PALM SPRINGS, Fla. — Dozens of employees are waiting for paychecks after Retreat Behavioral Health closed its doors until further notice, according to internal emails WPTV received on Monday.
Those emails also show the mental health facility is discharging patients and unable to make payroll from the last pay period after its founder, Peter Schorr, passed away Friday. The sudden closure is leaving employees like Cody Snyder without income.
"We as employees shouldn't have to suffer from not getting paid and potentially losing our homes or cars," he said. "The board members and all that making six-figure paychecks, they may not have to worry about that. But, I'm the average American struggling paycheck to paycheck working; hard for my family."
Synder told WPTV chief investigative reporter Jamie Ostroff he's trying to provide for his family, which now includes 3-month-old Winnie. He said he and his colleagues deserve the money paid for the services provided.
"I just spoke with another colleague of mine, she’s about to lose her phone bill, car and can’t pay her rent,” Snyder said.
He also said the company blamed errors for not making payroll on time twice over the last couple of months, which he believes is proof the company knew it had a financial problem. Internal emails shared with WPTV show Retreat Behavioral Health blamed the problem on its payroll processing system.
"We want to emphasize that there is no reason for alarm," said Chief Administrative Officer Scott Korogodsky in an email sent on June 6. "Your paychecks are being processed, and you will receive your paycheck."
Court records show the Palm Beach County Tax Collector sued the company, Retreat Behavioral Health, for not paying a property tax bill worth about $1,700. The company also has multiple other locations across the East Coast.
"I may have been born in the morning, but not this morning," Synder said. "It's just common sense. I have common sense and the sense of the matter is there were issues way before this [event]."
People who called and wrote to the WPTV newsroom said the company hosted a Microsoft Teams call on Saturday then Korogodsky sent an email claiming the company was experiencing financial problems.
"We do not yet have an answer regarding the distribution of payroll funds to our employees. Please know that we may have more information to share this week," Korogodsky wrote. "We are working with outside resources such as attorneys and other knowledgeable professionals, who give direction to the management team"
The email also recommended people not apply for unemployment benefits and said it was working to get employees continued healthcare benefits.
Maggie Hunt, who is a spokesperson for Retreat Behavioral Health, said the company is also discharging or transferring patients to partnering treatment centers
"We understand that this transition is challenging, and we are prioritizing rectifying payroll issues during this difficult time," she wrote to WPTV reporter Ethan Stein.
Stein went to the facility this afternoon where people were moving personal belongings on bell carts as vans brought people out of the facility.
Cody Snyder said he believes there are possible communication problems because the people, who normally answer the phones, aren't working at the facility anymore.
Korogodsky said commitments to staff, specifically payroll, will remain the top priority in an email sent to employees on Monday night. He said the company will restructure and close its doors.
"The restructure and/or preservation of Retreat is actively being worked on," Korogodsky said. "This will take some time to process. As we stand now, we are closing services and are hopeful for new opportunities to reopen the doors."
