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Caretakers get community service after elderly man drowns

A husband and wife were sentenced today to community service on two counts of neglect of an older person after an elderly man drowned at an illegally operated group home, authorities said.

Las Vegas residents William Alston, 38, and Leni Alston, 44, were both convicted of two gross misdemeanor offenses of neglect of an elderly person in Clark County District Court.

They each received 100 hours of community service, three years of probation and were ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution, Nevada Attorney General spokeswoman Jennifer Lopez said.

A Nevada Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigation started after the man drowned in the Alstons’ backyard pool in May 2010, Lopez said.

William and Leni Alston owned and operated Williams Personal Home Care, where they provided care to elderly residents. But the investigation revealed the home was routinely cited for overpopulation, Lopez said.

As a result, the couple circumvented regulations and provided care to elderly residents out of their personal home, which was not a licensed facility, Lopez said. The home did not meet safety regulations, failing to have alarms on sliding doors to the backyard or gates around the pool.

The man drowned in the pool due in part to the lack of safety measures, Lopez said.

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