Sweetwater Care, which owns more than a dozen nursing homes throughout California, is fighting a civil lawsuit from the attorney general.

The lawsuit alleges that the company has used unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices for years that have put nursing home residents at risk, including failing to meet minimum staffing levels required by law.

See the full complaint here .

While an advocate told KCRA 3 Investigates that he is encouraged by the AG taking action to enforce state staffing standards, he is also questioning why state regulators did not do more to put a stop to the alleged violations sooner.

Tony Chicotel is the senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR).

He said that his initial reaction to the lawsuit was “disappointment t

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