State Gets Convictions In 'Horrific' Riverside County Neglect Case

RIVERSIDE, CA — The owner of a hospice company and his partner were convicted Monday after state investigators and local police learned that severely disabled residents at their unlicensed Riverside care facility were being abused.

Defendants Joel Gallano Ombao, 70, and Ronnel Dave Tiburcio, 58, were each found guilty of multiple counts of felony elder/adult abuse. Tiburcio, who is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 8, could face up to nine years in prison, while Ombao is facing up to seven years in prison when he appears Aug. 25.

Another defendant, Nimfa Molina, a registered nurse, was charged in the case, but in exchange for her testimony, she is not facing prison time.

The case was prosecuted by the California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse after a joint investigation by state agents and the Riverside Police Department.

The three defendants were arrested in early 2016 after investigators found residents being housed in squalor at the hospice facility, Secure Hands, located at 5175 Van Buren Boulevard in Riverside.

Six victims, ranging in age from 32 to 66, "were found malnourished, living in filth and without basic care in a house that did not have the staff, equipment, or licensing needed to care for the residents," according to a news release Tuesday from the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

"Many of them were emaciated and dehydrated and were not being provided the care they needed," the release continued.

Ombao owned several hospice companies, including the unlicensed Secure Hands. Tiburcio worked as his assistant while Molina served as a registered nurse at the facility, according to Bonta's office.

“Caretakers of elderly and dependent adults have the responsibility of protecting their patients’ dignity, safety, and health,” Bonta said in a released statement. “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.”

Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez praised the state's partnership with local investigators in the case, and he condemned the defendants.

“To prey on the vulnerable deserves nothing less than the harshest consequences available," Gonzalez said in a released statement.

On Monday evening, at the end of a jury trial that began June 6, Ombao was convicted of four counts of felony elder abuse. Tiburcio was convicted of six counts of felony elder abuse, and Molina was convicted of one misdemeanor count of elder abuse.