Press Release  Nurse Charged With Assault and Battery Against Elderly Dementia Patient

BOSTON — A Marlborough man working as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) has been indicted and arraigned in connection with allegations that he physically and verbally assaulted an elderly dementia patient at the Arlington rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility where he worked, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced today.

Tonny Kiyaga, 47, of Marlborough, was arraigned Thursday in Middlesex County Superior Court on charges of Assault and Battery on an Elder or Disabled Person, Witness Intimidation, and Threatening to Commit a Crime.

Following Kiyaga’s not guilty plea at the arraignment, Magistrate Judge Daniel Flaherty required Kiyaga to stay away from and have no contact with the victim and his family, to stay away from and have no contact with witnesses, and to not provide services in a healthcare setting without another employee being present.

Kiyaga was indicted on the charges by a Middlesex County Grand Jury on March 23.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division and detectives from the Arlington Police Department, based on a referral from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Investigators allege that, on August 29, 2021, Kiyaga assaulted the elderly dementia patient, and after the patient cried out, another employee of the facility witnessed Kiyaga shove and intimidate the patient and threaten to assault him again.

Following an internal investigation of the alleged assault, Kiyaga’s employment was terminated; his nursing license has been suspended as a result of this incident.

All of these charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Jones and Investigator Fatima Tanveer of AG Campbell’s Medicaid Fraud Division, with assistance from the Arlington Police Department and the Department of Public Health. Park Avenue Health Center fully cooperated with the investigation.

The AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division is a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, annually certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate and prosecute health care providers who defraud the Medicaid program (MassHealth). The Medicaid Fraud Division also has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute complaints of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of residents in long-term care facilities and of Medicaid patients in any health care setting.

The Massachusetts Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,542,963 for Federal fiscal year 2023. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,847,641 for FY 2023, is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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