MADISON, Wis. — Over the weekend, the New York Times published a bombshell report that the bank owned by Eric Hovde, Sunwest Bank, is being sued for wrongful death and elder abuse at a nursing home owned by the bank in California.  

The troubling report raises serious questions about Eric Hovde, his treatment of seniors, and his respect for Wisconsin families, especially after he spent the prior few weeks suggesting that nursing home residents should not be allowed to vote.

See below for coverage of the concerning news that the bank owned by Eric Hovde is being sued for wrongful death and elder abuse at a nursing home in California:

• New York Times: Lawsuit Puts Fresh Focus on Eric Hovde’s Comments About Older Voters
• ABC2 Green Bay: WI Senate Candidate Eric Hovde’s California Bank Facing Legal Action: 
• Washington Examiner: GOP Wisconsin Senate hopeful staring down lawsuit alleging elder abuse and wrongful death
• Heartland Signal: Report: Eric Hovde’s bank sued for elder abuse and wrongful death in a nursing home
• Fox47 Madison: “Hovde reiterated debunked claims about voting improprieties in Wisconsin and made a comment saying ‘almost nobody in a nursing home is at a point to vote’”
• WisPolitics: “State Dem Party Chair Ben Wikler today blasted GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde for a lawsuit alleging elder abuse, negligence and wrongful death at a nursing home his bank partly owns.”

Hovde is the CEO of Sunwest Bank based in California. The New York Times over the weekend reported that the bank was named a co-defendant in the lawsuit against Momentum Senior Living in Claremont, Calif.

“We have to ask where does Eric Hovde’s disrespect and mistreatment for seniors stop? He doesn’t seem to respect Wisconsinites,” Wikler said. “He thinks that seniors who may be toward the end of their lives aren’t in a place to vote—this would deny voting rights from seniors.”

Asked about the rationale behind holding an investor owner responsible over an operations executive for the nursing home, Wikler said he was concerned about Hovde referencing his experience lending to nursing homes as he questioned nursing home residents’ fitness to vote in 2020.

Hovde’s campaign told WisPolitics it is considering legal action against the New York Times for defamation, claiming the paper had collaborated with Dem operatives to target Hovde. 

• Urban Milwaukee: Eric Hovde Has Another Bad Week

The New York Times offered a new and damning follow-up on the controversy, reporting that the bank Hovde leads, Utah-based Sunwest, “last month was named as a co-defendant in a California lawsuit that accuses a senior living facility partly owned by the bank of elder abuse, negligence and wrongful death.

The Times noted, “Sunwest has claimed millions of dollars in revenue from its assisted living properties, including Claremont Hacienda,” the facility named in the lawsuit.

Hovde “may be developing a problem with older voters,” the story suggested.