Aged Care
Aged-care mogul facing legal action jets overseas
A co-owner of Epping Gardens nursing home, which is being investigated over the deaths of 38 residents from COVID-19, has put his Melbourne mansion up for sale and flown to Greece.
Multimillionaire Peter Arvanitis and his wife, Areti, left Melbourne about two weeks before Christmas after receiving a travel exemption from the Australian Department of Home Affairs, The Age reported.
Their Toorak mansion could fetch up to $40 million, the paper said.
Mr Arvanitis and business partner, Tony Antonopoulos, each own a 50 per cent stake in Heritage Care Pty Ltd, which operates 10 aged-care homes in NSW and Victoria, including Epping Gardens in Melbourne.
The COVID-19 outbreak at Epping Gardens is under investigation by WorkSafe and the State Coroner.
The Age said the departure of Peter Arvanitis “has incensed many victims of Epping Gardens”, where 103 residents and 86 staff were infected.
Sam Agnello, who lost his mother Carmela at Epping Gardens and who is lead plaintiff in a class action involving Heritage Care, said he had never received any offer of condolences or an apology from the owners of the company or its management team.
“[Mr Arvanitis] has never taken any responsibility or shown any compassion. We want him to come back to Melbourne and face up to the families who have been destroyed by this,” Mr Agnello said.
An independent review of Epping Gardens and another COVID-hit facility, St Basil’s Homes for the Aged, found multiple failings of “leadership and effective management” at both facilities.
The Age obtained emails it said showed management cut carers’ shifts in the weeks before coronavirus swept through Epping Gardens.