Assisted Living Facility Owner Indicted, Facing Numerous Felony Charges

JOHNSON COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Division and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has resulted in the arrest of the owner of an assisted living facility.

In June 2024, after receiving a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI special agents began investigating allegations involving Wendy Henley, the owner of Sunset Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Mountain City. During the course of the investigation, agents learned that Henley used a patient’s insurance benefits card to purchase items for the facility. In July, when agents and Adult Protective Services visited the facility to speak with Henley, they discovered that seventeen residents, including two hospice patients, had been left in the care of two juveniles who were not authorized to provide direct patient care. Agents requested an immediate response from the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission and evacuated the facility, transferring the residents to other local facilities to assure their safety and continued care.

Today, the Johnson County Grand Jury returned indictments, charging Wendy Henley (DOB: 7/28/77) with two counts of Identity Theft, two counts of Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult, Possession of Schedule II Drugs, two counts of Possession of Schedule IV Drugs, Possession of Schedule V Drugs, two counts of Child Endangerment, and Reckless Endangerment. Today, she was arrested and booked into the Johnson County Jail on a $25,000 bond.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.

NOTE: The TBI’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $10,782,912 for federal Fiscal Year 2024-2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $3,594,302 for Fiscal Year 2024-2025, is funded by the State of Tennessee.