A law firm has submitted a $2.5 million bill for its work in The Villages Health bankruptcy case.
Baker & Hostetler LLP has submitted the bill for “compensation sought as actual, reasonable and necessary,” for its work on behalf of The Villages Health System, according to a document on file in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The bill covers the time period from July 3, 2025 to Oct. 31, 2025
The Villages Health CEO Bobby Trinh announced in July that The Villages Health was seeking bankruptcy protection. The bankruptcy was intertwined with “erroneous Medicare coding” estimated at about $360 million. Trinh was paid a $200,000 “retention bonus” the day before the bankruptcy announcement.
The bankruptcy and sale to Humana’s CenterWell, prompted a series of court challenges from UnitedHealthcare, which had previously enjoyed a lucrative arrangement to market MedicareAdvantage plans to The Villages Health’s more than 50,000 patients. UnitedHealthcare accused the Morse family of ringing tens of millions of dollars out of The Villages Health prior to the bankruptcy.
The Villages has previously used the services of Baker & Hostetler LLP, including when Properties of The Villages sued the Federal Trade Commission in an effort to keep its powerful non-compete clause in effect with regard to preventing sales representatives to sell against The Villages. A Biden-era rule change had threatened The Villages’ non-compete clause, but Donald Trump’s return to the White House essentially solved that problem for Properties of The Villages.
Baker & Hostetler recently announced that Robert Sowell rejoined Baker & Hostetler’s Orlando office after serving for four years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, working in both the civil and criminal divisions, handling matters including health care fraud.