Under their plea agreements, Giordano and Montecalvo agreed to pay back the $780,539 to representatives of the now-defunct Hillside Health Center in Providence, the Coventry Health Center, which has changed hands, and Mount St. Francis Health Center, in Woonsocket, which Giordiano still owns but is negotiating with a buyer.

Over the past year, however, federal audits of each of the three nursing homes have found several million in questionable payments from the nursing homes to various companies associated with Giordano.

According to the information filed in court, the mortgages were insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which led the criminal investigation.

In exchange for guilty pleas from both men, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it will recommend a prison term “at the lowest point of sentences,” not including probation.

-- Journal medical writer Felice J. Freyer