A senior living company facing bankruptcy spins an elaborate web of companies.

As the bankruptcy hearing for Pacifica Senior Living Management approached on Monday, May 19, Diana Northrop, president of the Pacific Grove Senior Living Residents’ Association, put flyers in every mailbox with instructions on how to watch via Zoom. Then the flyers disappeared. According to Northrup, the executive director told the staff that “corporate” said no one was to discuss the bankruptcy. Still, Northrup managed to get the staff to set up a monitor in a lounge where people gathered to watch the hearing.

“Corporate” is Pacifica Senior Living, owned by San Diego-based Pacifica Companies, which owns many other entities, including PSL Management. Pacifica Companies is owned and operated by the Israni family, led by President Deepak Israni.

PSL Management filed for bankruptcy in March. During the hearing, PSL representatives claimed the company was losing money. Creditors’ attorneys appeared to be building a case alleging that Pacifica was using various entities to avoid paying its debts, including court damages of more than $34 million stemming from two lawsuits.

In October, PSL Management abruptly canceled contracts with properties owned by PSL, including P.G. Senior Living and The Park Lane in Monterey. Contracts were signed with new “wholly separate” companies, according to testimony from PSL representatives.

P.G. Senior Living and The Park Lane are now overseen by the Heritage Resource Group. And while PSL representatives are claiming companies such as Heritage are separate entities, the same people that ran PSL Management appear to be running Heritage.

In a town hall meeting at The Park Lane on April 24, Residents Council President Bob Nelson attempted to pin down Beau Ayers, a Heritage vice president (and formerly of PSL Management), as to who is now in charge of the property.

“Everyone’s reading into things way too much,” Ayers said, assuring residents the bankruptcy would not impact them. He insisted that Heritage is a consulting group, not a management group, “so [Heritage] is not managing any communities.” He said a separate management company is managing The Park Lane, adding that nothing had changed for residents and that “we’re financially fantastic. Everything’s fine.”

Attorney Christopher Skinner represents creditor Scott Hargis, a photographer who won a $6.3 million jury verdict against Pacifica Senior Living Management in a copyright infringement case in 2023. Skinner grilled PSL representatives on who was in charge. They repeatedly said they didn’t know.

Skinner appeared to be convinced that Israni was in charge – he pointed out that the attorney’s fees in Hargis’ case were paid by checks from six different PSL properties, each check signed by Israni.

Bankruptcy Trustee Ronald Stadtmueller continued the hearing to June 4, asking the Pacifica representatives to bring someone who could answer creditors’ questions.