As criticism mounts over Brius’ proposed closure of three nursing homes in Humboldt County, Brius CEO Shlomo Rechnitz appears to be borrowing a page from the playbook of another billionaire, one who happens to be a candidate for the US presidency.

In response to Brius’ proposed closures, observers have repeatedly asked the company why it’s shuttering the nursing homes despite reporting tens of millions of dollars of profits each year?

The Lost Coast Outpost recently asked Rechnitz to disclose his company’s profits and cash reserves. His response? Diversion and denial.

Here’s the exchange as reported in a September 30 article by Ryan Burns:

Thursday, on the heels of news that the state has approved Rockport Healthcare Services’ plans to close three skilled nursing facilities in Humboldt County, the Outpost spoke with Shlomo Rechnitz, the 45-year-old owner of Rockport parent company Brius Healthcare Services. Brius is the largest nursing home provider in California, controlling roughly one of every 14 nursing home beds in the state. Rechnitz said he had an open letter to the community that he wanted published in local media…

The letter also suggests that the community should shift its anger and recriminations to Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC), the official care provider for Medi-Cal patients in the region… The letter even lists PHP’s cash reserves and its earnings over the past two years. It does not disclose the corresponding information for Brius. Asked to provide the company’s earnings and reserves a spokesman replied, “[W]e have different investment groups for different groups of homes. I would also point that we are a private entity, rather than a non-profit that is contracted by the state.”

The correspondence continued:

Outpost: “[S]ince you’re arguing that PHC has enough earnings and cash reserves to pay for patient care — and listing those figures — isn’t it fair to disclose the corresponding information from Brius? Certainly the company keeps track of earnings and cash reserves.”

Brius: “What is relevant is our facilities in Humboldt County have lost $5 million over the last 18 months versus the fact that PHP [sic] has nearly $300 million of extra, unrestricted dollars. Also, those figures come from PHP’s own Board of Directors packet.”

The Lost Coast Outpost article goes on to cite the evidence of Brius’ “sizable profits,” including the $77 million it reported to the California Attorney General in 2014.

Here’s a link to the full article.