Wichita – The married owners of a group home for the mentally ill were convicted Monday of enslaving its residents, forcing them to work naked and perform sex acts, and illegally billing their families and the federal government for therapy.
Arlan Kaufman, 69, and his wife, Linda, 62, were convicted of 30 federal charges, including health-care fraud, Medicare fraud, forced labor and holding clients in involuntary servitude at the Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center.
The convictions could put them in prison for the rest of their lives. Federal prosecutors contended the Kaufmans controlled the lives of the residents, including forcing them to work on their farm and deciding who could wear clothes.
The couple were accused of forcing residents to masturbate, fondle one another and shave one another’s genitals – activities Arlan Kaufman videotaped.
The Kaufmans claimed that nude therapy sessions and other treatment methods had therapeutic value for schizophrenic patients, and that having residents act out problem behavior helped them avoid repeating it. Arlan Kaufman insisted that the residents’ behavior was voluntary.
