Nursing home owner pardoned by Trump reports to Arkansas prison for state sentence

A nursing home owner who was pardoned by President Donald Trump has reported to the Arkansas Department of Corrections after a judge rejected his request to delay the order that he serve his state sentence.

A spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections said Monday afternoon that Joseph Schwartz had reported to the department and was being processed at its intake center.

Schwartz reported to the department after Pulaski County Circuit Judge Karen Whatley rejected Schwartz’s motion to delay her order that he turn himself in to serve his state sentence on tax evasion and Medicaid fraud charges. Schwartz had been ordered to report to the prison by Monday afternoon.

Schwartz had requested an extension of that order, citing concerns that the state Department of Corrections would not be able to comply with his religious dietary restrictions.

Schwartz, of New York, was three months into a three-year federal sentence for tax fraud when Trump pardoned him in November. 

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a petition earlier this month seeking that Schwartz serve out the rest of his state sentence.

“We have worked tirelessly to ensure that Joseph Schwartz fulfills the terms of his state plea agreements and justice is served in Arkansas,” Griffin said in a statement Monday. “His reporting to the Department of Corrections today is a critical part of that.”

Whatley has previously rejected Schwartz’s argument that the three months he served in federal prison made him immediately eligible for state parole.

Schwartz last week sought the delay in Whatley’s order. Schwartz’s attorneys said that, as a rabbi, he must adhere to a stricter kosher diet.

Whatley said the state had provided information that the Cummins Unit has a kosher kitchen to accommodate Schwartz’s diet.

Schwartz pleaded guilty last year in federal court for his role in a $38 million tax fraud scheme involving nursing homes he owned across the country.

Under Arkansas law, Schwartz is required to serve a third of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Note: This story has been updated with Schwartz reporting to the state Department of Corrections on Monday