· · · · · · · · · ·UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

· · · · · · · · · ·SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

· 

· · · · · · ·CASE NO. 0:22-CV-61553-DIMITROULEAS/HUNT

· 

· 

· · ·CRUZ VALDIVIESO FIGUERA,

· · · · · ·Plaintiff,

· · ·vs.

· · ·ALL VIP CARE INC. AND

· · ·LIZ VELAZQUEZ MCKINNON,

· 

· · · · · ·Defendant.

· · ·_________________________/

· 

· 

· 

· 

· · · · · · · · DEPOSITION OF LIZ VANESSA MCKINNON

· · · · · · · · ·TAKEN ON BEHALF OF THE PLAINTIFF

· · · · · · · · · · · · · ·MAY 16, 2023

· · · · · · · · · · · ·11:03 A.M TO 2:14 P.M

· 

· · · · · · · · · ·ALL PARTIES APPEARED REMOTELY

· · · · · · · · · · · · · ·PURSUANT TO

· · · · · · · ·FLORIDA SUPREME COURT ORDER AOSC20-23

· 

· 

· 

· 

· · ·REPORTED BY:

· · ·SULEYDIS VIDES, COURT REPORTER

· · ·NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF FLORIDA

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 1 of 80
Page 2

·1· · · · · · · · · · APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL

·2· ·ON BEHALF OF THE PLAINTIFF:

·3· · · · TOUSSAINT CUMMINGS, ESQUIRE

· · · · · FAIRLAW FIRM

·4· · · · 135 SAN LORENZO AVENUE, SUITE 770

· · · · · CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA 33146

·5· · · · 305-230-4884

· · · · · TOUSSAINT@FAIRLAWATTORNEY.COM

·6· · · · (REMOTELY VIA ZOOM)

·7· ·ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENDANT:

·8· · · · RANDY MARK GOLDBERG, ESQUIRE

· · · · · RANDY M. GOLDBERG & ASSOCIATES, PLLC

·9· · · · 151 NORTHWEST 1ST AVENUE

· · · · · DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA 33444

10· · · · 754-224-0867

· · · · · RMGESQUIRE@GMAIL.COM

11· · · · (REMOTELY VIA ZOOM)

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·1· · · · · · · · · · ·INDEX OF EXAMINATION

·2· ·WITNESS:· LIZ VANESSA MCKINNON

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · PAGE

·3· ·DIRECT EXAMINATION

· · · · ·BY TOUSSAINT CUMMINGS, ESQUIRE· · · · · · · · · · 6

·4

·5

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·1· · · · · · · · · · · INDEX OF EXHIBITS

·2· ·EXHIBIT· · · · · · · ·DESCRIPTION· · · · · · · · · PAGE

· · ·PLAITNIFF'S:

·3

· · ·EXHIBIT A· · ·NOTICE OF TAKING DEPOSITION· · · · · · ·9

·4

· · ·EXHIBIT B· · ·PATIENT TIME SHEETS· · · · · · · · · 40

·5

· · ·EXHIBIT C· · ·PATIENT CESAR GOOGLE POST REVIEW· · · ·61

·6

· · ·EXHIBIT D· · ·INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT

·7· · · · · · · · ·AND SIGN UP DOCUMENTS· · · · · · · · · 67

·8· ·EXHIBIT E· · ·ALL VIP PATIENT CALENDAR· · · · · · · ·81

·9· ·EXHIBIT F· · ·WEEKLY PAY STUBS· · · · · · · · · · · ·98

10· ·EXHIBIT G· · ·22-0808 STATEMENT OF DIANA RAMIREZ· · 102

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Page 5

·1· · · · ·VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF LIZ VANESSA MCKINNON

·2· · · · · · · · · · · · ·MAY 16, 2023

·3· ·Thereupon:

·4· · · · · · · · · · ·LIZ VANESSA MCKINNON

·5· ·was called as a witness, and after having been first

·6· ·duly sworn, testified as follows:

·7· · · · · · ·THE COURT REPORTER:· We are now on the record.

·8· · · · Today's date May 16th, 2023, and the time is

·9· · · · approximately 11:00 a.m.

10· · · · · · ·We are here for the videotaped deposition

11· · · · of Cruz Valdivieso Figuera versus All VIP Care,

12· · · · Inc.

13· · · · · · ·and Liz Velazquez McKinnon.· Case Number

14· · · · 022-CV-61553.· United States District Court

15· · · · Southern District of Florida.

16· · · · · · ·The Court Reporter is Suleydis Vides with

17· · · · Universal Court Reporting.

18· · · · · · ·Would all Counsels please introduce yourself

19· · · · for the record?· I'm sorry, counsel you're muted.

20· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· I was muted.· Toussaint

21· · · · Cummings on behalf of Plaintiff, Cruz Valdivieso

22· · · · Figuera.

23· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· Randy Goldberg on behalf of

24· · · · Defendants in this action.

25· · · · · · ·THE COURT REPORTER:· Thank you.· Counselors,

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 2 of 80
Page 6

·1· · · · you might proceed.

·2· · · · · · · · · · · · DIRECT EXAMINATION

·3· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·4· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Good morning, Ms. McKinnon.

·5· · · · A· · Good morning.

·6· · · · Q· · All right.· My name is Toussaint Cummings, I'm

·7· ·the Attorney representing Cruz Valdivieso and this is a

·8· ·bit of a different type of a deposition.· Have you ever

·9· ·taken a deposition before?

10· · · · A· · Don't think so.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· And so you've never taken a deposition

12· ·before at all as far as you know?

13· · · · A· · As far as I recall, no.

14· · · · Q· · All right.· So, normally a deposition I would

15· ·be asking you questions in your own individual capacity.

16· · · · · · ·Today you're here as Representative of All

17· ·VIP. I'll just, you know, abbreviate the name All VIP,

18· ·the company.

19· · · · A· · Okay.

20· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· So, do you understand that

21· ·you are here representing -- you always have to be

22· ·respectful to the Court Reporter and that requires that

23· ·we only speak one at a time.

24· · · · · · ·The reason being is because when I ask a

25· ·question, it gets printed up in a deposition transcript,

Page 7

·1· ·like a little booklet.

·2· · · · · · ·So there'll be a question line, a question and

·3· ·then there will be an answer line for the answer that

·4· ·you provide on behalf of the company.· Okay?

·5· · · · A· · Okay.

·6· · · · Q· · Got it.· And so sometimes I may be asking you

·7· ·a question and you may anticipate where the question was

·8· ·going and then if you jump ahead, what happens is -- the

·9· ·answer that you're providing and then we can't read it

10· ·smoothly in the transcript.

11· · · · · · ·So if that happens, then I'll just ask you --

12· ·then I'll just remind you and then I'll repeat the

13· ·question so that we have a clear question and answer.

14· ·All right.

15· · · · A· · Okay.

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· Now you're not the only person that

17· ·does it, I do it sometimes also.· Sometimes I may

18· ·interrupt your answer and then when that happens, I'll

19· ·repeat the question for the same reason.

20· · · · A· · Okay.

21· · · · Q· · All right.· Second thing is, we always have to

22· ·provide a verbal response to any question that I ask.

23· · · · · · ·So for example, if you shake your head, like

24· ·yes or no or, you know, then the transcript or the Court

25· ·Reporter cannot pick up none verbal responses, so there

Page 8

·1· ·will be no answer to write down.· So, please always

·2· ·provide a yes, a verbal yes or no or whatever the answer

·3· ·calls for it.· All right.

·4· · · · A· · Okay.

·5· · · · Q· · All right.· If there's a situation where that

·6· ·happens, again I'll just repeat the question remind you

·7· ·to please provide a verbal response.

·8· · · · A· · Okay.

·9· · · · Q· · And the third instance is when people are

10· ·answering questions and they say uh-huh or uh-uh because

11· ·that doesn't necessarily mean anything when it's written

12· ·down.· So, if you say uh-huh or uh-uh, then I'll just

13· ·remind you repeat the question and then continue moving

14· ·on.· Okay?

15· · · · A· · Got it.

16· · · · Q· · All right.· So, did you receive the deposition

17· ·notice for this deposition?

18· · · · A· · Think I received several.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.

20· · · · A· · So, yes.· The answer is yes.

21· · · · Q· · All right.· No problem.· Let me just show you

22· ·exactly what I'm talking about here.· All right.· I am

23· ·going to make this Exhibit 1 for the deposition record.

24· · · · · · ·Okay.· And so, I think I said Exhibit, but

25· ·actually it should be Exhibit A.

Page 9

·1· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit A was entered

·2· · · · · · ·into the record.)

·3· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·4· · · · Q· · So, you see the document I'm sharing my screen

·5· ·right now Ms. McKinnon?

·6· · · · A· · Yes.

·7· · · · Q· · All right.· And have you seen this document

·8· ·before?

·9· · · · A· · Yes.

10· · · · Q· · All right.· The reason I'm showing this to you

11· ·is because not only does it have the date of today's

12· ·deposition, but there's a third page that shows what's

13· ·called the areas of inquiry which are questions or

14· ·topics that I'll be asking you about today.· Have you

15· ·seen this page before?

16· · · · A· · I saw it.

17· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· And so you understand that

18· ·the questions that I ask you today are generally going

19· ·to be related to the areas that are here, correct?

20· · · · A· · Yes.

21· · · · Q· · All right.· And are you prepared to answer

22· ·questions related to these topics?

23· · · · A· · Somewhat, I believe.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Did you speak to anybody in

25· ·preparation for this deposition?

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 3 of 80
Page 10

·1· · · · A· · Just -- I believe, just, you know, just

·2· ·Randy, but, you know, it was basically that we had to

·3· ·prepare --

·4· · · · Q· · Hold on.· Without telling me what the

·5· ·conversation was? --

·6· · · · A· · No, that was it. Just to prepare for this day.

·7· · · · Q· · Yeah, exactly right.· Yeah.· So, you don't

·8· ·have to tell me anything you ever say with your Attorney

·9· ·because that violates the attorney-client privilege, but

10· ·in preparation for this deposition, you spoke with your

11· ·Attorney, Randy Goldberg?

12· · · · A· · Yes.

13· · · · Q· · And did you speak to anybody else that was not

14· ·an attorney, like, any employees or anybody else?

15· · · · A· · Yes.

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Go ahead.

17· · · · A· · That would be Diana Ramirez because she also

18· ·is going to be deposed and that was it.· It was

19· ·basically to discuss that we're going to be deposed and

20· ·that's it.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· No problem.· It's my understanding that

22· ·Ms. Ramirez no longer works with All VIP.· Is that

23· ·correct?

24· · · · A· · No, she's back.

25· · · · Q· · She's back.· Okay.· All right, works.· But

Page 11

·1· ·there was a period of time when Ms. Ramirez was not

·2· ·working for All VIP?

·3· · · · A· · Yes, like several weeks.· She had a family

·4· ·issue, but she's back.

·5· · · · Q· · Okay.· And what is Ms. Ramirez's position with

·6· ·All VIP?

·7· · · · A· · She is the administrator for the Broward

·8· ·office.

·9· · · · Q· · Besides Ms. Ramirez, did you speak to any

10· ·other All VIP employees in preparation for the

11· ·deposition?

12· · · · A· · No, that was it.

13· · · · Q· · Got it.· Okay.· Is there any reason why you

14· ·cannot take a deposition today?

15· · · · A· · No, there's no reason why I cannot.

16· · · · Q· · All right. So, let's get started.

17· ·Ms. McKinnon, are you an employee of All VIP?

18· · · · A· · I'm going to say yes because I run the office

19· ·as well.· Yes.

20· · · · Q· · What is your position with All VIP?

21· · · · A· · I am the administrator for the Palm Beach

22· ·Office or County or license.

23· · · · Q· · Previously you mentioned that Ms. Ramirez was

24· ·the administrator for the Broward office and now you're

25· ·saying you're the administrator for the Palm Beach

Page 12

·1· ·office.· How many offices does All VIP have?

·2· · · · A· · Let's see.· We have one in West Palm Beach, we

·3· ·have an office in Port St. Lucie, we have an office in

·4· ·Pahokee, we have an office in Miami and Broward. Some

·5· ·five perhaps.

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.· And when you said that you're the Palm

·7· ·Beach administrators, did you mean West Palm Beach?

·8· · · · A· · Yes.· What happens is that each county has a

·9· ·license, so you need to have an administrative for each

10· ·county.· So, I'm the administrator for the Palm Beach

11· ·office and license.

12· · · · Q· · How long have you been the administrator for

13· ·the Palm Beach office?

14· · · · A· · Since 2016.

15· · · · Q· · Are you a -- an owner of All VIP?

16· · · · A· · Yes, I am.

17· · · · Q· · Are you the only owner of All VIP?

18· · · · A· · That is correct.

19· · · · Q· · How long have you been the owner of All VIP?

20· · · · A· · Since 2016.

21· · · · Q· · Did All VIP exist before 2016?

22· · · · A· · No.

23· · · · Q· · All right.· And these pauses are just me

24· ·taking -- writing down notes.· Okay.· Just --

25· · · · A· · Okay.

Page 13

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· What services does All VIP provide?

·2· · · · A· · We provide medical and non-medical services.

·3· · · · Q· · What are the medical services that are

·4· ·provided?

·5· · · · A· · Nursing.· Just nursing, skilled nursing.

·6· · · · Q· · And the nursing that's provided, do those

·7· ·nurses visit clients in their home?

·8· · · · A· · Yes.

·9· · · · Q· · Do the nurses treat patients outside of their

10· ·homes?

11· · · · A· · Be more specific please?

12· · · · Q· · I'm not really sure how to ask the question

13· ·any differently.· What I guess I basically want to know

14· ·is, do the nurses that work for All VIP only provide

15· ·services in home for the clients?

16· · · · A· · No, they do not.

17· · · · Q· · Okay.· If the nurses are now working in homes,

18· ·what other types of services do they provide outside of

19· ·homes?

20· · · · A· · They can work for them at the hospital,

21· ·private pay, they can work for them -- they can travel

22· ·with the client.· They can also work in an assisted

23· ·living facility with the client.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· And then you mentioned that there's

25· ·non-medical services, what types of non-medical services

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 4 of 80
Page 14

·1· ·does All VIP provide?

·2· · · · A· · That includes personal care which is bathing,

·3· ·dressing.· We provide transportation, we provide meal

·4· ·preparation, homemaking, household duties, companionship

·5· ·and the like.

·6· · · · Q· · What types of All VIP employees provide the

·7· ·non-medical services?

·8· · · · A· · HHAs and CNAs.

·9· · · · Q· · HHA stands for Home Health Aide?

10· · · · A· · Correct.

11· · · · Q· · And CNA stands for Certified Nursing

12· ·Assistant?

13· · · · A· · That's right.

14· · · · Q· · Does All VIP employee any other job positions

15· ·except for nurses, home health aides and certified

16· ·nursing assistants?

17· · · · A· · An RNs and LPNs and that's as far as we go.

18· · · · Q· · RN is going to be resident nurse?

19· · · · A· · The RN is going to be registered nurse --

20· · · · Q· · Registered nurse.

21· · · · A· · -- and then the LPN.

22· · · · Q· · And what is LPN stand for?

23· · · · A· · Licensed Practical something.· I don't

24· ·remember --

25· · · · Q· · Okay.

Page 15

·1· · · · A· · -- but it's just, you know, it's a step down

·2· ·from being a registered nurse.

·3· · · · Q· · Got it.· Okay.· And a registered nurse would

·4· ·be under the umbrella of medical services?

·5· · · · A· · Correct because she can provide skilled

·6· ·services.

·7· · · · Q· · And a license -- let's assume that LPN stands

·8· ·for licensed practical nurse.· Do they also fall under

·9· ·medical services?

10· · · · A· · Oh, yes, they're allowed to.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Now you mentioned that

12· ·under non-medical services one of the types of services

13· ·companionship, what does companionship mean?

14· · · · A· · Talking to the client and, you know, many

15· ·clients sometimes are lonely or depressed. So, they

16· ·talk.

17· · · · · · ·They might talk about sports, they might talk

18· ·about history, anything, the country, you know, we have

19· ·lot of clients from Cuba, so they'll talk about a

20· ·country back in the day, their foods, you know, the

21· ·culture.· Just keeping them, you know, entertain, you

22· ·know, keeping their mind going.

23· · · · Q· · And as it relates to companionship, who

24· ·determines whether the client needs companionship

25· ·services?

Page 16

·1· · · · A· · That all depends because, you know, I don't

·2· ·know if you want to stay specific to this case or you

·3· ·want me to go in general, you have to tell me.

·4· · · · Q· · Okay.· No problem.· Let's speak generally for

·5· ·right now.

·6· · · · A· · Okay.

·7· · · · Q· · Generally speaking, how does All VIP determine

·8· ·if a client needs companionship services?

·9· · · · A· · One way that we can do it is by the -- either

10· ·the administrator or the nurse goes out to the client's

11· ·home and does a care plan -- to do a care plan or the

12· ·client might just ask for it.

13· · · · · · ·We have many clients that will call and say I

14· ·need companionship for my parent.· You know, I live in a

15· ·different state.

16· · · · · · ·My mom is home alone all the time, she, you

17· ·know, so they might want companionship.· Sometimes even

18· ·playing dominoes or bingo cards in the home, that's

19· ·companionship.

20· · · · Q· · Okay.· And how is the order directed to the

21· ·home health aide or the certified nursing assistant that

22· ·they are only to be providing companionship services?

23· · · · A· · Again, that depends.· For example, I'm going

24· ·to use Medicaid now, Medicaid Long Term Care Program.

25· ·The Medicaid Long Term Care program, they have their own

Page 17

·1· ·system where they do the evaluations.

·2· · · · · · ·After they perform a care plan and they do the

·3· ·evaluation, they speak to the client's doctor, they will

·4· ·send that to the agency, they will tell us what services

·5· ·to provide.

·6· · · · · · ·Once they give us those instructions, then we

·7· ·call our caregivers and we ask our caregivers, "Can you

·8· ·perform these duties?"· They either say yes or they say

·9· ·no, that's how it all begins.

10· · · · Q· · And when you mentioned the agency, you are

11· ·referring to All VIP?

12· · · · A· · That is correct.· In this case, yes.

13· · · · Q· · Right.· How does All VIP obtained its clients?

14· · · · A· · Well, I've been in the industry for a very

15· ·long time.· So, I've already established my resources,

16· ·word of word of mouth, marketing, advertisements, case

17· ·managers, you know, hospitals.

18· · · · Q· · Generally speaking, do clients reach out to

19· ·All VIP for their services?

20· · · · A· · Yes, they can.

21· · · · Q· · Does all VIP do any -- I know you mentioned

22· ·marketing, but do you do any, like, direct solicitation

23· ·of clients?

24· · · · A· · No.· We basically just print that out, you

25· ·know, through care.com or, you know, that type of --

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 5 of 80
Page 18

·1· ·that type of thing, A Place for Mom.

·2· · · · · · ·That's usually how we get our clients or

·3· ·unless someone calls us and says to us "listen, you

·4· ·know, we know someone who needs services, here's a

·5· ·number, please call them".

·6· · · · · · ·That's -- then that's the only way I will

·7· ·solicitate a client.· If someone will call me and say,

·8· ·please call so and so, they need services.· Other than

·9· ·that, we place our X.

10· · · · Q· · Once a potential client for All VIPs

11· ·identified, what process is there to actually have that

12· ·person become a client?

13· · · · A· · We do a care plan.· We do an assessment, we

14· ·discuss the pricing or the fee and then we start to look

15· ·for caregiver that is a good fit for the client.

16· · · · Q· · How do clients pay for All VIP services?

17· · · · A· · They either pay by credit card or check or the

18· ·insurance company pays.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, in the first example you gave which

20· ·is credit card and check, then would that client be

21· ·considered a private client for All VIP?

22· · · · A· · It will be for the private clients.

23· · · · Q· · Are private clients generally paying more than

24· ·clients who pay -- who are having their services paid

25· ·through insurance?

Page 19

·1· · · · A· · Yes, I know.

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.· What would the yes be, does it just

·3· ·depend on the services that they're receiving?

·4· · · · A· · It depends who's paying.· The VA pays very

·5· ·well and most private clients don't pay that much.· So,

·6· ·the answer to your question is, yes, I know.

·7· · · · Q· · So, some of All VIPs clients are veterans?

·8· · · · A· · That's correct.

·9· · · · Q· · And if the client is a veteran, then sometimes

10· ·their -- All VIPs fees are being paid by the Veterans

11· ·Affairs Association?

12· · · · A· · That is correct.

13· · · · Q· · All right.· And then some clients who are not

14· ·paying through insurance are paying out of their own

15· ·pocket as far as you know?

16· · · · A· · Yes.· If the insurance doesn't pay, then

17· ·they're paying out of their own pocket.

18· · · · Q· · And when we talk about clients whose insurance

19· ·is paying for the service, then at what point does the

20· ·insurance company become involved in the payment

21· ·process?

22· · · · A· · Oh, from the very -- once we bill.· Once the

23· ·insurance company calls us and sends us the referral, we

24· ·accept the client and we staff the client with a

25· ·caregiver, then we begin to bill.

Page 20

·1· · · · · · ·Once the caregiver sends us their timesheet,

·2· ·which means we have to reimburse them for their

·3· ·services, then we send that over to the insurance

·4· ·company.

·5· · · · · · ·So as soon as a caregiver sends me her

·6· ·timesheet, that's when we send it over to the insurance

·7· ·company for payment.

·8· · · · Q· · If there's a potential client for All VIP who

·9· ·is going to use insurance to pay for services, is there

10· ·insurance information collected upfront?

11· · · · A· · Oh, yes, from the very beginning.

12· · · · Q· · And what All VIP verifies that the insurance

13· ·is valid, how quickly is a caregiver provided to that

14· ·person?

15· · · · A· · As soon as we can find someone, that can be a

16· ·day, that can be two days, that can be a week.· It all

17· ·depends on the needs and also the insurance company will

18· ·tell us too when to start to provide services.

19· · · · Q· · Do insurance companies limit the number of

20· ·visits that their clients have with All VIPs caregivers?

21· · · · A· · Yes, they do.

22· · · · Q· · Do the insurance companies define the scope of

23· ·services that will be -- that All VIP will be providing

24· ·to its clients?

25· · · · A· · Yes, they send over the care plan.

Page 21

·1· · · · Q· · Do All VIP caregivers ever modify the

·2· ·insurance plan without the carrier's consent or

·3· ·knowledge?

·4· · · · A· · The caregiver cannot do that.

·5· · · · Q· · Do caregivers have the ability to ask the

·6· ·insurance company to modify the care plan?

·7· · · · A· · They definitely have the ability, but they do

·8· ·not have the right and it's an appropriate for them to

·9· ·do that.

10· · · · Q· · Are the caregivers informed that they cannot

11· ·modify care plans that are created by insurance

12· ·companies?

13· · · · A· · Oh, they won't inform, especially when they've

14· ·been working for many years as a caregiver because

15· ·pretty much all the agencies are the same and

16· ·furthermore, they get this big package when they come in

17· ·to apply.

18· · · · Q· · Come in to apply for All VIP?

19· · · · A· · That's correct.· And usually all the agencies

20· ·in town pretty much had the same rules.

21· · · · Q· · Who at All VIP and let's just stick with the

22· ·Palm Beach administrate, the Palm Beach office?

23· · · · A· · Okay.

24· · · · Q· · Who at the Palm Beach office is responsible

25· ·for assigning caregivers to patients?

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 6 of 80
Page 22

·1· · · · A· · The care coordinators.

·2· · · · Q· · Are you a care coordinator at the Palm Beach

·3· ·office?

·4· · · · A· · I can be.

·5· · · · Q· · Sometimes you slip into that role?

·6· · · · A· · Sure.

·7· · · · Q· · Is Diana Ramirez a care coordinator?

·8· · · · A· · She can be.

·9· · · · Q· · Who are the designated care coordinators at

10· ·the Palm Beach office?

11· · · · A· · Well, right now currently we have Cassandra,

12· ·we have Jisset, we have Analia, we have Astrid, we have

13· ·Madeline, we have Jonathan Torres, we have myself, we

14· ·have an Analia.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· You mentioned quite a few people --

16· · · · A· · Yes.

17· · · · Q· · -- about how many care coordinators would you

18· ·say they are at the Palm Beach office?

19· · · · A· · We definitely have five and it could be up to

20· ·seven because, you know, we, you know, it's that thing

21· ·about other job duties has been acquired and with COVID22· ·19 and everything that's been going on, we have to be

23· ·prepared here.

24· · · · · · ·So, employees here have to be prepared to, you

25· ·know, jump into, you know, into any role, you know.

Page 23

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.

·2· · · · A· · So, and so that's what we tend to do, is we

·3· ·want to make sure that our client is staffed and that

·4· ·are not home alone.

·5· · · · Q· · How many employees does All VIP have in the

·6· ·Palm Beach office?

·7· · · · A· · Oh, geez.· In this office we probably have,

·8· ·let's see.· There's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,

·9· ·12, 13, 14, like, 15, 16.

10· · · · Q· · And are the majority of the employees at the

11· ·Palm Beach office consider care coordinators?

12· · · · A· · No.· Not the majority, no, but they pretty

13· ·much prepared to jump into that role if need be.

14· · · · Q· · Okay.· What other positions are there at the

15· ·Palm Beach office besides care coordinator?

16· · · · A· · Receptionist, office manager, alternate

17· ·administrator, the nurse.

18· · · · Q· · Is there an on-staff nurse, I mean, on-call

19· ·nurse at all times?

20· · · · A· · Well, if we do, we have two that we have, you

21· ·know, that we have, one is a doctor that, but role here

22· ·is -- has a nurse.

23· · · · Q· · And do the nurses that you're referring to,

24· ·one who's a doctor and I guess the other one as a nurse

25· ·working in the Palm Beach office, do they provide

Page 24

·1· ·patient care?

·2· · · · A· · One of them does and the patients and the, you

·3· ·know, medication management, that type of thing.

·4· · · · Q· · What does the other nurse or doctor do on-

·5· ·staff?

·6· · · · A· · They just check records just to make sure that

·7· ·everything is it's in place, you know, and they went

·8· ·meeting federal and state regulations.

·9· · · · Q· · What is the name of that person that make sure

10· ·that All VIP is meeting state and federal regulations?

11· · · · A· · Well, besides myself because I'm the

12· ·administrator, so the state will first come to me,

13· ·they'll ask me, they'll come to me, then they'll go to

14· ·the nurse and that'll be Dr. Clark.

15· · · · Q· · What's the first name?

16· · · · A· · Dr. Clark, Diane Clark.

17· · · · Q· · Diane Clark.

18· · · · A· · Dr. Diane Clark.

19· · · · Q· · How long has she worked for All VIP?

20· · · · A· · I think she's been here, I'm going to say

21· ·maybe a year or so.

22· · · · Q· · Did Diane Clark work at All VIP at the same

23· ·time as Cruz Valdivieso?

24· · · · A· · I don't think so.· Not at least -- not at the

25· ·capacity, no.· I'm going to say no and again, we did --

Page 25

·1· ·we, you know, Cruz was doing non-medical services, when

·2· ·you provide medical services, you don't need a skilled

·3· ·person involved.

·4· · · · Q· · Okay.· Did any of the care coordinators that

·5· ·you mentioned previously work at All VIP at the same

·6· ·time as Cruz Valdivieso?

·7· · · · A· · Yes, yeah.· Yes, but remember, they're in

·8· ·different offices, but, yes.· So, I don't even know if

·9· ·they know her personally, but, yes.

10· · · · Q· · Okay.· And when you say they're in different

11· ·offices, you mean different physical offices or you mean

12· ·the different umbrellas and --

13· · · · A· · Physical, no, physical offices were West Palm

14· ·Beach and Cruz was mainly, she was working for Broward

15· ·and they are in Deerfield Beach.

16· · · · Q· · Have you ever met Cruz Valdivieso?

17· · · · A· · I think I saw her in the office maybe once or

18· ·twice.

19· · · · Q· · And which office are you referring to?

20· · · · A· · West Palm Beach.

21· · · · Q· · What reason would Cruz Valdivieso have to be

22· ·at the West Palm Beach office?

23· · · · A· · She came in one day, something about her

24· ·paycheck, her earnings not being correct.· So, I wrote

25· ·her a check and that's how I recall seeing her.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 7 of 80
Page 26

·1· · · · Q· · As the owner of All VIP, are you always aware

·2· ·of all of the home health aides that are working in all

·3· ·of the offices?

·4· · · · A· · If I would say always, I probably will be

·5· ·lying, but I try my very best to be involved as much as

·6· ·I can.

·7· · · · Q· · Who is responsible for hiring decisions at the

·8· ·Broward office?

·9· · · · A· · Diana, Diana Ramirez.

10· · · · Q· · Are you Diana Ramirez's direct supervisor?

11· · · · A· · Yes.

12· · · · Q· · Do you have to approve all of Diana Ramirez's

13· ·hiring decisions?

14· · · · A· · No.· That will be micromanagement and I --

15· ·frankly, I don't have time for that.

16· · · · Q· · I understood.· Okay.· Does Diana Ramirez had

17· ·to have her -- if she chooses to employ a caregiver,

18· ·does that decision have to be run by anybody else?

19· · · · A· · No, she -- we have to follow state guidelines.

20· ·So, the state will tell us how to hire them.

21· · · · · · ·So, she follows those instructions.· Now when

22· ·I do audits here, if I see that they hire someone that

23· ·we're not allowed to hire, then they will be hearing

24· ·from me25· · · · Q· · Okay.

Page 27

·1· · · · A· · -- then I step in.

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.· And the state guidelines that tell All

·3· ·VIP how to higher caregivers are going to be the same

·4· ·from county to county, correct?

·5· · · · A· · That is correct.

·6· · · · Q· · So, please just tell me what those state

·7· ·guidelines basically say, what considerations does All

·8· ·VIP have to take or what factors does All VIP have to

·9· ·take into consideration when hiring a caregiver?

10· · · · A· · Okay.· First thing I remember, we are in

11· ·home -- we provide home care, so we are a nurse

12· ·registry. For the nurse registry when we hire a

13· ·caregiver, she's going to be the client's employee.

14· · · · · · ·This caregiver has to have a background check

15· ·within the 50 states.· So, that's a required and we

16· ·must.· So, we have to make sure she has and she needs to

17· ·be -- to do this every five years.

18· · · · · · ·So, criminal background, she needs to have her

19· ·HIV, HIVA certificate, CEU, she must have a medication

20· ·management certificate.· It's kind of like an assistance

21· ·with medication management so she needs to know how to

22· ·remind the client how to take the meds and what

23· ·happened.· That's key.

24· · · · · · ·She also needs to know about domestic violence

25· ·because as a caregiver, if she sees that in the home,

Page 28

·1· ·she must report it.

·2· · · · · · ·Alzheimer's, if she's working with an

·3· ·Alzheimer's client, she needs to know how to deal with

·4· ·that.· So, that's -- those are the key CEU that they

·5· ·must have.

·6· · · · · · ·When they come to apply and get on our roster,

·7· ·they must have that plus CPR card and that needs to be

·8· ·renewed every two years.

·9· · · · · · ·We also want them to have a professional

10· ·liability because God forbid something happens because,

11· ·you know, health care and people always sueing in health

12· ·care, that protects a caregiver especially when she's an

13· ·independent contractor.

14· · · · · · ·So they should also have professional

15· ·liability. There's also now, many insurance companies

16· ·now offer more protection for them from like a Worker's

17· ·Comp policy for them as well and that's optional for

18· ·them, but the most important thing, the CPR card, the

19· ·criminal background check and the CEUs that the state

20· ·when they come to audit the office they make sure that

21· ·these caregivers have.

22· · · · · · ·Now in Palm Beach County, there's an extra

23· ·step. Now the county wants the caregivers to register

24· ·with the county.· So, now the county also is involved

25· ·and who can be a caregiver, who cannot be caregiver.

Page 29

·1· ·That's not happening in Broward thou.

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.· When did on Palm Beach County start

·3· ·that mandate?

·4· · · · A· · Oh, gosh.· Maybe I think more than five years

·5· ·ago.· It's been a while now, but it's only in Palm Beach

·6· ·County.

·7· · · · Q· · And you mentioned that All VIP requires its

·8· ·caregivers to have professional liability insurance?

·9· · · · A· · We do.· I mean, it's not a mandate, mandated,

10· ·but we do and it's for protection for the caregiver and

11· ·the client.

12· · · · Q· · How does All VIP verify that the caregiver has

13· ·professional liability insurance?

14· · · · A· · We ask them to provide the form, you know, the

15· ·certificate of insurance or we can purchase it for them,

16· ·you know, if they liked, this way we know for sure it's

17· ·legit.

18· · · · Q· · If All VIP does purchase professional

19· ·liability insurance for the caregiver, how is -- how

20· ·does the caregiver reimburse All VIP?

21· · · · A· · It all depends.· You know, sometimes they will

22· ·say to us, "You know, we don't have any money right now,

23· ·do you mind taking out of my earnings?" And so I did say

24· ·yes or no, it all depends, you know, how well we know

25· ·them or they'll give us a credit card information or

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 8 of 80
Page 30

·1· ·they'll write us a check --

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.

·3· · · · A· · -- or they will give us a cash.

·4· · · · Q· · Did Cruz Valdivieso come to All VIP already

·5· ·having professional liability insurance?

·6· · · · A· · That I wouldn't know, but I -- if, you know,

·7· ·she would -- I don't know if she came, but she would

·8· ·definitely would have to get one because that's

·9· ·something we encourage them to do.· Again, we encourage

10· ·them to do it.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.

12· · · · A· · They are not, you know, they don't have to do

13· ·it and then at that point if they decide not to do it,

14· ·you know, we discussed with the client and it's up to

15· ·the client to agree if they want to keep them or if they

16· ·want us to replace the caregiver because again, it's up

17· ·to the client to make that decision.

18· · · · Q· · Would -- do you think Diane Ramirez would

19· ·better know if Cruz Valdivieso had professional

20· ·liability insurance?

21· · · · A· · Yes, she would be better to know.

22· · · · Q· · So, --

23· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, a short discussion was held off

24· · · · · · ·record.)

25· · · · · · ·(Deposition resumed.)

Page 31

·1· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.· So Ms. McKinnon, I believe that your

·3· ·question, the record stopped running in the middle of

·4· ·your answer and essentially you were just explaining to

·5· ·me how All VIP finds its caregivers.

·6· · · · · · ·So, you mentioned Craiglist, you said

·7· ·something about to going to reach now to medical schools

·8· ·and if you could just kind of pick up where you left off

·9· ·with your answers.

10· · · · A· · The medical schools.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.

12· · · · A· · We go to the medical schools and we asked them

13· ·to please refer over their top students and many times

14· ·client they'll send over caregivers as well.

15· · · · Q· · The clients already have --

16· · · · A· · Yeah, many times --

17· · · · Q· · Okay.

18· · · · A· · -- they'll refer caregivers over.

19· · · · Q· · And Cruz Valdivieso case, do you know how All

20· ·VIP came to contact her or who made contact with who

21· ·first?

22· · · · A· · No.· And that again, that would probably be a

23· ·good question for Diana Ramirez, I mean, I can guess

24· ·either the correct list or maybe the client referred

25· ·her, I mean, but that's just a guess.

Page 32

·1· · · · Q· · And are -- does VIP, All VIP consider home

·2· ·health aides to be domestic service employees?

·3· · · · A· · That depends.· Can you be more specific?

·4· ·That's too general for me.

·5· · · · Q· · Right.· So, you previously mentioned that as

·6· ·an administrator for All VIP you're responsible for, I

·7· ·forget exactly how you worded it, but I think, you know,

·8· ·monitoring state and federal regulations that apply to

·9· ·the agency.

10· · · · A· · Um-hum.

11· · · · Q· · And so for the record that you said um-hum

12· ·there --

13· · · · A· · I'm sorry.

14· · · · Q· · -- so let me re-ask the question.

15· · · · A· · I didn't --

16· · · · Q· · No, it's fine.· Believe it's going to happen a

17· ·few times during the deposition, it happens.

18· · · · · · ·Okay.· So, let me just repeat that question.

19· ·As an administrator for All VIP, you're responsible for

20· ·monitoring the state and federal regulations that apply

21· ·to the agency, correct?

22· · · · A· · Yes, I'm supposed to conduct audits and make

23· ·sure that we're following guidelines.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· And as an administrator, are you aware

25· ·that there is a title, a legal title called the domestic

Page 33

·1· ·service employee?

·2· · · · A· · Never heard of it here in all my years in

·3· ·homecare.· So, I -- we don't use it obviously.· I've

·4· ·been doing this for many years in home health and we've

·5· ·never used it.· So, I don't know.

·6· · · · Q· · Are you familiar with the Fair Labor Standards

·7· ·Act?

·8· · · · A· · Yes, I am.· I have to be.

·9· · · · Q· · Why is it?

10· · · · A· · Because as a nurse registry we have to make

11· ·sure that when we hire independent contractors, that we

12· ·treat them as such and when they walk into his office

13· ·and they apply, that they're aware that they're

14· ·independent contractors and that they're aware that they

15· ·are the employees of the client, not the agents.

16· · · · Q· · What is All VIPs relationship to its home

17· ·health aides?

18· · · · A· · We process the application, we interview them,

19· ·we make sure that they meet state and federal guidelines

20· ·and we pay them on a weekly basis or when the client

21· ·pays because many clients don't want to be bothered with

22· ·money with their caregivers.· That's too messy for them.

23· · · · Q· · And so does All VIPs serve as a middleman

24· ·between the caregiver and the client?

25· · · · A· · Yes and the insurance company.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 9 of 80
Page 34

·1· · · · Q· · And you mentioned that you have to be familiar

·2· ·with the FLSA to make sure that -- let's just stick with

·3· ·home health aides in particular, are being treated as

·4· ·independent contractors.· What did you mean by that?

·5· · · · A· · Well, for instance when they come in, you

·6· ·know, we give them all the information that they need to

·7· ·know the independent contractors.

·8· · · · · · ·We also give them the option if they want to

·9· ·go out and get their own tax ID number versus using

10· ·their -- Social Security Number.

11· · · · · · ·We talked to them about overtime, we tell them

12· ·as an independent contractor they can work over 40

13· ·hours, but they are not entitled to overtime.

14· · · · · · ·We also talked to them about holiday pay,

15· ·they're not entitled to that either.· However, if the

16· ·client wants to pay, how are they time, you know, time

17· ·and a half, what have you, that's okay, we can discuss

18· ·that with the client and we let them know that they are

19· ·the employees of the client.

20· · · · · · ·We monitor the client services, when it comes

21· ·to them we just make sure that they are meeting federal

22· ·and state regulations because if we do not AHCA, the

23· ·state will close us down if not give us a hefty fine.

24· · · · Q· · And A-C-A is that what you're referring to?

25· · · · A· · A-H-C-A, AHCA.· I'm sorry.

Page 35

·1· · · · Q· · A-H-C-A.

·2· · · · A· · A-H-C-A, AHCA.

·3· · · · Q· · What -- do you know what that stands for?

·4· · · · A· · Agency of Health Care Administration.

·5· · · · Q· · Okay.· Does that agency ACHA provide audits

·6· ·or -- sorry, not provide.· Does that agency do audits of

·7· ·All VIP?

·8· · · · A· · They do.· They do inspection.· They do.· They

·9· ·do inspection.· We just had one recently as a matter of

10· ·fact in the Palm Beach office.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· And when you say inspections, what is

12· ·ACHA inspecting for?

13· · · · A· · They inspect the records, they inspect how we

14· ·get -- how we get our referrals, how we process those

15· ·referrals and then they check the caregivers that we

16· ·assigned to these clients, you know, that we refer to

17· ·work with the clients, they check their records to make

18· ·sure they are meeting state and federal guidelines.

19· · · · · · ·Like they made sure that they have a good

20· ·criminal background check.· They made sure that they

21· ·have a CPR card that is not expired.

22· · · · · · ·That they have the HIVA certificate.· That,

23· ·you know, that they know that they have Alzheimer's

24· ·certificate on file, domestic violence certificate on

25· ·file, so they check for those things.

Page 36

·1· · · · · · ·They check their application.· They make sure

·2· ·that we are letting these caregivers know that they're

·3· ·independent contractors.· They check.

·4· · · · · · ·They check for signatures.· They check that we

·5· ·make sure that we discuss salary.· They check all of

·6· ·that when they come to do the inspections.

·7· · · · Q· · But normally ACHA is only going per All VIP

·8· ·office, not to every single office for one inspection?

·9· · · · A· · Exactly.· They go for one office.· So, for

10· ·Palm Beach County, it's for the license, they will come

11· ·to West Palm Beach.· For Broward County, they're going

12· ·to go to Deerfield Beach to do an inspection.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· The -- is ACHA required to do an

14· ·inspection at any particular interval, like, is it like

15· ·once a year or its just random?

16· · · · A· · I think while in all my years they usually do

17· ·it, like, every two years usually.· After COVID-19

18· ·things changed a lot, you know, they don't come as often

19· ·as they used to, but they normally come, like, every two

20· ·years unannounced.

21· · · · Q· · Got it.· Going back to overtime, you mentioned

22· ·that All VIP home health aides are informed that they're

23· ·not entitled to overtime.· Is that correct?

24· · · · A· · That is very correct.

25· · · · Q· · How are they told that or what point in their

Page 37

·1· ·employment are they told that?

·2· · · · A· · They're told the moment they walk in and they

·3· ·get that their application.· In fact, one of the reasons

·4· ·many clients come to us is because they appreciate the

·5· ·fact that the independent contractors can work more than

·6· ·40 hours.

·7· · · · Q· · And when you say come to us, do you mean All

·8· ·VIP in particular?

·9· · · · A· · All VIP in particular or any nurse registry.

10· ·This was specifically through during COVID-19.· Many

11· ·clients did not want three or four caregivers coming

12· ·into their rooms, in and out.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· So sometimes because of the

14· ·restrictions on hours some home health aides can only

15· ·work 40 hours and therefore clients have to be assigned

16· ·different caregivers?

17· · · · A· · Well, if we're talking about a home health

18· ·agency which is different than home nurse registry,

19· ·those home health agencies, they have to pay for all the

20· ·time after 40 hours and they can supervise their

21· ·caregivers, they -- then they must pay them, but a nurse

22· ·registry, we do not supervise the caregivers.· We

23· ·monitor our services with the client.· We work for the

24· ·client.

25· · · · · · ·In that particular instance, an independent

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 10 of 80
Page 38

·1· ·contractor can work 40 hours or more if the client

·2· ·desires that.

·3· · · · Q· · So, the client is always the one who

·4· ·determines the number of hours that the caregivers

·5· ·provide?

·6· · · · A· · Yes and no, because remember, if it's private,

·7· ·yes.· If it's insurance, if the insurance company has

·8· ·paid for it, no.

·9· · · · Q· · Understood.· Okay.· Got it.· So, the client is

10· ·paying out of pocket, they get to make the rules.

11· · · · A· · A client.

12· · · · Q· · A client does.

13· · · · A· · And many times that is when that -- when it's

14· ·a private client, there's a negotiation process.· The

15· ·client will either discuss it with the caregiver because

16· ·we will refer the caregiver to the client and at that

17· ·point when they need, they can also discuss salary, they

18· ·can discuss the hours, they can discuss the duties, the

19· ·tasks, all of that stuff without even the agency

20· ·involved.

21· · · · Q· · Interesting.· So, once All VIP assigns a

22· ·caregiver, let's say more specifically once All VIPs

23· ·assign a home health aide to a client, then the client

24· ·is essentially paying for the service to the caregiver?

25· · · · A· · No, it's up to the client, but most clients

Page 39

·1· ·don't want to do that.· They have the option, of course,

·2· ·but most clients don't want to do that because it

·3· ·becomes too messy.· So, they don't want -- they don't

·4· ·want to be involved with that.

·5· · · · · · ·So, they'll set up an account with us I say

·6· ·with a credit card and they'll tell the agency charge,

·7· ·you know, charge the credit card once a month or every

·8· ·two weeks or weekly, what have you.

·9· · · · · · ·The client was will let us know how they're

10· ·going to pay for services.· The client will also sign a

11· ·timesheet indicating that the caregiver did work those

12· ·hours, okay, you may pay her.

13· · · · Q· · Got it.· Okay.· So, stay tuned for a second.

14· ·So I'm going to show you an exhibit.· Okay.· Ms.

15· ·McKinnon, I'm now showing you what I'm marking as --

16· · · · A· · A timesheet.

17· · · · Q· · Oh, yeah.· I'm showing you what I'm marking as

18· ·Exhibit B for the deposition record.

19· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit B was entered

20· · · · · · ·into the record.)

21· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

22· · · · Q· · And you just mentioned that this is a

23· ·timesheet.· So, my first question to you was going to

24· ·be, do you recognized a document like this?

25· · · · A· · Yes.

Page 40

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· And how do you recognize this type of a

·2· ·document?

·3· · · · A· · Well, because it's the one we gave our

·4· ·caregivers, it's the one that ACHA approved when I first

·5· ·opened the business.

·6· · · · · · ·It's the one we've been using since 2016 and

·7· ·that's our timesheet that we give to caregivers.

·8· · · · Q· · You mentioned that the caregivers are supposed

·9· ·to sign off on these timesheets.· Is that the10· · · · A· · That is correct.

11· · · · Q· · Is that the line at the bottom that says

12· ·client signature?

13· · · · A· · That is supposed to be a client signature on

14· ·the bottom approving the timesheet.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· And who provides the timesheet to the

16· ·client, is it the caregiver?

17· · · · A· · That's right.

18· · · · Q· · Okay.

19· · · · A· · And the client is supposed to read it and if

20· ·they approve, the client has to prove.· They signed it.

21· · · · Q· · Now what I'm showing you is a 53 page document

22· ·and it has different timesheets.· These were provided by

23· ·your company, by All VIP.

24· · · · · · ·I'm not sure if you're aware of that and that,

25· ·but that's why it has these numbers at the bottom of

Page 41

·1· ·each page where it says VIP docs.

·2· · · · · · ·That's what we call a Bates stamp number.· So,

·3· ·just for the record, for the deposition record I am

·4· ·showing Ms. McKinnon the document that's Bate Stamp

·5· ·Number 11, VIP docs Number 11, which is a timesheet.

·6· · · · · · ·Okay.· Now on these timesheets, let's just

·7· ·stick to the first one I'm showing you here on Page 1.

·8· ·I see on the left hand side there's a column filled

·9· ·with, it looks like different activities.

10· · · · · · ·Who marks off the activities that were being

11· ·performed for the client?

12· · · · A· · The caregiver.

13· · · · Q· · Got it.· And does the caregiver also put

14· ·the -- fill in the time in and time out portions of the

15· ·timesheet?

16· · · · A· · Yes.

17· · · · Q· · Is it fair to say that the caregiver is

18· ·responsible for filling out everything except the part

19· ·that says client signature on a timesheet?

20· · · · A· · That's very fair.

21· · · · Q· · Are there different timesheets for different

22· ·types of All VIP personnel, meaning, does a home health

23· ·care aide have a different list of activities than a

24· ·certified nursing assistant?

25· · · · A· · No, and there's no need.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 11 of 80
Page 42

·1· · · · Q· · Why is that?

·2· · · · A· · Because in home care a CNA will not be working

·3· ·normally with an RN.· A CNA is more for facilities, for

·4· ·hospitals because they work under our RN.· In home care,

·5· ·it's very rare to have a working under an RN.

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.

·7· · · · A· · And in hospital CNAs don't clean.· In a home

·8· ·environment, yes, they do.· They have to do light

·9· ·housekeeping.

10· · · · Q· · Understood.· Okay.· And so just to clarify

11· ·what you're saying, home health aides and CNAs will both

12· ·use the type of timesheet that we see here if they're

13· ·providing in-home care to a patient?

14· · · · A· · Yes, they will use the same timesheet.

15· · · · Q· · Are timesheets only used by people providing

16· ·non-medical services for All VIP?

17· · · · A· · That timesheet predominantly, yes.

18· · · · Q· · Who are timesheets ultimately turned into once

19· ·they're completed?

20· · · · A· · They send them to their office.· They can, you

21· ·know, in this case they will be sending it to Broward

22· ·office so they can be processed and they can get paid

23· ·and we can submit the invoice to the insurance company.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· If it's insured that's paying for the

25· ·service, then it goes to the insurance company?

Page 43

·1· · · · A· · The insurance company will get an invoice,

·2· ·this will stay in the record, so if the insurance

·3· ·company wants to come to the office and do an audit,

·4· ·they can review.

·5· · · · Q· · Well, what I'm trying to -- let me just take

·6· ·this down for a second.· What I'm mainly asking what the

·7· ·question is, you said that the timesheets will be

·8· ·submitted to insurance companies, but not all patients

·9· ·are paying through an insurance company, correct?

10· · · · A· · Yeah.· We don't, in this case for Medicaid we

11· ·do not send them the timesheets.· We only send them the

12· ·invoice.

13· · · · · · ·The timesheet stayed in the clients file for

14· ·two reasons.· For the state ACHA when they come to do an

15· ·inspection, they might want to see that file and if the

16· ·insurance company wants to come in and conduct an audit.

17· ·So, those timesheet must stay in the clients file.

18· · · · Q· · Got it.· You mentioned that the caregivers

19· ·will e-mail the timesheet back into the office?

20· · · · A· · They can, but, you know, but more importantly

21· ·they're supposed to be clocking in and clocking out and

22· ·that's another state regulation.

23· · · · · · ·In this case, Ms. Cruz never clocked in and

24· ·never clocked out.· Once they do that, there's no need

25· ·to be sending over the timesheets because that is

Page 44

·1· ·registered automatically.

·2· · · · Q· · How do home health aides like Ms. Cruz clock

·3· ·in and out?

·4· · · · A· · There is a software which we pay for.· In this

·5· ·case is HHAexchange and it's approved by the state.

·6· · · · Q· · Is HHAeXchange an application that would be on

·7· ·somebody's phone?

·8· · · · A· · Yes.

·9· · · · Q· · Does that mean that all home health aides are

10· ·required to have a smartphone so that they can use the

11· ·HHA application?

12· · · · A· · They are required or they can use if the

13· ·client has a home phone, you know, a landline, they can

14· ·use that as well.

15· · · · Q· · So, home health aides also have the option of

16· ·calling a number to clock in and clock out?

17· · · · A· · That is correct.

18· · · · Q· · Through HHAeXchange?

19· · · · A· · Yes.

20· · · · Q· · When did you first become aware or when did

21· ·All VIP first become aware of issues with Ms. Cruz not

22· ·clocking in and out?

23· · · · A· · A long time ago and it was addressed to her.

24· · · · Q· · Did you, Ms. McKinnon ever personally speak to

25· ·Cruz Valdivieso about clocking in and clocking out?

Page 45

·1· · · · A· · I sure did when she came into this office to

·2· ·get a paycheck where she says that she wasn't paid

·3· ·correctly and I reminded her to avoid those issues, to

·4· ·please clock in and clock out.

·5· · · · · · ·Furthermore, because I'm not supposed to be

·6· ·bossing her around, you know, because she's an

·7· ·independent contractor, I made it very clear to her,

·8· ·it's not my rule, it's the state, the federal

·9· ·government, State and federal government and we have to

10· ·follow these guidelines.

11· · · · Q· · The incident that or the time that you were

12· ·talking about when you spoke to Ms. Cruz Valdivieso, is

13· ·that the same time when you said you would only really

14· ·met her once because she came in for a pay issue?

15· · · · A· · Yeah, I remember maybe seeing her maybe once

16· ·or twice, you know, I have over thousand caregiver, so

17· ·sometimes, you know, it's hard for me, you know, to

18· ·remember.

19· · · · · · ·I didn't really have an, you know, I didn't

20· ·really have a relationship with her.· That was more

21· ·Diana Ramirez in that office and, you know, in Deerfield

22· ·Beach.

23· · · · · · ·I did hear of her and because of the payroll,

24· ·you know, situation and of course, you know, when she --

25· ·when we ended, you know, when we took her off the

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 12 of 80
Page 46

·1· ·roster, when we had that situation, that's pretty much,

·2· ·you know, when I was involved with her --

·3· · · · Q· · Okay.

·4· · · · A· · -- but I do recall seeing her here, I do

·5· ·recall writing her manual check, I do recall speaking to

·6· ·her.· That much I do recall.

·7· · · · Q· · When you say manual check, you mean actual

·8· ·physical check that was given to her --

·9· · · · A· · Yeah.

10· · · · Q· · -- instead of direct deposit?

11· · · · A· · Yes.

12· · · · Q· · Okay.· Just to go back a little bit.· Did Cruz

13· ·Valdivieso have the HHAeXchange application on her

14· ·phone?

15· · · · A· · She should.

16· · · · Q· · Would Diana Ramirez be a better person ask

17· ·that question to?

18· · · · A· · She -- yes, she would be definitely, but, you

19· ·know, let me see if I can check here quickly, but yeah,

20· ·definitely Diana would be the one.

21· · · · · · ·She definitely knew because I can tell by

22· ·checking the computer, I have her caregiver code, a

23· ·mobile ID number.· So, she was definitely informed and

24· ·she definitely downloaded the software on her

25· ·smartphone.

Page 47

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, All VIP has a way to verify if a

·2· ·caregiver had the software on their phone?

·3· · · · A· · Absolutely.

·4· · · · Q· · Okay.· And it's in a database that you just

·5· ·refer to?

·6· · · · A· · Yes, an HHAeXchange.

·7· · · · Q· · Oh, I see.· Okay.· And does HHAeXchange, like

·8· ·an online account that All VIP has?

·9· · · · A· · It's like a software that we, you know, that

10· ·we use and we pay for.· It can also be free, I mean, it

11· ·all depends, you know, what you sign up for because it

12· ·is state mandated.

13· · · · · · ·So, therefore the state also pays for this

14· ·program and any agency that has a contract with Medicaid

15· ·needs to use this software.

16· · · · Q· · At what point in the hiring process are

17· ·caregivers told that they will have to use HHAeXchange

18· ·to clock in and clock out?

19· · · · A· · The very beginning.· Especially if they're

20· ·going to work for a Medicaid client.

21· · · · Q· · Is there paperwork that or like onboarding

22· ·paperwork that caregivers are provided with that

23· ·explains the HHAeXchange process for clocking in and

24· ·clocking out?

25· · · · A· · Yes, especially they need it.· Yes.· They can

Page 48

·1· ·also come here to the office and we help them.· I also

·2· ·send out -- through HHAeXchange I can send messages to

·3· ·the caregivers.

·4· · · · · · ·I've said numerous times, messages to them, go

·5· ·to YouTube, because there are tutorials on YouTube in

·6· ·Spanish as well which this can help her tremendously.

·7· · · · · · ·So, we've covered this numerous times with the

·8· ·caregivers, in English and Spanish.

·9· · · · Q· · Did Cruz Valdivieso ever complained that she

10· ·was having issues clocking in and clocking out through

11· ·HHAeXchange?

12· · · · A· · Not to me, so I don't recall, she could have,

13· ·but again, I'm sorry, I cannot -- I don't recall. Maybe

14· ·Diana Ramirez maybe, but I don't recall having that

15· ·conversation with her.

16· · · · Q· · So, at what point -- how often are All VIP

17· ·home health aides paid by All VIP?

18· · · · A· · That depends.· If they clock in and clock out

19· ·or submit their timesheets as they're supposed to, they

20· ·can get paid every Friday.

21· · · · · · ·If not, they will get paid when the client

22· ·pays or the insurance company pays and we tell them that

23· ·as well.· They are independent contractors.

24· · · · Q· · So, essentially does the client or the

25· ·insurance company paying for the services that they were

Page 49

·1· ·given and then All VIP allocates that amount of money to

·2· ·pay the caregiver?

·3· · · · A· · Yes, we bill, they send us the money and they

·4· ·are usually pretty good.· They usually pay every week

·5· ·and we send that over to the caregivers.· That's what

·6· ·we're supposed to do.

·7· · · · · · ·We're supposed to pay the caregivers.· We're

·8· ·getting that money so we can pay the caregivers so that

·9· ·the client can continue receiving services.

10· · · · Q· · Does All VIP -- does All VIPs profit come from

11· ·the difference in the service that's provided to the

12· ·caregiver and the amount that's actually charged to the

13· ·care -- I'm sorry, the other way around.

14· · · · · · ·Does All VIPs profit come from the difference

15· ·in the service that's being provided to the patient and

16· ·the amount that All VIP charges for that service?

17· · · · A· · Trying to see if I understand that.· Let's

18· ·see.· So, I'm going to make sure I answered this

19· ·question correctly.· I'm not sure if I understood.

20· · · · Q· · Okay.· And so let me see if I can clarify a

21· ·little bit by giving a number example and I'll just used

22· ·fairly basic numbers for the point of an example.

23· · · · · · ·So for -- let's say a home health aide is with

24· ·a client all day long and those services are being

25· ·charged at or I guess the value of those services is,

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 13 of 80
Page 50

·1· ·you know, $20 for the day.· Okay.

·2· · · · · · ·Does All VIP then send a bill for $30 to the

·3· ·client?

·4· · · · A· · All VIP care, it's kind of like a staffing

·5· ·agency, that's how we, you know, I'm not sure if you

·6· ·ever use a temp before in your office, you negotiate a

·7· ·rate and that's what you bill and so that's what we do.

·8· ·If the rate is $20 an hour and the aide is there, let's

·9· ·say three hours, that's what we bill.

10· · · · · · ·If the contract says that the aide is supposed

11· ·to be there four hours, but yet the aide only work

12· ·three, we still bill what the aide worked.

13· · · · Q· · All right.

14· · · · A· · So, again, we -- our profit and the way we do

15· ·business, run business just has a staffing company does.

16· · · · Q· · Okay.

17· · · · A· · And I hope I answered that correctly because

18· ·I'm still a little confused.

19· · · · Q· · No.· I get it.· I understand.· Okay.

20· ·Understood.· All right.· Are there ever situations where

21· ·a home health aide is providing services to patients,

22· ·but they are not being compensated for the services that

23· ·they're providing?

24· · · · A· · That's not the plan, mean, that's not supposed

25· ·to happen.· Usually, you know, if you work, you're

Page 51

·1· ·entitled to get paid.

·2· · · · Q· · Right.

·3· · · · A· · What kind of reputation would I have in the

·4· ·community if we will be -- if we behave in that fashion,

·5· ·so.

·6· · · · Q· · Right.· But are there situations where home

·7· ·health aides, you know, fill out their timesheets, they

·8· ·clock in and clock out correctly and once the time

·9· ·sheets are submitted, they're waiting to be paid because

10· ·either the client didn't pay or the insurance company

11· ·did not pay?

12· · · · A· · That is correct.· On those two that you just

13· ·said there, those two reasons, yes, they may not get

14· ·paid and that is told to them in the beginning, they are

15· ·independent contractor.

16· · · · · · ·So, you're going to get paid, there might be a

17· ·problem in your pay, don't expect to get paid like an

18· ·employee does at a company, you know.· It's different.

19· · · · · · ·So, and we usually tell them, you know, we'll

20· ·call them up and we'll talk to them, you know, we don't

21· ·want them expecting a paycheck when they're not going to

22· ·receive one and we also call clients as well and we'll

23· ·also call the insurance provider if we need to, we also

24· ·let them know as well and sometimes even ACHA, the state

25· ·will get involved too if need be.

Page 52

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· And if a client does not pay for

·2· ·services that have been rendered to them, what is ALL

·3· ·VIPs role in trying to obtain payment from them?

·4· · · · A· · Well we would try to help as much as possible,

·5· ·but again, because they're independent contractors, they

·6· ·will have to sue the client in Court.

·7· · · · Q· · Are the caregivers informed that they would

·8· ·have to sue clients in Court if clients aren't paying?

·9· · · · A· · Oh, yes.· And again like I said, you know,

10· ·these caregivers are not only -- they don't just

11· ·register one agency, they register with multiple

12· ·agencies and trust me, they all get the same

13· ·information.

14· · · · · · ·So, let's just say for argument's sake that

15· ·All VIP Care neglected to tell them.· Well, guess what?

16· ·The other five agencies that they register with, one of

17· ·them told them.· So, maybe all four told them.

18· · · · · · ·So, you know, a caregiver that has experience,

19· ·has been a caregiver for more than a year or three, 10

20· ·years is well versed.· She knows.

21· · · · Q· · If -- so, another example or another situation

22· ·does -- what does All VIP do when an insurance company

23· ·is not paying for a service that has been rendered by

24· ·caregiver?

25· · · · A· · Well, for insurance company we normally, we

Page 53

·1· ·will call them and many times there will be case

·2· ·managers involved for the, you know, that represent the

·3· ·insurance company.

·4· · · · · · ·So, we call the case manager and we'll speak

·5· ·to the case manager and many times, you know, just by

·6· ·calling the case manager, we'll get that resolved and

·7· ·once that we get an authorization that insurance company

·8· ·says we're going to pay you, we definitely pay the

·9· ·caregiver --

10· · · · Q· · Okay.

11· · · · A· · -- because that money belongs to caregiver.

12· · · · Q· · Do caregivers -- are caregivers informed that

13· ·they may have to sue the insurance company for their

14· ·opinion?

15· · · · A· · No, they don't really have to -- they don't

16· ·have to sue the insurance company because the insurance

17· ·company will send the agency an authorization, you see.

18· · · · · · ·So, once the agency has an authorization, the

19· ·agency can actually take that on with the insurance

20· ·company as long as we have an authorization.

21· · · · Q· · And the authorization is that essentially a

22· ·contract?

23· · · · A· · It's part of the contract.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· But the authorization is approving the

25· ·amount of time and the type of service that the

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 14 of 80
Page 54

·1· ·caregiver can give to the client?

·2· · · · A· · That is correct.

·3· · · · Q· · And so that's something that All VIP can

·4· ·always wave back in front of the insured and say, okay,

·5· ·this is what you authorize, this is what it was

·6· ·provided, therefore provided this payment to the

·7· ·caregiver.

·8· · · · A· · That is correct and that's what the

·9· ·authorization is all about, it's to ensure payment.

10· · · · Q· · Now, does the authorization ensure payment

11· ·only to the caregiver or also to All VIP?

12· · · · A· · It's also to All VIP Care plus the caregiver.

13· · · · Q· · When patients are making payment for caregiver

14· ·service, are they writing two separate checks, one for

15· ·the caregiver and one for All VIP?

16· · · · A· · No, because like I mentioned in the beginning,

17· ·patients don't want to do that, it's too messy for them.

18· · · · · · ·Especially when -- remember that -- please

19· ·keep in mind that our clients were predominantly

20· ·seniors, they're 80, they are 90 years old, they do not

21· ·want to be involved with that.

22· · · · Q· · And so I understand what you're saying, they

23· ·don't want to be involved with the payment, but if they

24· ·are paying, then they have to be paying somehow.

25· · · · · · ·So, what happens to their payment, how does it

Page 55

·1· ·get split up and the portion for the caregiver gets sent

·2· ·out to the caregiver, does All VIP taken all the money

·3· ·and then cuts a check to the caregiver as a 1099

·4· ·payment?

·5· · · · A· · Normally, okay, we bill the client, the client

·6· ·sends us a check for everything.· For our fee, plus the

·7· ·caregivers rate and then we cut a check to the

·8· ·caregiver.

·9· · · · · · ·There are times where the client can pay the

10· ·caregiver directly and that has happened, but it's not

11· ·very often that happens and then they will just pay the

12· ·caregiver directly and then they will send us whatever

13· ·they need to send the agency, but that doesn't happen

14· ·very often, clients do not want to engage with that,

15· ·they just don't.

16· · · · Q· · Are there ever a situations where a client

17· ·will give the caregiver the money for the caregiver

18· ·services and All VIPs fees?

19· · · · A· · Yes, but it's very rare.

20· · · · Q· · Okay.

21· · · · A· · Very rare.· Can it happen?· Of course, but

22· ·it's very rare.

23· · · · Q· · And then in that situation, the caregiver is

24· ·now responsible for taking the payment back to All VIP,

25· ·to wherever their home office is?

Page 56

·1· · · · A· · No, they don't have to give us any payment,

·2· ·they will just be -- they'll just be getting --

·3· ·hopefully, they'll just be getting their share, but if a

·4· ·client gives him a check that includes our fee then,

·5· ·yes, they have to bring the check over to the office.

·6· · · · Q· · Understood.· Okay.· As far as you know, is

·7· ·there any allegation that Cruz Valdivieso kept any money

·8· ·that was supposed to go to All VIP?

·9· · · · A· · No.· I do know that she was getting paid. It's

10· ·my understanding that the clients were paying her

11· ·privately as well which is against the contract that she

12· ·signed, but in any case, in any event, you know, the

13· ·clients liked her, they were happy with her.· That I

14· ·guess --

15· · · · Q· · Yeah.· Sorry.· Go ahead.

16· · · · A· · I guess that's what matters, you know, they

17· ·were happy and services as far as I was concerned with,

18· ·you know, they were being provided and that's what's

19· ·important, you know, at the end of the day.

20· · · · Q· · Right.· When you say Ms. Valdivieso was being

21· ·paid privately by the clients, what do you mean?

22· · · · A· · The client that were using her for extra

23· ·hours, they were utilizing the services beyond what the

24· ·insurance company authorized.

25· · · · · · ·So she, I guess had this agreement with the

Page 57

·1· ·family where she was working extra hours in the family,

·2· ·we're paying her directly.

·3· · · · · · ·Again, you know, it's against the contract,

·4· ·but, you know, like I said, clients were happy and we

·5· ·just left it at that.

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.· Now the clients that you're referring

·7· ·to were Ms. Cruz was working extra hours, is this one

·8· ·particular client or was this more than one client that

·9· ·All VIP assigned Ms. Cruz to?

10· · · · A· · I think she had like three if I recall when I

11· ·was -- when I was looking into her case and what took

12· ·place.· I believe she had three clients.

13· · · · Q· · That she was working on authorized hours for?

14· · · · A· · No, just two because I believe there were a

15· ·couple if I'm correct, it was a couple and I believe

16· ·they were two.

17· · · · Q· · Okay.· And you're saying that the couple, each

18· ·were individual patients for All VIP?

19· · · · A· · That's correct.· They each had their

20· ·authorization through Medicaid.

21· · · · Q· · And I think in your previous statement, what

22· ·you were attempting to say was that All VIP had only

23· ·assigned Ms. Cruz Valdivieso to three client's total?

24· · · · A· · No, it's the -- well, it's not that just only.

25· ·When I was involved with her situation here at the

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 15 of 80
Page 58

·1· ·office, I noticed she had three.

·2· · · · · · ·She could have been -- she could have been

·3· ·assigned to more, but it all depends, because she's

·4· ·working 50, 60 hours a week, I mean, there's just so

·5· ·many clients that you can have in one week.

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.· Understood.· Is All VIP claiming that

·7· ·Ms. Cruz Valdivieso was stealing time while she was

·8· ·working for All VIP?

·9· · · · A· · I wouldn't say she was stealing time. I'm just

10· ·going to say that she, you know, she ignore her

11· ·contract.· She's not supposed to be working privately

12· ·for our clients.

13· · · · · · ·When you refer an independent contractor to

14· ·the clients, they're not supposed to be working

15· ·privately for the client with our knowledge and that's

16· ·what she did.

17· · · · Q· · Is that essentially like moonlighting?

18· · · · A· · No.· That's -- no, that's not moonlighting.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.· So when you say working privately for

20· ·the clients, that means specifically that she's working

21· ·hours that were not authorized by the insurance company?

22· · · · A· · Not authorized by the insurance company, but

23· ·not -- but it is also a contract where it specifically

24· ·states that you're not allowed to do that because in

25· ·essence she's, you know, she's -- they are just not

Page 59

·1· ·allowed to do that.· It goes against the values, it goes

·2· ·against the contract, it goes against the business

·3· ·model, you're not allowed to be working for the client

·4· ·without the agency being aware of it and that's what she

·5· ·was told.

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.· How did the agency become aware or how

·7· ·did All VIP become aware that Ms. Valdivieso was

·8· ·providing hours without authorization?

·9· · · · A· · I became aware to Diana Ramirez, she brought

10· ·it to my attention.

11· · · · Q· · What did Ms. Ramirez tell you?

12· · · · A· · She was working privately for the clients.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· And do you know how Ms. Ramirez found

14· ·that information out?

15· · · · A· · No, I don't, but I, you know, I mean, I hate

16· ·to assume, but I -- probably, you know, in general when

17· ·we find out these things, usually because there was an

18· ·issue, you know, so there was an issue and when she

19· ·delved into it, that's when she discovered, but again,

20· ·that's something that perhaps she should answer so that

21· ·we can be accurate.

22· · · · Q· · Okay.· But when you found out -- when

23· ·Ms. Ramirez told you that there was an issue with

24· ·Ms. Cruz providing an authorized hours, what was your

25· ·response?

Page 60

·1· · · · A· · I was, you know, I just said look, you know,

·2· ·the client is happy, so let's just, let it be, you know.

·3· · · · Q· · At any point, did you become aware that the

·4· ·clients themselves were making complaints against All

·5· ·VIP?

·6· · · · A· · No, the only time I spoke -- perhaps I spoke

·7· ·to one of them, maybe a daughter or something was when

·8· ·she was calling it to discuss her pay or something, but

·9· ·why would there be any complains when they were happy

10· ·with the caregiver, when they had her working extra

11· ·hours be on the Medicare authorization.

12· · · · · · ·No, there is no complaint, it makes absolutely

13· ·no sense.

14· · · · Q· · At any point did you become aware that

15· ·Ms. Cruz was making complaints against All VIP about her

16· ·payment?

17· · · · A· · Yes, that we --

18· · · · Q· · Okay.

19· · · · A· · And that only with this client, but with

20· ·another client.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, let me just pull up a couple of

22· ·documents so we can be -- we can make sure we're talking

23· ·about the same clients.

24· · · · · · ·Okay.· I'm now going to show you what I'm

25· ·marking as Exhibit C for the deposition record.

Page 61

·1· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit C was entered

·2· · · · · · ·into the record.)

·3· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·4· · · · Q· · Do you recognize the document that I'm showing

·5· ·you on your screen Ms. McKinnon?

·6· · · · A· · Yes.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· And how do you recognize this document?

·8· · · · A· · Because I believe I'm the one that responded

·9· ·to it and I saw it and that's not, you know, the client

10· ·did not do that, that was a family member and this came

11· ·because of Cruz and the reason why I said it's not true

12· ·is because the client never call here to complain about

13· ·services.

14· · · · Q· · Okay.· How did you become aware of this Google

15· ·post being -- well, first, where did you see this Google

16· ·post?

17· · · · A· · I saw it online in Google's review.

18· · · · Q· · Okay.· Do you regularly monitor the Google

19· ·reviews for All VIP?

20· · · · A· · Sometimes I do, sometimes.· Not always because

21· ·our record speaks for itself.· We have lots of client's,

22· ·lots of great reviews, so, you know, I -- but sometimes

23· ·I do because I want to make sure, you know, that my

24· ·staff is doing their job.· That's why I do it mostly, to

25· ·make sure that my staff, in house staff that they're

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 16 of 80
Page 62

·1· ·doing their jobs.

·2· · · · Q· · Did anybody direct you to look at this

·3· ·particular Google posts or you just --

·4· · · · A· · You know, I don't recall.· I'm sorry.· I have

·5· ·way -- I have hundreds of clients, hundreds of

·6· ·caregivers.· This is a very busy business.· So no, I

·7· ·don't recall.· I don't.

·8· · · · Q· · Now looking at the name of the person who, you

·9· ·know, the review is under, where it says Cesar ZK, was

10· ·Cesar ZK an All VIP client?

11· · · · A· · I believe he -- I believe, yes and he did not

12· ·write that review.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· How do you know?

14· · · · A· · Because I know.· He's a senior, he's not going

15· ·to do that.· It wasn't him.

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· But did you ever receive any

17· ·information that somebody else wrote this review or you

18· ·just assume --

19· · · · A· · I don't recall receiving any information. I

20· ·don't.· We can ask Diana Ramirez, but I just don't

21· ·recall.

22· · · · Q· · Okay.· And so whether he wrote the review in

23· ·that or if it was a family member or somebody else,

24· ·looking at the content of it, it says that HHAs home

25· ·health aides were always complaining they were not being

Page 63

·1· ·paid by the agency and threatened into stop delivering

·2· ·services to the customer, patient.

·3· · · · · · ·What is -- do you have any idea of what Mr. ZK

·4· ·or the post is referring to there?

·5· · · · A· · First of all, Mr. ZK did not write that post

·6· ·and second of all, it's referring to the caregiver

·7· ·complaining to the clients order that she was not paid,

·8· ·which it's -- that's what she was doing.

·9· · · · Q· · Okay.· And in this particular case, the

10· ·caregiver would have been Ms. Cruz?

11· · · · A· · That's correct.

12· · · · Q· · All right.· Do you know why Ms. Cruz was

13· ·complaining that she was not being paid?

14· · · · A· · No.

15· · · · Q· · However, Ms. Cruz did come to the Palm Beach

16· ·office one time and complained to you that she was not

17· ·being paid, correct?

18· · · · A· · That is correct, maybe once or twice.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.· And what was her specific complaint

20· ·when she came into the Palm Beach office about not being

21· ·paid?

22· · · · A· · That she didn't get paid or she didn't get

23· ·paid correctly.· It was some -- again, I have over 1000

24· ·caregivers, you know, on my roster.

25· · · · · · ·So, something about her not getting paid right

Page 64

·1· ·or whatever and again, you know, I explained to her,

·2· ·Cruz we have a system in place to avoid these issues,

·3· ·please utilize the software, utilize the resources, you

·4· ·know, that you have, you know.· Use HHAeXchange to clock

·5· ·in, clock out.· That goes automatically to the payroll

·6· ·and you won't have these issues.

·7· · · · Q· · When you spoke with Ms. Cruz Valdivieso, did

·8· ·you speak to her in English or Spanish?

·9· · · · A· · Spanish.

10· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, are you --

11· · · · A· · I think it was Spanish.

12· · · · Q· · Okay.· Are you a fluent Spanish speaker?

13· · · · A· · --

14· · · · Q· · Okay.· Well, just for the deposition record

15· ·you have to actually say yes, so.

16· · · · A· · Yes.

17· · · · Q· · Okay.· Thank you.· And do you also read in

18· ·Spanish?

19· · · · A· · I do read Spanish.

20· · · · Q· · Do you write in Spanish?

21· · · · A· · A little.

22· · · · Q· · Does All VIP provide any Spanish language

23· ·documents to its caregivers?

24· · · · A· · No, because it is not my responsibility to do

25· ·so, but they can and they have in the office if a

Page 65

·1· ·caregiver will request they'll do it, you know, out of

·2· ·the kindness, you know, of our heart, you know.

·3· · · · · · ·Sure.· We're compassionate, we'll do it, but

·4· ·normally, no and we're not -- we're not mandated to do

·5· ·so.

·6· · · · Q· · The independent contractor agreement that home

·7· ·health aide sign, is that an English or Spanish?

·8· · · · A· · Absolutely.· And its in English this is the

·9· ·US, it is in English.

10· · · · Q· · Do you know if Cruz Valdivieso ever informed

11· ·any All VIP employee that she did not understand the

12· ·independent contractor agreement?

13· · · · A· · No, she did not and when they have issue, if

14· ·they have an issue, we have bilingual staff here. Okay,

15· ·bilingual.

16· · · · · · ·They will go into the conference room with

17· ·them and they will walk through the application with the

18· ·caregiver, but it is in English because that's the

19· ·requirement, English.

20· · · · Q· · The bilingual staff that you mentioned that

21· ·we'll go through documents, All VIP documents with

22· ·caregivers, are they only in Palm Beach or are they in

23· ·all of the offices?

24· · · · A· · They are in Palm Beach, they are in Deerfield

25· ·Beach, they are in Pahokee.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 17 of 80
Page 66

·1· · · · Q· · When home health aides sign up to work for All

·2· ·VIP, do they fill out the application online or do they

·3· ·fill out the application in the office?

·4· · · · A· · They could fill it out online and sometimes we

·5· ·do that to make things easier for them because, you

·6· ·know, if they don't work they don't get paid.

·7· · · · · · ·So, you know, just to make things easier for

·8· ·them, but mostly they come to the office because we need

·9· ·to meet you.· We need to know who are we referring to a

10· ·client's home.· These seniors are depending on us.· So,

11· ·and we need to make that connection with the caregivers.

12· · · · · · ·We need to make sure that they represent.· So,

13· ·we need to you know --

14· · · · Q· · Okay.

15· · · · A· · So, they normally come to the office and

16· ·apply.

17· · · · Q· · Got it.· And are caregivers told to come to

18· ·the Palm Beach office for employment, like onboarding or

19· ·they can go to any office?

20· · · · A· · They can go to any office they like.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· Do you know how Ms. Cruz Valdivieso

22· ·turned in her application for employment with All VIP?

23· · · · A· · No, I don't.· I'm sorry.

24· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, a short discussion was held off

25· · · · · · ·record.)

Page 67

·1· · · · · · ·(Deposition resumed.)

·2· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·3· · · · Q· · All right.· So Ms. McKinnon, when we left off

·4· ·we were talking about Google post that I was showing you

·5· ·an Exhibit C and --

·6· · · · A· · Yes.

·7· · · · Q· · -- we were also talking about caregivers and

·8· ·certain documents that they have to sign.· So, let me

·9· ·just show you some of the documents that I have.

10· · · · A· · Yes.

11· · · · Q· · I'm going to make this Exhibit D for the

12· ·deposition record, so.

13· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit D was entered

14· · · · · · ·into the record.)

15· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· Now what I'm showing you is a 25 page

17· ·PDF document --

18· · · · A· · Okay.

19· · · · Q· · -- All VIP provided to us --

20· · · · A· · Okay.

21· · · · Q· · And based on what I'm scrolling through here,

22· ·starting at Page 1, do you recognize what types of

23· ·documents these are?

24· · · · A· · Yes.

25· · · · Q· · Okay.· What types of documents are this that

Page 68

·1· ·I'm showing --

·2· · · · A· · That's the application when I first come here

·3· ·to apply.

·4· · · · Q· · Okay.· Is this applications specifically for

·5· ·home health aides?

·6· · · · A· · Home health aides, CNAs, LPNs, RNs.

·7· · · · Q· · And they're all required to fill out these

·8· ·forms that I'm showing you in Exhibit D here?

·9· · · · A· · According to my attorney, they are.· When we

10· ·first help with the business, that's what he said.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· And as we -- as you mentioned earlier,

12· ·this document is only provided in English, correct?

13· · · · A· · That is correct.

14· · · · Q· · Or these documents I should say.· All right.

15· · · · A· · Only in English.

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· Now on the bottom of Page 15 of 25,

17· ·which has Bates Stamp Number, All VIP 26A150000150 --

18· · · · A· · Yes.

19· · · · Q· · -- Under signature or above signature of

20· ·authorized company representative, who is your Yanaris

21· ·or Yanaris Perez?

22· · · · A· · She used to work here in the Broward office

23· ·with Diana.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· And what was her title?

25· · · · A· · She would help -- she would be Diana Ramirez

Page 69

·1· ·assistant, help her run that office.

·2· · · · Q· · Why is Ms. Perez's name on the -- on

·3· ·Ms. Cruz's sign on documents?

·4· · · · A· · Because she processed her when she first came

·5· ·in. That's the only reason she would have to process

·6· ·her.

·7· · · · · · ·When Ms. Cruz came -- arrived to the office

·8· ·I'm assuming in Deerfield Beach because that's where she

·9· ·worked, she processed her, she interview her, she gave

10· ·me the application and by the way, Ms. Perez is

11· ·bilingual in English and Spanish and she parts of the

12· ·application, so she signs it.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· Got it.· And when -- so when you say

14· ·process, process basically means that Ms. Perez carried

15· ·out the interview process for Cruz Valdivieso?

16· · · · A· · That's correct.· Yes.

17· · · · Q· · Okay.· And going down to Appendix A, which

18· ·is page 16 of the document that I'm showing you in

19· ·Exhibit D --

20· · · · A· · Yes.

21· · · · Q· · -- what exactly is this independent contractor

22· ·payment schedule telling the potential or the new

23· ·employee?

24· · · · A· · That there -- this, you know, because we

25· ·negotiate sa -- rates.· So, that's what they're supposed

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 18 of 80
Page 70

·1· ·to when the salaries negotiated, they put there, it's

·2· ·written and they really -- she should have -- Ms. Perez

·3· ·should have put that a price, you know, whatever they

·4· ·negotiate it, it should have been put there.

·5· · · · · · ·With Medicare we really can't negotiate much

·6· ·because Medicare doesn't negotiate.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.

·8· · · · A· · So, you know.

·9· · · · Q· · And so -- sorry.· So, in this particular

10· ·situation with Cruz Valdivieso, if she was negotiating

11· ·the price, where would that number be, would it be next

12· ·to HHA/CNA at the bottom?

13· · · · A· · That is correct.· That's exactly where it

14· ·should have been put right there.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· And if this document is blank, then

16· ·does that mean that Ms. Valdivieso was not working under

17· ·a specific rate of pay that she was supposed to be

18· ·receiving?

19· · · · A· · You know, it's hard for me to tell because I

20· ·wasn't there and I don't know what Ms. Perez was

21· ·thinking, but as a manager and someone who runs the

22· ·office, this tells me that that Ms. Perez didn't follow

23· ·through, maybe she was being human that day she forgot

24· ·or maybe her and Cruz didn't come to agreement.· I don't

25· ·know, but was supposed to put a rate, was support to put

Page 71

·1· ·something there whether it's a question mark. Many times

·2· ·when I would do this, I will put $10 to $15, you know, I

·3· ·always put something.

·4· · · · · · ·So, that I can only tell you what I can, you

·5· ·know, what they supposed to really be doing and why did

·6· ·she leave it blank?· I don't know.· I wasn't there. I

·7· ·wasn't privy to that.· I didn't privy between her and

·8· ·Ms. Cruz, but was supposed to put something there. We're

·9· ·not supposed to leave it blank.

10· · · · Q· · Okay.· Would Ms. Valdivieso start date be

11· ·considered the date that she signed these documents?

12· · · · A· · No.· But, you know, that's the day that pretty

13· ·that, you know, that she should, that she can definitely

14· ·start, but sometimes they start before, it all depends

15· ·on the client.· Sometimes the client brings them on, you

16· ·know, and sometimes they come from other agencies.

17· · · · · · ·So, we don't want to interrupt services, so we

18· ·let them, you know, work before signing the contract,

19· ·but normally, they're supposed to come and fill out the

20· ·application and we talk to them.

21· · · · · · ·We go over the duty, the client.· You know,

22· ·"Can you accept this assignment?"· Yes or no?· You know,

23· ·we go over everything and then we put them and then we

24· ·send them over to meet the client and then they begin

25· ·work.

Page 72

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.

·2· · · · A· · That's normally the process.

·3· · · · Q· · Does All VIP know if you Yanaris Perez explain

·4· ·the independent contractor agreement to Cruz Valdivieso

·5· ·in Spanish?

·6· · · · A· · I'm going to say, yes, because Ms. Cruz always

·7· ·spoke to us in Spanish.

·8· · · · Q· · This document that I'm looking at on Page 24

·9· ·of 25, which has Bates Stamps Number 24, where -- this

10· ·says, "Waiver of professional liability insurance." Does

11· ·this tell you that Ms. Cruz Valdivieso was waiving the

12· ·professional liability insurance or that she was not?

13· · · · A· · What this tells me is that me as a company, I

14· ·will be safe.· This tells me whether Ms. Cruz has

15· ·insurance or not.· This saves All VIP Care.· That's what

16· ·this document tells me because many times, you know,

17· ·they buy the professional liability and they forget to

18· ·renew their professional liability.

19· · · · · · ·So, this document just tells me that as a

20· ·company, as a business I am safe.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· Meaning that if the home health aide,

22· ·in this case Ms. Cruz does not have professional

23· ·liability insurance, that she's agreeing not to sue All

24· ·VIP if she gets sued?

25· · · · A· · If Ms. Cruz neglect to renew her policy, this

Page 73

·1· ·tells everyone that she should not be suing me.

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.· And are home health aides or let me put

·3· ·it like this.· When people sign on to work with All VIP,

·4· ·are they required to fill out this waiver of

·5· ·professional liability insurance document?

·6· · · · A· · They don't have to.· They don't have to sign

·7· ·anything, but if they, you know.

·8· · · · Q· · Go ahead.

·9· · · · A· · If for example, she says I do not want to sign

10· ·a waiver of professional liability insurance, then we

11· ·tell her, well, then you must have, otherwise we cannot

12· ·put you on our roster and --

13· · · · Q· · Got it.

14· · · · A· · -- send and give you job sites.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· Understood.· And then the last page in

16· ·this Exhibit D is the independent contractor

17· ·professional liability policy.

18· · · · · · ·Does this document indicate to you that

19· ·Ms. Cruz did have professional liability insurance?

20· · · · A· · No, this document tells me that she's been

21· ·notified.

22· · · · Q· · Just as she's been notified that she should

23· ·have.

24· · · · A· · That is correct.· That she should have it and

25· ·that she needs to have it.· It's the best thing to do.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 19 of 80
Page 74

·1· ·It's good business practice.

·2· · · · Q· · Is there any document that tells All VIP that

·3· ·Ms. Cruz in fact did have professional liability

·4· ·insurance while she was working with All VIP?

·5· · · · A· · I don't know because again, you know, she's in

·6· ·a different office.· So, that would be a good question

·7· ·for Diana Ramirez and it'd be a very good question for

·8· ·her.

·9· · · · Q· · Got it.· Is there any document within these 25

10· ·pages of Exhibit D that explains how much Ms. Valdivieso

11· ·Cruz was actually being paid when she was a home health

12· ·aide?

13· · · · A· · I will tell you that this document I did not

14· ·see that.· However, I will tell you that I spoke to her

15· ·about that because if she negotiated her rate, yes, she

16· ·did.

17· · · · · · ·She was asking for much more than what we

18· ·normally pay someone at that time working for Medicaid.

19· ·So, she got more than what she was supposed to get and

20· ·that I opposed.

21· · · · Q· · Who did she -- who did Ms. Valdivieso Cruz

22· ·negotiate her rate with?

23· · · · A· · With me and she told the office in Deerfield

24· ·Beach and it was brought to my attention.

25· · · · Q· · Let me just bring that down for a second. So,

Page 75

·1· ·did she negotiated her rate with you before she was

·2· ·actually brought on to be a home health aide with All

·3· ·VIP?

·4· · · · A· · I don't recall, I just remember.· The rate was

·5· ·negotiated.

·6· · · · Q· · How much did she negotiate her rate for?

·7· · · · A· · 13 an hour at that time.· At that time, she

·8· ·negotiate 13 an hour.· You have to understand that at

·9· ·that time -- and I'm just giving you extra information

10· ·here --

11· · · · Q· · Right.

12· · · · A· · -- The reimbursement for Medicaid and you

13· ·cannot negotiate Medicaid, negotiate with Medicare,

14· ·okay, was only $16 an hour and we negotiated with her 13

15· ·an hour.

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· Which mean -- which then meant that for

17· ·every hour service that Ms. Cruz worked, that All VIP

18· ·was only receiving $3 an hour?

19· · · · A· · That is correct.

20· · · · Q· · What is the normal rate at home health aides

21· ·working with Medicaid charge or negotiate?

22· · · · A· · Back then and again, it depends, like Miami

23· ·for instance, they might get minimum wage or they might

24· ·get $9.

25· · · · · · ·Normally in my area, Broward maybe 10 an hour,

Page 76

·1· ·West Palm Beach a little bit more, it all depends.

·2· · · · Q· · Why did All VIP negotiate $13 an hour with

·3· ·Ms. Cruz in particular?

·4· · · · A· · Because as independent contractor, she has

·5· ·that right and she requested it.· She said she wasn't

·6· ·going to work for less.· So, we negotiated a rate with

·7· ·her.

·8· · · · Q· · Was there any consideration made into her

·9· ·previous experience?

10· · · · A· · No because Medicaid doesn't take that into

11· ·account.

12· · · · Q· · Okay.· Did you know who Ms. Cruz Valdivieso

13· ·was before she started working with All VIP?

14· · · · A· · No.

15· · · · Q· · Do you know if All VIP received a

16· ·recommendation to hire Ms. Cruz Valdivieso, does she

17· ·come under any special, with any special

18· ·recommendations?

19· · · · A· · I don't, but then Diana Ramirez she knows more

20· ·about this case then I do.

21· · · · Q· · Don't know.· Okay.· Are All VIP employees

22· ·required to wear a uniform when they provide care in the

23· ·house?

24· · · · A· · As an independent contractor, they are not

25· ·require to wear uniforms.· However, if the client

Page 77

·1· ·requires them to wear uniform, the answer is yes.

·2· · · · Q· · So, sometimes clients require the home health

·3· ·aides to wear a uniform in their house?

·4· · · · A· · Absolutely.· And sometimes the clients do not

·5· ·want them wearing uniform.

·6· · · · Q· · And for that reason does All VIP have some

·7· ·type of uniform that home health aides can use?

·8· · · · A· · If the client wants to wear uniform, we tell

·9· ·the caregivers to, you know, just buy the regular scrubs

10· ·that the Walmart sells, you know.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· Is there any clothing that All VIP has

12· ·that has its logo or name on it?

13· · · · A· · We do, but for in-house.· We don't have that

14· ·for our caregivers.· The independent contractors, no.

15· · · · Q· · Who sets the schedule for the caregivers?

16· · · · A· · That -- the schedule is set between two people

17· ·in this case and I'm going to be specific with this

18· ·case --

19· · · · Q· · Okay.

20· · · · A· · -- With this case, it's Humana, Humana Long

21· ·Term Care.· The case manager will meet with the client

22· ·and family members.

23· · · · · · ·They do what we call an assessment, a care

24· ·plan. They are the ones that schedule the schedule.· So,

25· ·I'm going to say the case manager and the family or the

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 20 of 80
Page 78

·1· ·client, they are the ones that came up with the

·2· ·schedule, not All VIP Care.· Case management and Humana

·3· ·and the family, the client.

·4· · · · Q· · Got it.· Okay.· And how was their schedule

·5· ·then given to All VIP?

·6· · · · A· · Humana would then send it an authorization and

·7· ·they'll call us up and then we'll do an intake and

·8· ·they'll tell us exactly what they want and now because

·9· ·of HHAeExchange, will be in the computer.

10· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, generally speaking or let's just

11· ·talk, like you said, let's talk about Cruz Valdivieso.

12· ·When you say Humana, which client had Humana, was it ZK

13· ·case?

14· · · · A· · Let's see real quick here.· He had Humana,

15· ·yes.· Well, he has Humana, yes.

16· · · · Q· · Mr. ZK had Humana.· Okay.· And you previously

17· ·mentioned that there was a couple, was it the ZK that

18· ·were a couple or was this a different --

19· · · · A· · I believe so --

20· · · · Q· · Okay.

21· · · · A· · -- they're the only ones that come to mind. At

22· ·this moment, they were a couple.

23· · · · Q· · And so would Humana have met with -- Humana

24· ·case manager had met with the ZKs prior to any All VIP

25· ·involvement with the ZKs?

Page 79

·1· · · · A· · Yes.· They are supposed to, yes.· That's the

·2· ·norm.

·3· · · · Q· · And then the Humana case manager sends over a

·4· ·schedule and an authorization and at that point All VIP

·5· ·has to find the caregiver.· Is that correct?

·6· · · · A· · That is correct.· Sometimes the clients bring

·7· ·their caregivers and I don't know if that happened in

·8· ·this case, I don't recall, but there'll be a good

·9· ·question for Diana Ramirez.· She would know.

10· · · · Q· · Got it.· Okay.· And then does Humana have to

11· ·approve the caregiver after the authorization is given?

12· · · · A· · No.

13· · · · Q· · No.

14· · · · A· · No.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· That's really just up to All VIP to

16· ·decide who the caregiver would be based on the hours

17· ·that are available and the service that needs to be

18· ·provided?

19· · · · A· · Well, the caregiver has to meet federal and

20· ·state regulations.· So, you know --

21· · · · Q· · Right.

22· · · · A· · -- Humana trusted us, I mean, I have a

23· ·contract with Humana where I'm going to follow State and

24· ·Federal regulations.· So, they trusted me that I'm going

25· ·to do my job.

Page 80

·1· · · · Q· · Does Humana get involved at all with the

·2· ·payment or the hourly rate that the home health aide is

·3· ·being paid?

·4· · · · A· · No, because Medicaid does not negotiate rate.

·5· ·They're going to pay you what they're going to pay you

·6· ·and you take it or not.

·7· · · · Q· · Got it.· So, even though this is a Humana

·8· ·plan, it's still being paid out by Medicaid?

·9· · · · A· · That is correct.

10· · · · Q· · Okay.· In the case of Ms. Cruz Valdivieso, did

11· ·All VIP ever have to make contact with Humana?

12· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, a short discussion was held off

13· · · · · · ·record.)

14· · · · · · ·(Deposition resumed.)

15· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

16· · · · Q· · So, yeah.· So, Ms. McKinnon, I believe the

17· ·question I was in the middle of asking you was, once

18· ·Humana and the client come up with the schedule, how is

19· ·that scheduled then relayed over to the home health

20· ·aide?

21· · · · A· · We call the aide and we tell them exactly what

22· ·the client needs.· We have a form, you know, client, you

23· ·know, the schedule is Monday through Friday from 09:00

24· ·to 05:00, you know, client need bathing, dressing, meal

25· ·preparation, medication reminders, you know, are you

Page 81

·1· ·willing to do this?

·2· · · · · · ·Sometimes, you know, client needs -- client

·3· ·and aide is willing to walk the dog, "Are you willing to

·4· ·do this?"· Whatever it is and so, the aide will say yes

·5· ·or no and then at that point that we send -- we call up

·6· ·the client and we tell the client, "We find aide whose

·7· ·accepting your case, would you like to interview or

·8· ·should we just send her to start the case?"

·9· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· So, now let me show you

10· ·what I'm going to mark as Exhibit E for the deposition

11· ·record.

12· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit E was entered

13· · · · · · ·into the record.)

14· · · · A· · Okay.

15· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

16· · · · Q· · Okay.· Can you see the document that I'm

17· ·showing you on the screen right now?

18· · · · A· · Oh, yes.

19· · · · Q· · All right.· This is an eight page document.

20· · · · A· · Okay.

21· · · · Q· · It also has Bate stamps numbers, it just says

22· ·VIP docs 155 I believe, all the way down to 162.· I'll

23· ·just go back to the first page and first, do you

24· ·recognize this document?

25· · · · A· · Of course.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 21 of 80
Page 82

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· How do you recognize it?

·2· · · · A· · Because it's HHAeXchange, it's what we use

·3· ·every day.

·4· · · · Q· · And you already explained what HHAeXchange is-

·5· ·-

·6· · · · A· · The home care software.

·7· · · · Q· · Right.· Exactly.· You already explained that.

·8· ·In this particular case we can see that the patient name

·9· ·here is a ZK C -- Cesar ZK.

10· · · · · · ·We see a coordinator is Diana Ramirez and then

11· ·when we look down on the schedule on this first pages

12· ·patient calendar, we can see that Friday, Saturday and

13· ·Sunday are blocked off and they have Ms. Valdivieso

14· ·Cruz's name.· So, how would Ms. Valdivieso Cruz access

15· ·this calendar?

16· · · · A· · Through her smartphone.· I also think it's

17· ·important to mention that what you see on the screen,

18· ·that information you see there is predominantly put in

19· ·there by Humana, the insurance company.

20· · · · Q· · And so the insurance company is regularly

21· ·updating the schedule that the patient is going to be

22· ·receiving care on?

23· · · · A· · They don't update the schedule.· What they

24· ·update in there is the authorization --

25· · · · Q· · Okay.

Page 83

·1· · · · A· · -- and the duties, the hours that we're going

·2· ·to perform each duties per week.

·3· · · · Q· · And so the times that are on the schedule,

·4· ·those -- in the green boxes those are being inputted by

·5· ·a Humana employee as far as you know?

·6· · · · A· · Yes.· Oh, I know.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· If those hours are definitely not being

·8· ·inputted by All VIP employee?

·9· · · · A· · The only thing we put in is down there what

10· ·you see in green, that H name, you know, the hours that

11· ·she's working, that is inputted by All VIP Care, that

12· ·green that you see there.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· But the parts that are in green are the

14· ·schedule as far as I'm concerned because it looks like

15· ·it's been --

16· · · · A· · It is, but --

17· · · · Q· · Say it again?

18· · · · A· · It is, but what you don't see because you can

19· ·open it up to see is that the authorization tells you

20· ·how many hours a week she's supposed to be working and

21· ·the duties.

22· · · · · · ·Like T1019, she's supposed to be doing

23· ·personal care.· And Humana will tell you there, of

24· ·course, you can't see it, but in there you click on it

25· ·and it will tell you how many hours you do on Monday or

Page 84

·1· ·Friday or Saturday or Sunday a personal care, this

·2· ·client also gets companion care and this client also get

·3· ·homemaking services.

·4· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, --

·5· · · · A· · So, Humana will know you are there.

·6· · · · Q· · -- let's slow down for a second.· So, it says

·7· ·on this first page, last three authorizations in blue,

·8· ·then we see a grid and the first column says contracts

·9· ·and if we go over maybe about four columns, it says

10· ·discipline.· So, are you referring to this column here?

11· · · · A· · That's correct.· That --

12· · · · Q· · Okay.

13· · · · A· · -- and the next one, and the one next to it.

14· · · · Q· · Okay.· So let me just stop for a second. What

15· ·is PCA stands for?

16· · · · A· · Personal care.

17· · · · Q· · Personal care.· Okay.· And then COMP?

18· · · · A· · Companion.

19· · · · Q· · Got it.· And HMK is homemaker?

20· · · · A· · We're homemaking.· Yes.

21· · · · Q· · Homemaking.

22· · · · A· · That's the same thing, homemaker, homemaking.

23· · · · Q· · For -- I noticed that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz's

24· ·name is not the only one that appears on the schedule.

25· ·There's also somebody named Landa Pena Yanni, do we

Page 85

·1· ·know, is that All VIP employee?

·2· · · · A· · At that time she was.· I'm not sure she's

·3· ·still with us.· By the time she was.

·4· · · · Q· · So, All VIP has different caregivers providing

·5· ·services to the same patients sometimes?

·6· · · · A· · That is correct.

·7· · · · Q· · Depending on what their specific skill set is?

·8· · · · A· · No, depending on the --

·9· · · · Q· · No.

10· · · · A· · -- caregivers -- no, because once a caregiver

11· ·comes on board, they got the skills.· This is depending

12· ·on who is willing to work the hours or take on that

13· ·sift.

14· · · · Q· · Excellent.· Okay.· Understood.· Got it. Okay.

15· ·And so, Ms. Valdivieso Cruz theoretically should be able

16· ·to provide the personal care, the companion care and the

17· ·homemaker care?

18· · · · A· · Absolutely.

19· · · · Q· · The same with Ms. Pena, Landa Pena.· It's just

20· ·who works the hours that authorized.

21· · · · A· · Yes.

22· · · · Q· · Is that correct?· Okay.· And the only thing

23· ·that All VIP is doing is assigning the slots that the

24· ·caregiver is going to work based on the hours that

25· ·Humana already authorized?

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 22 of 80
Page 86

·1· · · · A· · Humana and the clients.· Remember --

·2· · · · Q· · And the client.

·3· · · · A· · -- this is not just Humana.· Humana is going

·4· ·to operate based on their assessment with the client and

·5· ·their family members.

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.· Understood.· Now I'm looking at this

·7· ·first sheet and we go over a few more columns to where

·8· ·it says max.

·9· · · · · · ·Then we see numbers.· We see 285 for personal

10· ·care, 150 for Companion Care and what 710 for Homemaker,

11· ·what is that max column referring to?

12· · · · A· · That means the most they can do.· For his

13· ·case, he -- for personal care that the first one, he was

14· ·authorized from May 19th, 2022 to July 26th, 2022.

15· · · · · · ·We were authorized to provide him five hours

16· ·of personal care every Monday through Friday and two

17· ·hours every Saturday and Sunday.· Member prefers

18· ·language Spanish.

19· · · · · · ·Those are the instructions in the computer

20· ·that you cannot see that Humana specifically sent over.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· Understood.· And the 285, what does

22· ·that referred to?

23· · · · A· · That's the unit's hours, you know, the most

24· ·that we can schedule because, you know --

25· · · · Q· · Yeah.

Page 87

·1· · · · A· · Yeah.

·2· · · · Q· · Okay.· So from May 19th, 2022 to July 26th,

·3· ·2022, Mr. ZK was authorized for a total of 285 hours of

·4· ·personal care?

·5· · · · A· · During that timeframe, yes.

·6· · · · Q· · Got it.· And then All VIP is just determining

·7· ·which caregivers came to fulfill that -- those hours

·8· ·based on the schedule they can work?

·9· · · · A· · To say that we determine, it's not 100%

10· ·accurate because we refer the caregiver over to the

11· ·client and it's up to the client to decide if they want

12· ·to keep that caregiver or not and then, you know, and in

13· ·this case Diana Ramirez would know more because maybe

14· ·this aide was referred to us by the client, I'm not 100%

15· ·sure.

16· · · · · · ·So, that will be an excellent question for

17· ·Diana. However, my point here is that this is

18· ·determined, it's mutual parties involved here.

19· · · · · · ·When we refer a client a caregiver over and

20· ·they stay with the case, it's because the client agree

21· ·to it, it's not because we say so in other words.

22· · · · Q· · Okay.· Right, I understand that part, but you

23· ·did mention that the green portions of this document

24· ·where the schedule is, so for example, where -- on the

25· ·Friday which is I think July 1st based on the calendar

Page 88

·1· ·that I'm looking at here, it says S and then there's a

·2· ·colon and then 300 to 500, What does that stand for?

·3· · · · A· · That's military time.

·4· · · · Q· · Right.· I got it.· So, I understand that, but

·5· ·what does the S stand for?

·6· · · · A· · The S is schedule.

·7· · · · Q· · Schedule.· Okay.· And then what is V stands

·8· ·for under that?

·9· · · · A· · The visit.

10· · · · Q· · What does that mean?· What's the difference

11· ·between those two?

12· · · · A· · It's, I guess it's just a way the program was

13· ·written, you know, the software.· It's the visit.

14· ·It's -- in other words, it was confirmed.

15· · · · · · ·That V tells me that we received -- when you

16· ·see it in green and the way you see it there, that tells

17· ·me that we -- that the visit was confirmed, that we --

18· ·either -- the caregiver either clocked in or clocked out

19· ·or that we received the timesheet and we confirm that

20· ·manually in the office and that's what that means.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· And so what I'm looking at here this

22· ·patient calendar, is this a calendar that's created

23· ·before the services provided to the client or is it only

24· ·afterwards to confirm that these hours are actually

25· ·worked by the caregiver?

Page 89

·1· · · · A· · They could possibly created immediately.· The

·2· ·moment that we start services, they have to because

·3· ·remember, we have to follow Medicaid guidelines.

·4· · · · · · ·It is this new EVVs compliance that we have to

·5· ·comply with, this new rule.

·6· · · · · · ·So, when you provide services to Medicaid

·7· ·clients, the caregiver has to clock in and clock out.

·8· ·So, how can she clock in and clock out if we don't have

·9· ·a schedule for?

10· · · · · · ·So it has to be done immediately.· That's, you

11· ·know, that's the plan.· It has to be done immediately.

12· ·So when the caregiver arrives to the client's home, she

13· ·has the ability to clock in and clock out and she

14· ·conduct, you know, she clicks, you know, bathing,

15· ·dressing, whatever she did all the tasks that she

16· ·performed while she was with the client within that

17· ·timeframe, she registered that.

18· · · · Q· · And so, basically what I'm learning after --

19· ·let me ask you a question.· By looking at Page 2 of the

20· ·same patient calendar for Mr. ZK, does this page

21· ·indicate that Mr. ZK had multiple caregivers assigned by

22· ·All VIP?

23· · · · A· · Yes, he had multiple caregivers.

24· · · · Q· · And the patient had to approve all of these

25· ·caregivers?

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 23 of 80
Page 90

·1· · · · A· · That's correct.· And if they don't and if

·2· ·they're not happy, they let us know immediately and we

·3· ·work on it to change the situation and if we cannot meet

·4· ·their expectations, then we call the case manager and

·5· ·the case manager will refer this client to another

·6· ·agency.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· And when you say case manager, in this

·8· ·case you mean the case manager for Humana?

·9· · · · A· · That's correct.

10· · · · Q· · Right.· Okay.· And do home health aides use

11· ·this HHA patient schedule to confirm that they're being

12· ·paid the correct amount of money?

13· · · · A· · No, but it ties to their money because it's--

14· ·because they're saying they weren't.· So, that ties to

15· ·the payroll.

16· · · · Q· · Is there a way that a home health aide can log

17· ·hours through this home health exchange patient calendar

18· ·that they did not actually work?

19· · · · A· · They have to be in a home.· So, is PPS.· So, I

20· ·mean, they could I guess if they're in the parking lot,

21· ·I mean, they can, you know, and they get the signal

22· ·perhaps. If they're a block away, yeah, they can

23· ·perhaps, but it's really GPS and we can open it up and

24· ·we can see, we can see where they clocked in and clocked

25· ·out.

Page 91

·1· · · · · · ·So, let's say they clocked in or clocked out a

·2· ·mile away then we know they're not with the client in

·3· ·their homes doing, you know, performing the duties.

·4· · · · Q· · And the GPS is tracking the phone?

·5· · · · A· · It's tracking their location, where you are.

·6· · · · Q· · Right, but through their phone, correct?

·7· · · · A· · That's correct I guess.· Yeah.

·8· · · · Q· · Okay.· Or do you know if HHAeXchange is just

·9· ·tracking where the person is logged in, what if they are

10· ·on a computer in the client's home and login in that

11· ·way?

12· · · · A· · No, they cannot log in from the computer,

13· ·that's not my understanding.· No.· They have to do it

14· ·from either the landline phone number and remember that

15· ·phone number has to be in here, in their client file in

16· ·HHAeXchange.· So, they just can't call from any number,

17· ·you know, so --

18· · · · Q· · Okay.

19· · · · A· · -- and they have that cell phone, that cell

20· ·phone is tied to them.· So, whenever they clock in and

21· ·clock out from the smartphone, trust me, that GPS is

22· ·going to tell us where they are.

23· · · · Q· · Got it.· And looking back at Page 1 of Exhibit

24· ·D here, the home phone under Mr. ZK's name would be the

25· ·landline that's registered to the HHAeXchange?

Page 92

·1· · · · A· · Yes.· I remember that's pretty much put in

·2· ·through Humana.· So, that phone number --

·3· · · · Q· · Right.

·4· · · · A· · -- you see there, Humana puts it in.

·5· · · · Q· · So, in that case, the home health care aide

·6· ·would have to ask the patient, "Can I please use your

·7· ·phone so that I can clock in and clock out at these

·8· ·times?"

·9· · · · A· · That is correct, but also the client should

10· ·know.· The clients also -- clients should be aware of

11· ·this.

12· · · · Q· · Does -- let me take this down.· Does All VIP

13· ·provide any cellular phones for its home health aides?

14· · · · A· · No, we do not.

15· · · · Q· · Does All VIP provide any laptops or computer

16· ·equipment to home health aides?

17· · · · A· · No, we do not.

18· · · · Q· · Does All VIP require its home health aides to

19· ·use any particular -- I thought I took this now.· Sorry

20· ·about that.· I thought that was down.· Let me repeat

21· ·that question.

22· · · · · · ·Does home -- does All VIP provide any

23· ·equipment to home health aides that they are required to

24· ·use when administering patient care?

25· · · · A· · No, we do not require, unless of course, the

Page 93

·1· ·insurance company requires that, but no, we do not.

·2· · · · Q· · What types of equipment do home health aides

·3· ·need to take with them to a patient's home to provide

·4· ·the care that they provide?

·5· · · · A· · If let's say for example we need to monitor

·6· ·maybe the blood pressure of the client, the caregiver

·7· ·will be told.

·8· · · · · · ·Many times the patient will have that

·9· ·equipment in their home and they just help the client,

10· ·you know, put it on the wrist, you know, but that's

11· ·pretty much it, I mean, a caregiver -- again, remember

12· ·these are non- medical service.· So, they really don't

13· ·need equipment.

14· · · · Q· · Generally -- well, let's stick with -- no,

15· ·let's -- just generally speaking for home health aides,

16· ·how often do they have to come into any one of All VIPs

17· ·offices for any reason?

18· · · · A· · They don't have to come at all, just in the

19· ·beginning so we can make them.

20· · · · Q· · Once a home health aide is assigned to a

21· ·client by All VIP, it's just the home health aide's

22· ·responsibility to make their appointments, clock in and

23· ·clock out and I guess they get paid through what, mostly

24· ·direct deposit?

25· · · · A· · Mostly, yes.· We don't speak to them unless we

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 24 of 80
Page 94

·1· ·have to.· We keep communications open with the client,

·2· ·not the caregiver.

·3· · · · Q· · In each All VIP office, whose job is it to

·4· ·keep communication with the clients?

·5· · · · A· · The administrators or even the care

·6· ·coordinators.· It's always good -- it's always good to

·7· ·monitor your services, you know, its good business

·8· ·practice, you know.· Common sense.

·9· · · · Q· · How often does All VIP recommend that client

10· ·contact take place?

11· · · · A· · When it's necessary.

12· · · · Q· · The -- do the All VIP home health aides have a

13· ·contractual relationship with the client?

14· · · · A· · Contractual, I don't think so, unless you have

15· ·a specific question.· I don't.· Contractual, I don't

16· ·think so.

17· · · · Q· · Does All VIP patients have a contractual

18· ·relationship with All VIP.· Is that right?

19· · · · A· · They do.· They do because we have them sign a

20· ·contract.· In fact, any agency they go to, they have to

21· ·sign a contract, it's not just All VIP.· It's practice

22· ·in the business.

23· · · · Q· · Okay.· And so the way it works is that, All

24· ·VIP has a contractual relationship with its caregivers,

25· ·like Cruz Valdivieso, correct?

Page 95

·1· · · · A· · Correct.

·2· · · · Q· · In the form of an independent contractor

·3· ·agreement?.

·4· · · · A· · Correct.

·5· · · · Q· · Correct.· And then All VIP also has a

·6· ·contractual relationship with the patient in the form of

·7· ·whatever that sound check looks like.

·8· · · · A· · We don't have a contract with the client.· We

·9· ·have an obligation perhaps -- but, we don't have, you

10· ·know, I mean, we supposed to provide services.· We have

11· ·a contract with the insurance company --

12· · · · Q· · Okay.

13· · · · A· · -- So, you know, and that's to provide

14· ·services, you know, to the clients.

15· · · · Q· · That's only in the case that the client has

16· ·insurance though.

17· · · · A· · Now we do have a contract with private clients

18· ·that will tell you.· We go out there and when we have a

19· ·contract with private clients, they sign a contract,

20· ·so --

21· · · · Q· · Right.

22· · · · A· · -- but with Medicaid, no, it's different.

23· · · · Q· · Did all of the clients that Cruz Valdivieso

24· ·was assigned to, were they all have Medicare clients?

25· · · · A· · As far as I know, yes.

Page 96

·1· · · · Q· · Is there a database that All VIP has that

·2· ·shows the number of clients that Ms. Cruz Valdivieso was

·3· ·assigned to?

·4· · · · A· · There's a home care software, yes.

·5· · · · Q· · Would that software also tell somebody how

·6· ·many hours Ms. Cruz was designated to work for each of

·7· ·the clients?

·8· · · · A· · It tells you how many hours she worked.

·9· · · · Q· · How many hours she work.· Okay.· Like actually

10· ·worked by clocking in and clocking out?

11· · · · A· · Or based on her timesheet and in this case

12· ·it's going to be based on her timesheet because she did

13· ·not clock in and clock out.

14· · · · Q· · Are you saying that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz never

15· ·clocked in and out using HHAeXchange?

16· · · · A· · Yeah, I'm going to say that.· I'm 95% sure.

17· · · · Q· · Did Ms. Valdivieso Cruz provided an

18· ·explanation for why she was not clocking in and clocking

19· ·out?

20· · · · A· · To me, not really.· I don't know if she --

21· ·again, that will be more Diana Ramirez.· Me personally,

22· ·I know that when they, you know, when they start saying

23· ·stuff all, you know, knowing into the service or what

24· ·have you, I tell them no.

25· · · · · · ·There's no excuses here because Medicaid

Page 97

·1· ·guidelines are there to stay and we have to follow them

·2· ·and I cannot have an excuse and so I end the

·3· ·conversation immediately and I just tell them come here,

·4· ·we'll, you know, we'll help you, download the software

·5· ·in a smartphone, you know, we give them the link to

·6· ·YouTube in Spanish, in her case will be Spanish, but,

·7· ·you know, and that's it.· So, she -- I know she was

·8· ·talking numerous times.

·9· · · · Q· · Okay.· And was she at least told -- was she

10· ·told at least one time -- let me ask a more specific

11· ·question.

12· · · · · · ·Was Ms. Valdivieso Cruz told by you at least

13· ·one time that she needed to download the HHAeXchange

14· ·software?

15· · · · A· · Yes, definitely.· Definitely.

16· · · · Q· · And do -- but you don't remember what her

17· ·response to you was as to why she was not using it?

18· · · · A· · No and they usually, you know, general -- they

19· ·usually just say internet is not working or I don't know

20· ·how to use it, you know.

21· · · · Q· · All right.· Now at some point -- oh, did

22· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz, was she paid through direct

23· ·deposit?

24· · · · A· · I believe she was direct deposit.· I believe

25· ·she was.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 25 of 80
Page 98

·1· · · · Q· · Who would know that answer for sure?

·2· · · · A· · I can check real quick here, I mean.· Diana,

·3· ·but I believe she was, I can see if I can bring her up

·4· ·real quick or if you have a pay stub, we can check from

·5· ·that too.· It will have two Ds on the top.

·6· · · · Q· · Let me show you an exhibit --

·7· · · · A· · Little up.

·8· · · · Q· · Hold on.· Let me show you Exhibit F.

·9· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit F was entered

10· · · · · · ·into the record.)

11· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

12· · · · Q· · Okay.· I'm now showing you --

13· · · · A· · That is direct deposit.· You see the --

14· · · · Q· · Okay.

15· · · · A· · -- two Ds up there --

16· · · · Q· · Yeah.

17· · · · A· · -- She's direct deposit.

18· · · · Q· · Okay.· Let me just for the record explain what

19· ·we're looking at.· So, I'm now showing Ms. --

20· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· I'm sorry, Madam Court

21· · · · Reporter.· Are we up to Exhibit E or Exhibit F?

22· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· Number F.· I mean, letter F.

23· · · · · · ·THE WITNESS:· Yeah, I think F.

24· · · · · · ·THE COURT REPORTER:· Sorry, I couldn't unmute

25· · · · myself.· F.

Page 99

·1· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· F.· Okay.· Got it.

·2· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·3· · · · Q· · All right.· So exhibit F that I'm showing Ms.

·4· ·McKinnon is just a document, weekly pay stubs.· This is

·5· ·a 61 page document.

·6· · · · · · ·This also has a VIP Bates stamp at the bottom.

·7· ·There's actually two Bates stamps, but this one, the

·8· ·more prominent one is 92 and I think this goes all the

·9· ·way down to 152, but anyway, looking at the very first

10· ·page one of 61, Ms. McKinnon, you said that this is a

11· ·direct deposit pay stub?

12· · · · A· · Yes.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· And the pay stubs, let's just stick to

14· ·the first one that we're looking at here, does it show

15· ·how many hours Ms. Cruz Valdivieso work?

16· · · · A· · Yes.

17· · · · Q· · And would there be an earning section?

18· · · · A· · That -- yes.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.· And where it says, "Hours/units," that

20· ·means that for this particular week from -- yes, it

21· ·looks like December 20th, 2021 to December 26th, 2021,

22· ·Ms. Valdivieso worked 55 hours?

23· · · · A· · Yes, that's correct.

24· · · · Q· · Okay.· At a rate of $13 an hour?

25· · · · A· · That's correct.

Page 100

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· And did All VIP make gross

·2· ·earnings of at least $500,000 in 2020?

·3· · · · A· · I'm sorry, there's someone out there with

·4· ·the -- cutting the grass.· Can you repeat that question?

·5· · · · Q· · Yes.· Did All VIP make at least, gross

·6· ·earnings of at least $500,000 in 2020?

·7· · · · A· · I cannot say yes or no to that.

·8· · · · Q· · Why is that?

·9· · · · A· · I would have to -- because Medicaid has a bad

10· ·habit of not paying.· So, I would have to check to see

11· ·if that's true or not.

12· · · · Q· · Your answer might be the same, but I'm going

13· ·to go through and just ask for a couple other years

14· ·also.· All right.· Did All VIP made gross earnings of at

15· ·least $500,000 in 2021?

16· · · · A· · For this one client?

17· · · · Q· · No, just in general.

18· · · · A· · In general, all my clients?

19· · · · Q· · Right, exactly.· Yeah.

20· · · · A· · I hope so.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Is there a reason why you

22· ·would think that 2021 All VIP paid at least $500,000,

23· ·but you're not sure in 2020?

24· · · · A· · I am not sure because I'm thinking -- I'm

25· ·relating this to this client Cruz, but if you want me

Page 101

·1· ·related in general, I can give you an answer.

·2· · · · Q· · Oh, yeah.· No, it's not really in general, I

·3· ·mean, specifically, but just in that -- for that one

·4· ·client.

·5· · · · A· · If this specifically to Cruz the answer is,

·6· ·no, I do not know.· I would have to check.· I kind of

·7· ·doubt it, I will get that much for this client.

·8· · · · Q· · Right, but no, what I'm --

·9· · · · A· · Especially --

10· · · · Q· · Yeah, no.· What I'm --

11· · · · A· · But in general --

12· · · · Q· · No.· In 2020, did All VIP including all of its

13· ·offices make $500,000 that year just in gross revenue?

14· · · · A· · Yes, I -- yes, we better.· Yes.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· In 2021, did All VIP have gross

16· ·earnings of at least $500,000?

17· · · · A· · I hope so.· Yes.

18· · · · Q· · Okay.· And then 2022, did All VIP have gross

19· ·earnings of at least $500,000?

20· · · · A· · I don't know.· I haven't done my taxes. I

21· ·don't think for 2022, so I wouldn't know, but I'm going

22· ·to say yes --

23· · · · Q· · Okay.

24· · · · A· · -- because, you know, my employees got page,

25· ·I'm going to say yes.· I would have to in order to

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 26 of 80
Page 102

·1· ·continue the business.

·2· · · · · · ·So, I'm going to say yes although I haven't --

·3· ·we haven't file yet for '22.

·4· · · · Q· · As the owner of All VIP, are you the person

·5· ·responsible for filing taxes for All VIP?

·6· · · · A· · That is -- yes.· Yes, I am.

·7· · · · Q· · And you're use -- All VIP hires an accountant

·8· ·to help you with this status?

·9· · · · A· · Yes.· Yes, we do.· I don't have to, but I do.

10· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· I understood.· And did All

11· ·VIP file taxes in 2020?

12· · · · A· · Yes.

13· · · · Q· · Did All VIP file taxes in 2021?

14· · · · A· · Yes.

15· · · · Q· · Is your -- does your signature appear on the

16· ·text documents?

17· · · · A· · I believe they do.

18· · · · Q· · All right.· Getting back specifically to Ms.

19· ·Cruz Valdivieso.· Let me show you what I'm marking as

20· ·Exhibit G.

21· · · · · · ·(Thereupon, Plaintiff's Exhibit G was entered

22· · · · · · ·into the record.)

23· · · · A· · Okay.

24· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

25· · · · Q· · Okay.· I'm now showing you a document which

Page 103

·1· ·has -- this is a two page document which at the top says

·2· ·statement for a Cruz Valdivieso and then at the bottom,

·3· ·it's signed by Diana Ramirez on August 8th,

·4· ·2022.

·5· · · · · · ·My first question is, have you ever seen this

·6· ·document before?

·7· · · · A· · I briefly saw it.· I didn't pay too much

·8· ·attention to it, but I did see it.

·9· · · · Q· · Okay.· And did you direct Ms. Ramirez to write

10· ·the statement?

11· · · · A· · I did not direct her.· I probably asked her

12· ·for it.· I'm not sure if the attorney or at the time we

13· ·probably asked her for -- to give a statement, to tell

14· ·us what happened --

15· · · · Q· · Got it.

16· · · · A· · -- So, that's why she wrote it.· It was more

17· ·to document, in other words.

18· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, what I'll do is, I'm not asking you

19· ·to read it out loud and I don't need you to read it to

20· ·me, I would like you to read it to yourself.· I have

21· ·control of when it can go up and down and just let me

22· ·know when you're done.

23· · · · · · ·Okay.· If you need me to move up and down,

24· ·then let me know.

25· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· Hey Toussaint, what's the bates

Page 104

·1· · · · number on that document?

·2· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· Yeah, good question.· So, Page

·3· · · · 1 is Bates 2, it says, "VIPdocs2-000002" and then

·4· · · · the second page is, "VIPdocs2-000003."· So, it

·5· · · · looks like Bates Stamp 2 and 3.

·6· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· Yeah, a Bates number -- a Bates

·7· · · · docs two.· All right.· Thank you for clarifying

·8· · · · that, sir.

·9· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· No problem.

10· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· I'm sorry about that Ms. McKinnon. But

12· ·please just read and let me know when you need me to

13· ·move up and down?

14· · · · A· · Okay.· Next page, please.· Okay.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· Did you have an opportunity to finish

16· ·reading the statement?

17· · · · A· · Yeah.· Yes.

18· · · · Q· · Okay.· And so, let me just ask you a few

19· ·questions about some of the things that have been made

20· ·in the statement.

21· · · · · · ·First, do you have any personal knowledge of

22· ·the facts that Ms. Ramirez is writing in this statement?

23· · · · A· · Well, I --, you know, the ones that I know for

24· ·sure is that she wasn't clocking in and clocking out to

25· ·change, that she did call to state that she was missing

Page 105

·1· ·money.

·2· · · · · · ·It was -- now I realized it was Diana who told

·3· ·me that she was working those private hours with the

·4· ·clients and that she was putting in those private hours

·5· ·on the timesheet.

·6· · · · · · ·So, there was some kind of confusion going on.

·7· ·So, that's, you know, pretty much what I write, what I

·8· ·recall and also the other client, we had -- she kept

·9· ·calling the other client.· I think the other client was

10· ·her neighbor and she wanted the other client to call us

11· ·and to harass us about her pay.· So, stuff like that,

12· ·you know, does refreshes my memory.

13· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· And so I want to just talk

14· ·about the private hours because we talked about that a

15· ·little bit before and when Ms. Ramirez says that

16· ·Ms. Cruz was putting in private hours, what does that

17· ·mean to you?

18· · · · A· · That means that she's working for the client

19· ·privately.· She just, you know, the client and her made

20· ·agreement.

21· · · · Q· · And those hours were not authorized then by

22· ·Humana, let's say --

23· · · · A· · No.

24· · · · Q· · -- in the case of Mr. ZK?

25· · · · A· · No, they were not authorized by Humana.

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 27 of 80
Page 106

·1· · · · Q· · Okay.· And when a home health aide is working

·2· ·hours that are outside of their authorization for the

·3· ·insurance company authorization, then what is All VIP's

·4· ·responsibility for compensating that home health aide?

·5· · · · A· · They are not supposed to be doing that because

·6· ·it's in the contract.· They're not supposed to be

·7· ·working privately for a client that we referred them to.

·8· ·They are supposed to call the agency.

·9· · · · Q· · Got it.· And what would All VIP consider

10· ·private hours?

11· · · · A· · The aide working for the client privately

12· ·without notifying the agency, whether it's the aide or

13· ·the client, but the aide --

14· · · · Q· · What is - sorry.· Go ahead.

15· · · · A· · I'm sorry.

16· · · · Q· · No.· I'm sorry.· Go ahead.

17· · · · A· · The aide is not supposed to be working for our

18· ·clients privately and they're not supposed to be taking

19· ·our clients elsewhere either or stealing our clients in

20· ·other words.

21· · · · Q· · Okay.· Now when Humana authorizes -- when

22· ·Humana authorizes hours and then the client agrees to a

23· ·schedule, if the home health aide, in this particular

24· ·case Ms. Cruz is working during those hours that the

25· ·client approved, are they still considered private

Page 107

·1· ·hours?

·2· · · · A· · Wait, I'm sorry.· Can you rephrase, can you

·3· ·repeat that question?· I'm sorry.

·4· · · · Q· · Yeah, let me just give an example.· So for

·5· ·example, let's say Humana approves, you know, however,

·6· ·you know, 300 hours in a certain period and then the

·7· ·client says, "Okay.· Well, I want to be seen Friday,

·8· ·Saturday and Sunday" and then All VIP does not set the

·9· ·home health data for particular Friday, Saturday and

10· ·Sunday, you know, let's just say it's the first, second

11· ·and third, happened to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

12· ·but the caregiver works those days, are they still

13· ·considered private hours that first, second and third

14· ·day of the week or of the month?

15· · · · A· · It all depends because if they work those

16· ·hours that we have authorization from Humana, they know

17· ·they're not private --

18· · · · Q· · Okay.

19· · · · A· · -- that's Humana, you know.

20· · · · Q· · Okay.· So, private hours are essentially just

21· ·any hours that are not on the patient calendar schedule

22· ·that we saw?

23· · · · A· · No, I would say private hours are hours, like,

24· ·in other words, if Humana gives his client 50 hours a

25· ·week, right, if aide work 60 hours a week with that

Page 108

·1· ·client --

·2· · · · Q· · Got it.

·3· · · · A· · -- that's private hours, 10 hours are private

·4· ·hours.· That's usually how we know what's happening.

·5· · · · Q· · Got it.· Okay.· And so the extra 10 hours that

·6· ·the home health aide is working, if they're getting paid

·7· ·on the side by the client, let's say, "Privately," then

·8· ·are they -- is the home health aide then in breach of

·9· ·contract with All VIP?

10· · · · A· · Yes, because I like what you said, she's

11· ·getting paid on the side, under the table.· No, you're

12· ·not allowed to do that and yes, they are in breach of

13· ·contract, absolutely.

14· · · · Q· · And so, the documents that we looked at before

15· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz's on boarding documents, do they

16· ·explain that that situation that we just talked about

17· ·with private hours and being paid privately by the

18· ·client are a breach of the contract with All VIP?

19· · · · A· · It's in the contract and not only it's in the

20· ·contract, but her been an aide for so long, X amount of

21· ·years and working for so many other agencies which I can

22· ·prove, tells me that she knows, bottom line, she's

23· ·aware.

24· · · · Q· · Besides Mr. ZK, do you -- does All VIP have

25· ·other clients who Ms. Valdivieso Cruz apparently worked

Page 109

·1· ·private hours for?

·2· · · · A· · Not that I'm aware, only this couple.· She had

·3· ·a good relationship with them and it's my understanding

·4· ·also that she hired you, but I don't know if that's true

·5· ·or not, but and that she had a good relationship with

·6· ·them.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· And does All VIP claim that

·8· ·Ms. Valdivieso took some of its clients?

·9· · · · A· · She took these two for sure and she was trying

10· ·to take the third one and she called the office and

11· ·alerted us to it because they were neighbors, I guess,

12· ·yeah, neighbors, she was going over there and knocking

13· ·on her door and pretty much harassing the client and

14· ·demanding the client to leave All VIP care for X, Y and

15· ·Z reasons and then she went to the, you know, to a

16· ·secret family and she started problems with them and

17· ·that's why you see that that is you on Google review

18· ·because she went over there and she started to pop.

19· · · · Q· · Now when you said that she took these two

20· ·clients, I thought you were referring to the ZKs, who

21· ·are the neighbors that you're referring to?

22· · · · A· · There is a neighbor that she has that she was

23· ·working for and I think it's in that letter, but let me

24· ·see if I see the name of that client here, was it

25· ·Menendez or something?

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 28 of 80
Page 110

·1· · · · Q· · I'm pulling back up Exhibit --

·2· · · · A· · Where was it?· Let's see.

·3· · · · Q· · -- G, the statement from Ms. Ramirez.· Do you

·4· ·know if the neighbor that you're referring -- the

·5· ·neighbor of Ms. Cruz Valdivieso?

·6· · · · A· · There it is, Angela Menendez.· Do you see it

·7· ·right there?

·8· · · · Q· · Right.

·9· · · · A· · That's her.

10· · · · Q· · Angela Menendez was Ms. Cruz's neighbor?

11· · · · A· · Yes, I believe so.

12· · · · Q· · Okay.

13· · · · A· · The neighbor and also a client of ours, I'm

14· ·just going to confirm just to make sure.· I don't

15· ·really, you know, deal with the Broward office that

16· ·much, but I believe that she was our client and a

17· ·neighbor.· There was a neighbor, but she was knocking on

18· ·her door.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.· And that neighbor if it was Angela

20· ·Menendez, was also an All VIP client?

21· · · · A· · Correct.· And Diana Ramirez will know more

22· ·about that.

23· · · · Q· · Does All VIP claim that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz

24· ·violated her non-compete agreement by taking Ms.

25· ·Menendez?

Page 111

·1· · · · A· · She -- I don't think she took Ms. Menendez, I

·2· ·don't think, but she did take the ZK, both of them. She

·3· ·took them to another agency.

·4· · · · Q· · Besides Cesar ZK and I guess his wife or

·5· ·whoever the other client was --

·6· · · · A· · Yeah, Yolanda, Yolanda I think.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· So Yolanda and Cesar ZK, does all the

·8· ·IP claim that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz took any other of its

·9· ·clients?

10· · · · A· · I don't recall any other, that would be a good

11· ·question for Diana.· I just know that these two for

12· ·sure.

13· · · · Q· · And when All VIP says that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz

14· ·took these clients, what exactly is the allegation

15· ·there?

16· · · · A· · There's no allegation.· She did it.· She took

17· ·the two clients, I believe it was senior nannies. I

18· ·have it all written down somewhere.

19· · · · · · ·She went and she took them to another agency

20· ·that they want to hear and they call the case manager at

21· ·Humana and Humana case manager transferred everything

22· ·over to the new agency.

23· · · · Q· · And what exactly -- what part of

24· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz's contract with All VIP that she

25· ·violated by doing that?

Page 112

·1· · · · A· · She can't steal our clients.· She can't take

·2· ·our clients to someplace else.· It's in there, you can't

·3· ·do that.

·4· · · · Q· · Do the clients have the ability to cut off

·5· ·their contract with All VIP at any time?

·6· · · · A· · That's right, they can.

·7· · · · Q· · And why does All VIP think that Ms. Valdivieso

·8· ·Cruz encouraged or I guess told the ZK's to go to

·9· ·another agency rather than it just be the Zk's on

10· ·choice, personal choice?

11· · · · A· · You know, that's probably a good question for

12· ·Ms. Cruz, but she did do that.· She went to the clients

13· ·and she started issues, just like she went to the other

14· ·client, Ms. Menendez I believe and she started telling

15· ·them stories and not only she do that, she also went to

16· ·the other caregivers on the case and started issues too.

17· ·She was the one that started everything.

18· · · · · · ·She got the clients all upset.· In fact, I

19· ·believe the client even paid her out of pocket.· She got

20· ·the client so upset that I believe they, like I said,

21· ·they did a Google review, the negative Google review

22· ·which was terrible and then I believe they hire your

23· ·services.

24· · · · Q· · Right.· But when you said that, let me just

25· ·break this down.· That Ms. Valdivieso Cruz told clients

Page 113

·1· ·to complain about All VIP, what is your basis of

·2· ·information for that statement?

·3· · · · A· · From what I hear from the clients and from the

·4· ·caregivers.

·5· · · · Q· · So are you saying that after the ZK's

·6· ·transferred to another agency, that All VIP still had

·7· ·contact with them?

·8· · · · A· · With the clients?

·9· · · · Q· · Right.

10· · · · A· · I don't think we have much contact with them,

11· ·but again, you know, Diana will be -- she would have

12· ·more contact with them then I would have, I don't

13· ·recall, maybe I did.· I'm not sure if I did regarding

14· ·pay.· I don't remember.· I'm sorry.

15· · · · Q· · Okay.· Now what I want to find out is did, you

16· ·know, the ZK's, Yolanda or Cesar personally tell you or

17· ·somebody else that Diana -- I'm sorry, that Ms. Cruz

18· ·Valdivieso told them to leave All VIP?

19· · · · A· · She -- not with me, but I guess, but she

20· ·definitely mentioned that to the other aides on the

21· ·case.

22· · · · · · ·This is how we found out.· She went to the

23· ·other aides on the case and she said to them, "Listen,

24· ·go register a Senior Nanny because we're taking this

25· ·case and if you want to come with us and you want to

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 29 of 80
Page 114

·1· ·continue working here, call Senior Nannies."

·2· · · · Q· · So, Senior Nannies is another agency?

·3· · · · A· · Nurse registry, yes.

·4· · · · Q· · Nurse registry in competition with All VIP?

·5· · · · A· · Well, I guess you could call it competition,

·6· ·but.· Yeah, because they do the same thing we do.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· Had you heard of Senior Nannies before

·8· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz started working with All VIP?

·9· · · · A· · Sure, for Senior Nannies.· They've been around

10· ·for a long time.

11· · · · Q· · Okay.· And when you said other aides, you

12· ·meant home health aides working for All VIP told you

13· ·that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz was trying to get them to come

14· ·over to Senior Nannies?

15· · · · A· · To be specific and accurate, I'm talking about

16· ·caregivers on the same case as Ms. Cruz, on the same

17· ·case with the CKs.

18· · · · Q· · Would some of those caregivers that you're

19· ·referring to be on that schedule that I showed you

20· ·earlier such as --

21· · · · A· · They could be.· Yes, they should be.

22· · · · Q· · Did you speak to those caregivers personally?

23· · · · A· · I think I did.· I think there was one that I

24· ·spoke to and I -- and the reason I say that is because I

25· ·remember saying to one of them and also I spoke to

Page 115

·1· ·Diana. I remember saying to her, "Listen, you know, if

·2· ·you're going to be stealing my clients, we're going to

·3· ·remove you from the roster, you know, and you're in

·4· ·breach of contract and I can't have," you know and she

·5· ·said, I believe she, you know, she understood and I

·6· ·believe she said she wasn't going to do that.

·7· · · · Q· · That's a conversation that you personally had

·8· ·with Ms. Valdivieso?

·9· · · · A· · Right, that I have with one of them.· With one

10· ·of them.· With one of the aides.· I just came --

11· · · · Q· · Oh, with one of the aides?

12· · · · A· · One of the aides that I had a conversation.

13· · · · Q· · One of the aides.· Okay.· Now did you --

14· · · · A· · And Diana, I also had the conversation with

15· ·Diana Rodriguez as well, I mean, Diana Ramirez as well.

16· · · · · · ·I did not want to keep aide that was stealing

17· ·our clients.· That were in breach of contract, I did not

18· ·want to keep them on the roster.

19· · · · Q· · Okay.· Did All VIP have to terminate the

20· ·employment of any other home health aide that worked on

21· ·the same clients as Ms. Valdivieso Cruz due to this

22· ·stealing client's issue?

23· · · · A· · If they steal clients, we do terminate them.

24· ·We do.· We remove them from the roster.· In this case it

25· ·was very simple because the client left with the aide,

Page 116

·1· ·but let's just suppose that the client doesn't leave,

·2· ·what we do is we will allow this -- we will allow this

·3· ·aide to remain with the client, but we won't give her

·4· ·any new clients, if I'm making myself clear because --

·5· · · · Q· · No, I understand.

·6· · · · A· · -- remember, we do not order the independent

·7· ·contractors, okay, we don't give them orders.· Okay. But

·8· ·-- so we have to focus on the client.· If the client

·9· ·tells me, "That's the aide I want," I have to give them

10· ·that aide.

11· · · · · · ·The only time that I say no, this aide does

12· ·not work for this agency is when they do not meet

13· ·federal and state guidelines.

14· · · · Q· · Okay.· Understood.· And now just getting back

15· ·to how All VIP knows that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz stole the

16· ·ZK's away from All VIP, is that because another home

17· ·health aide say that they knew they had that information

18· ·or I just want to know how All VIP knows?

19· · · · A· · I think there's a number of things, in other

20· ·words, she behaved if I, you know, the fact that she

21· ·didn't take on the case.

22· · · · · · ·The fact that Humana, Humana I believe

23· ·confirmed it, I'm not 100% sure on that, the fact that

24· ·the other aide spoke, the fact that the other clients

25· ·spoke, she also wanted to get the other client to also

Page 117

·1· ·go to the other agency, so there were numerous reasons

·2· ·why we came to that conclusion.

·3· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· You're aware that All VIP

·4· ·sued Ms. Valdivieso Cruz in State Court, correct?

·5· · · · A· · That's right.· There was - yes --

·6· · · · Q· · Okay.

·7· · · · A· · -- breach of contract.

·8· · · · Q· · Right.· Now without getting into any

·9· ·conversations that you had with this attorney or your

10· ·previous attorney, why is All VIP -- I know you just

11· ·said breach of contract, but what one of the factual

12· ·reasons why All VIP is suing Ms. Valdivieso Cruz?

13· · · · A· · The factual reason is because she took my

14· ·client to another agency and she was trying to take

15· ·another client.· In addition to that, she wanted to also

16· ·pay the caregiver on the case to the other agency, that

17· ·is factual, that is fact.

18· · · · Q· · Does All VIP claim that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz

19· ·owes it any money?

20· · · · A· · Say that again?· I'm sorry.

21· · · · Q· · Does All VIP claim that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz

22· ·owes it any money?

23· · · · A· · To All VIP Care that she owes us money?

24· · · · Q· · Yes.

25· · · · A· · Oh, yeah.· She owes us money because we lost

Case 0:22-cv-61553-WPD Document 75-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/02/2023 Page 30 of 80
Page 118

·1· ·breach of contract.

·2· · · · Q· · How much money does Ms. Cruz owe All VIP?

·3· · · · A· · We haven't come to that conclusion yet, but

·4· ·she definitely owes us a lot of money.

·5· · · · Q· · And when you say a lot, like could you

·6· ·ballpark that, is it in the 1000s, 10s of 1000s, 100s of

·7· ·1000s?

·8· · · · A· · It's probably more than 30 grand.· She owes us

·9· ·a lot of money.

10· · · · Q· · And did All VIP -- was All VIP aware that --

11· ·when did All VIP become aware that Ms. Valdivieso Cruz

12· ·allegedly stole its clients?

13· · · · A· · Pretty much immediately, you know, when --

14· ·pretty much immediately because I -- and again, Diana

15· ·Ramirez might know more on this, but, you know, I know I

16· ·heard something, "Oh Liz, that you're aware that, you

17· ·know, that Cruz is leaving and she's taking the clients,

18· ·you know," and, so that type of thing.

19· · · · · · ·I think it was Diana who called, but I'm not

20· ·100% sure.

21· · · · Q· · Got it.· And what attempts did All VIP make to

22· ·get its clients back from Ms. Valdivieso Cruz?

23· · · · A· · I think that would be a question more for

24· ·Diana because -- but I think -- I'm not sure if -- the

25· ·clients, you know, remember, the clients left without

Page 119

·1· ·really telling us that we're leaving, you know. it's not

·2· ·like the client calls and say, "Hey, you know, I'm going

·3· ·to leave because you didn't pay her, you know."

·4· · · · · · ·They -- what they did was, they called the

·5· ·case manager.· So, it was -- and then I found out

·6· ·through Diana and from the other aide on the case and

·7· ·the other client that it was true.

·8· · · · Q· · Okay.· And what -- is Ms. Valdivieso Cruz the

·9· ·first home health aide that has allegedly taken clients

10· ·from All VIP?

11· · · · A· · No, she's not the first, but luckily for us,

12· ·we don't have that many to have that.

13· · · · Q· · Did All VIP file a lawsuit against any of the

14· ·other aides or caregivers that took clients from it?

15· · · · A· · If we need to, we will.

16· · · · Q· · But has it done as of this time besides

17· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz?

18· · · · A· · Yes.

19· · · · Q· · Did those other lawsuits against other

20· ·caregivers for stealing clients come before

21· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz's lawsuit or after?

22· · · · A· · Both, before and after, but again, we've been

23· ·very lucky that we don't have that many.

24· · · · Q· · Are All VIP intend to file a lawsuit against

25· ·Ms. Valdivieso Cruz before she filed her lawsuit over

Page 120

·1· ·time?

·2· · · · A· · Absolutely.· And why wasn't done, that's a

·3· ·question for Mr. Michael Garcia.

·4· · · · Q· · Michael Garcia, who's that?

·5· · · · A· · He was the one that was supposed to file the

·6· ·lawsuit.· It was probably sitting on his desk.

·7· · · · Q· · Oh, you're talking about All VIPs previous

·8· ·counsel?

·9· · · · A· · Um-hum.

10· · · · Q· · Oh, okay.· All right.

11· · · · A· · Yes.

12· · · · Q· · Okay.· When did All VIP retain Mr. Michael

13· ·Garcia?

14· · · · A· · Long time ago.

15· · · · Q· · Was Ms. Valdivieso Cruz still on All VIPs

16· ·payroll at the time that Mr. Garcia was hired?

17· · · · A· · He was hired before she was, so.· I believe

18· ·she was.· He was already here anyway, so.

19· · · · Q· · Oh, I understand.· Okay.· He was just -- he

20· ·was All VIPs attorney?

21· · · · A· · Yeah, if we needed him, that's what we will

22· ·use.· Yeah --

23· · · · Q· · I see.· Okay.

24· · · · A· · -- So, he was already on board, you know.

25· · · · Q· · Right.· But when was he, I guess, you know,

Page 121

·1· ·made aware of what was going on with Ms. Cruz, was she

·2· ·still on payroll?

·3· · · · A· · Immediately -- yeah.· No, I don't think so.

·4· ·Immediately when we noticed that she stole out client

·5· ·and she move over and I had factual information, I got

·6· ·my people and I got my nose, I'm all documented, that's

·7· ·when I call him and I say, "Hey, I need to file a suit."

·8· · · · Q· · Okay.· Got it.· And --

·9· · · · A· · Breach of contract.

10· · · · Q· · Was that before Ms. Valdivieso Cruz filed her

11· ·lawsuit for over time?

12· · · · A· · Absolutely, it was before.· I have e-mails to

13· ·prove it.

14· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Are there any questions

15· ·that you thought I would ask you that I did not ask?

16· · · · A· · No, I think --

17· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· Object to the -- objection to

18· · · · form.

19· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· I never got that objection

20· · · · before, Counsel, but, okay.· I'm just --

21· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· Yeah.

22· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· -- is noted for the record

23· · · · though.· I understood.

24· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· I appreciate that, sir.

25· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· What did you say?

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Page 122

·1· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· I say I appreciate that, sir.

·2· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· Okay.

·3· ·BY MR. CUMMINGS:

·4· · · · Q· · Ms. McKinnon, you can still answer the

·5· ·question if you have an answer to it.

·6· · · · A· · No, I don't.

·7· · · · Q· · Okay.· All right.· Is there anything else that

·8· ·you want to add related to Ms. Valdivieso Cruz's

·9· ·employment with All VIP?

10· · · · A· · Yeah, I think that I would add is that she's

11· ·1099 and she's not an employee and I don't know why

12· ·she's doing what she's doing and she was well informed

13· ·and so, you know, she's taking this platform in the

14· ·wrong way, completely in the wrong way.

15· · · · · · ·MR. CUMMINGS:· Okay.· I have no further

16· · · · question for you.· I'm not sure if Mr. Goldberg

17· · · · does.

18· · · · · · ·MR. GOLDBERG:· No question sir, form my side

19· · · · of the table.· Thank you for the opportunity. We're

20· · · · going to read and we're going to print.

21· · · · · · ·(Deposition concluded at 02:14 p.m.)

22· · · · · · ·(Reading and signing of the deposition by the

23· · · · · · ·witness has been reserved.)

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Page 123

·1· · · · · · · · · ·CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER

·2· ·STATE OF FLORIDA

·3· ·COUNTY OF MIAMI DADE

·4

·5· · · · I, SULEYDIS VIDES, Court Reporter and Notary Public

·6· ·for the State of Florida, do hereby certify that I was

·7· ·authorized to and did digitally report and transcribe

·8· ·the foregoing proceedings, and that the transcript is a

·9· ·true and complete record of my notes.

10· · · · I further certify that I am not a relative,

11· ·employee, attorney or counsel of any of the parties, nor

12· ·am I a relative or employee of any of the parties'

13· ·attorneys or counsel connected with the action, nor am I

14· ·financially interested in the action.

15

· · · · · Witness my hand this 31st day of May, 2023.

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· · ·____________________________________

20· ·SULEYDIS VIDES, COURT REPORTER

· · ·NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF FLORIDA

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Page 124

·1· · · · · · · · · · ·CERTIFICATE OF OATH

·2· ·STATE OF FLORIDA

·3· ·COUNTY OF MIAMI DADE

·4

·5· · · · I, SULEYDIS VIDES, the undersigned authority,

·6· ·certify that LIZ VANESSA MCKINNON, appeared before me

·7· ·remotely pursuant to Florida Supreme Court Order AOSC20-

·8· ·23 and was duly sworn on the 16th day of May, 2023.

·9

· · · · · Witness my hand this 31st day of May, 2023.

10

11

12

13

14· ·____________________________________

· · ·SULEYDIS VIDES, COURT REPORTER

15· ·NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF FLORIDA

· · ·Commission No.:· HH 373555

16· ·Commission Exp:· MARCH 15, 2027

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Page 125

·1· ·DATE:· · ·May 31, 2023

· · ·TO:· · · ·Liz Vanessa Mckinnon

·2· ·C/O

· · · · · · · ·Randy Mark Goldberg, Esquire

·3· · · · · · ·Randy M. Goldberg & Associates, PLLC

· · · · · · · ·151 Northwest 1st Avenue

·4· · · · · · ·Delray Beach, Florida 33444

·5· ·IN RE:· · Cruz Valdivieso Figuera vs. All Vip Care Inc

· · ·and Liz Velazquez McKinnon

·6· ·CASE NO:· 0:22-CV-61553-DIMITROULEAS/HUNT

·7

· · ·Dear Ms. Mckinnon,

·8

· · · · · Please take notice that on 05/16/2023, you gave

·9· ·your deposition in the above-referenced matter.· At that

· · ·time, you did not waive signature.· It is now necessary

10· ·that you sign your deposition.· You may do so by

· · ·contacting your own attorney or the attorney who took

11· ·your deposition and make an appointment to do so at

· · ·their office.· You may also contact our office at the

12· ·below number, Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, for

· · ·further information and assistance.

13· · · · If you do not read and sign your deposition within

· · ·thirty (30) days, the original, which has already been

14· ·forwarded to the ordering attorney, may be filed with

· · ·the Clerk of the Court.

15· · · · If you wish to waive your signature, sign your name

· · ·in the blank at the bottom of this letter and promptly

16· ·return it to us.

17· ·Very truly yours,

18· ·Suleydis Vides, Court Reporter

· · ·Universal Court Reporting

19· ·(954)712-2600

20

· · ·I do hereby waive my signature.

21

22

23· ·______________________________

· · ·Liz Vanessa Mckinnon

24· ·Cc: via transcript:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Toussaint Cummings, Esquire

25

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Page 126

·1· ·Errata Sheet

·2

·3· ·NAME OF CASE: CRUZ VALDIVIESO FIGUERA vs ALL VIP CARE INC. AND LIZ VELAZQUEZ MCKINNON

·4· ·DATE OF DEPOSITION: 05/16/2023

·5· ·NAME OF WITNESS: Liz Mckinnon

·6· ·Reason Codes:

·7· · · · 1. To clarify the record.

·8· · · · 2. To conform to the facts.

·9· · · · 3. To correct transcription errors.

10· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

11· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

12· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

13· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

14· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

15· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

16· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

17· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

18· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

19· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

20· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

21· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

22· ·Page _____ Line ______ Reason ______

23· ·From ____________________ to ____________________

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25· · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·_______________________

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