Hi Cory,

I've been mulling this over for a bit, and let me start with not a lawyer.

Personally I'm of the opinion that going after corporate entities is pointless. It's better to go after people, and if possible using existing laws rather than relying on the contentious passage of new legislation. With that in mind:

1. Since it is common knowledge that what PE does to health facilities results in "negative health outcomes", by which I mean dead patients, it seems to me some DA looking to make a name can charge the officers of these PE firms with manslaughter. Negligent homicide, depraved heart, whatever works in their jurisdiction.

2. Since these are organizations of many people, "conspiracy to commit" charges may also apply.

3. Since, as you pointed out in a previous article*, what PE firms do is the same as an organized crime "bust out", RICO may apply. In which case corporate and private assets can be frozen, confiscated, and turned over to victims**. I would place the emphasis on private, the officers of the PE firms should be the prime targets of asset forfeiture. The corporate assets would be a nice bonus.

Now, I don’t really know if any of this would fly from a legal perspective, but if the point is to change things, then policy proposals are necessary. Consider this a policy seed - using existing laws against PE firms, especially but not only, in the health care field. You can also think of it as a call to action, with the action being called for more proposals for legal remedies that use existing laws, or other potential solutions using other means.

Ultimately it will take legislation making leveraged buyouts illegal. Frankly I don’t see how they aren’t classified as fraud in the first place.

*https://doctorow.medium.com/the-long-bloody-lineage-of-private-equitys-looting-798597a4fa30

**If one were to apply this to PEs buying up housing, the properties could be confiscated and redistributed using something like homesteading. By which I mean give them away to people to fix up. Banks may wise up and stop loaning to PE firms when they find they lose their loans and the assets guaranteeing them to RICO.

nominalplume