New Jersey's comptroller is taking more action to prevent fraud within our state's nursing homes.

The latest announcement targets four facilities in Wayne and Park Ridge.

Barring them from treating Medicaid patients and receiving state Medicaid funding.

This comes after the CEO of the New Jersey base operator pleaded guilty to health care fraud and tax conspiracy related to their nursing homes in Wisconsin.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan takes a look at what will happen to the people living in these four New Jersey facilities and the troubling trend of fraud at our state's nursing homes.

For nursing homes in North Jersey face closure if the current owner doesn't sell them in three months.

That's Kevin Breslin of Hoboken, who pleaded guilty to fraud for diverting federal funds in his Wisconsin facilities, leaving nursing home residents there without basic care.

Jersey watchdogs took notice.

We have a duty to protect vulnerable residents of nursing homes in New Jersey, and we have a duty to protect taxpayer funds.

State Comptroller Kevin Walsh threatened to suspend Medicaid dollars unless the Avalon and Atrium Care Centers in Wayne and two more atrium centers in Park Ridge are sold by Breslin and co-owners Walsh noting again and again, we're seeing owners and operators of Medicaid funded nursing homes in New Jersey engaging in massive fraud.

We got really lucky that we were able to piggyback off of what happened in Wisconsin and make sure that these operators are now older, longer.

You know, those owners will no longer be doing business.

Nobody, I hope, would argue that someone who has been convicted of a crime in another state related to their activities as a nursing home owner or operator should be allowed to operate and get Medicaid funds to get public funds in the state of New Jersey.

New Jersey's long term care ombudsman applauded the controllers recent actions to hold New Jersey nursing home owners accountable.

Walsh ordered a similar sale last month by owners of South Jersey Extended care in Bridgton and Sterling Manor in Maple Shade.

After uncovering alleged fraud, Sterling closed abruptly last month.

These residents did have some inkling that they were going to have to leave in a few weeks.

But, you know, all the discharge planning was not complete for these residents.

And so at the end of the day, it looks like an emergency evacuation on a Friday night in January in the bitter cold.

This is a symptom of a systematic failure and it is a failure to people who are expecting a level of care, a level of safety, whose families are expecting that they're receiving the care that taxpayers are paying for to the tune of about $2 billion every single year.

AARP Chris Woodall cites the industry's lack of transparency.

Nursing homes can change owners or change names, and it's often difficult to track funding without expensive forensic audit.

A Senate bill sponsored by Democrat Joe Vitale would require more disclosure, but industry lobbyists call it an unfunded mandate.

The ombudsman wonders about operators who work the system.

What I would say is there's a playbook for some of these guys, right?

And what it involves is cut corners, cut corners, cut corners.

Don't use the best housekeeping products, don't supply the best food, don't supply additional snacks.

Don't, you know, go, go on the cheap.

A big one is understaffed, intentionally.

And if you get can't pay the fine, it's the cost of doing business.

Kevin Breslin was unavailable for comment.

He has until May 7th to sell his jersey nursing homes.

The state's reviewing ownership applications for three facilities and a management contract for the fourth.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.