Carson City, Nevada - Today, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt and Renown Health Foundation announced Renown Health’s recovery of $650,327.14 in restitution to be used for Renown’s new Stacie Mathewson Behavioral Health & Addiction Institute. The restitution became available to Renown after the Attorney General’s Office entered into a $220 million multi-state deceptive trade practices settlement with Deutsche Bank. The Stacie Mathewson Behavioral Health & Addiction Institute was recently established and funded with $6 million from Charles N. and Stacie L. Mathewson. The Institute expands community access to prevention and intervention services for mental health disorders and alcohol and drug addiction. In addition to providing much-needed behavioral health and addiction services, the Institute also aims to decrease stigma and encourage more people to seek help in Northern Nevada.
“Big banks that engage in manipulative conduct defrauding Nevada’s not-for-profit organizations and government entities will continue to be investigated by my office,” said Attorney General Adam Laxalt. “Renown Health was one of the not-for-profits adversely impacted by the Deutsche Bank Libor rate manipulation. We have taken an all-of-the-above approach to the opioid crisis, and we are heartened that Renown Health chose to use these funds to make a lasting investment in mental health and addiction recovery services.”
Struggles with mental health and addiction are prevalent in Nevada. For the second straight year, Nevada ranked 51st in the nation according to Mental Health America’s 2018 State of Mental Health Report. Overall, Nevada has the highest prevalence of mental illness and substance use, combined with limited access to treatment and a shortage of care providers.
“We appreciate the ability to obtain restitution through this settlement,” added Dr. Anthony Slonim, President and Chief Executive Officer for Renown Health. “This funding furthers the work and care provided by donors like Charles N. and Stacie Mathewson through the Stacie Mathewson Behavioral Health & Addiction Institute at Renown. These funds will help improve the lives of others struggling with mental health and addiction and help improve the health of our community.”
In October 2017, AG Laxalt announced a $220 million multi-state settlement with Deutsche Bank and 44 other attorneys general offices. As a result of that settlement, Renown subsequently filed a claim for restitution with the settlement’s administrator. Independent of the Office of the Nevada Attorney General, as part of that settlement, the multi-state executive committee calculated that Renown was owed $650,327.14 in restitution. Renown Health is one of hundreds of entities nationwide that has filed a claim for restitution in this case.
The Deutsche Bank settlement resolved claims that Deutsche Bank acted fraudulently by manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR. LIBOR is an interest rate that has a widespread impact on global markets and consumers, including being used as a benchmark rate for mortgages. The multi-state investigation revealed that Deutsche Bank employees manipulated LIBOR by improperly making internal requests for LIBOR submissions to benefit their bank’s trading positions; attempting to influence other banks’ LIBOR submissions in a manner intended to benefit Deutsche Bank’s trading positions; and receiving communications from inter-dealer brokers and external traders attempting to influence Deutsche Bank’s LIBOR submissions.
The Office of the Nevada Attorney General and a multi-state coalition of attorneys general obtained a similar settlement with Barclays Bank PLC in August of 2016, and recently obtained a settlement with Citibank, N.A. for similar conduct. Deutsche Bank has cooperated with this investigation, and the investigation into the conduct of several other USD LIBOR-setting panel banks remains ongoing, though individual banks will not be named at this time.
AG Laxalt’s office has been actively working to combat the opioid epidemic in a number of ways, including through the dedicated efforts of statewide working groups such as Nevada’s Substance Abuse Working Group and the Statewide Partnership on the Opioid Crisis. Dr. Anthony Slonim and Stacie L. Mathewson serve on AG Laxalt’s Statewide Partnership. Additionally, in October of 2017, Nevada’s Interim Finance Committee unanimously approved AG Laxalt’s “Prescription for Addiction” opioid initiative to combat the use, abuse and misuse of prescription drugs in Nevada. The five priority points of the initiative provide a full-time dedicated criminal investigator assigned to the FBI’s new opioid task force; include the purchase and installation of five drug disposal incinerators to be placed in secure law enforcement locations throughout the State to ensure the safe disposal of drugs; allocate approximately $500,000 to after-school prevention and education programs concern drug and opioid abuse; allocate $250,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase and provide an anti-overdose drug to law enforcement agencies and first responders; and provide an additional $675,000 to Nevada’s Statewide Community Coalition to strength the efforts of local community partners currently working on prevention and education efforts related to opioid addiction.
About Renown Health Foundation: As Reno’s only not-for-profit healthcare system, philanthropic support and partnership are vital to both providing and expanding needed services in the region to keep care close to home. Renown Health Foundation raises funds to purchase state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, help patients with medical and transportation costs, conduct research, offer community health programs and provide educational training for healthcare professionals. All gifts to Renown Health Foundation are meaningful and provide important support to the community and those in need of care.
To learn more, visit renown.org/give.
