A group of six Iowa nursing homes owes more than $2.1 million in back rent, two of the homes’ former landlords allege.
Summit Healthcare Operating Partnership of California and Fantasia Investment of the Cayman Islands is suing six Iowa nursing homes that operate under the common ownership of Accura Healthcare, an Oklahoma company with offices in West Des Moines.
Named as co-defendants in the lawsuit are six of Accura’s 27 Iowa facilities, located in Bancroft, Carroll, Cresco, Marshalltown, Milford and Spirit Lake.
Summit and Fantasia allege that in late 2022 and 2023, each of the six care facilities began to fall behind on their rent payments. The plaintiffs allege that instead of pursuing foreclosure they restructured the debt, with the facilities agreeing to pay the back rent over 18 months, beginning in January 2024 and ending in June 2025.
The plaintiffs claim the facilities didn’t make good on that pledge and now owe $2,105,617 in base rent. Rather than pay that debt, the plaintiffs allege, the facilities “have decided to take a shot at escaping their obligations via sophistry.”
Summit and Fantasia say they sold their interest in the group that owned and rented the facilities to Accura in August 2025. As part of that deal, Summit and Fantasia were assigned an interest in the unpaid back rent that was in proportion to their previous stake in the group.
Accura, the plaintiffs alleged, has now taken the position that because the deal between the owners relates to the collection of back rent, they have a right to enforce the terms of that agreement — which, Accura claims, calls for another 18-month repayment plan that would begin in January 2027.
In their lawsuit, Summit and Fantasia argue Accura’s “position makes no sense and is completely unsupported under Iowa law.” They claim the “plain text of the contract” with the ownership group does not obligate them to offer the extended repayment plan and instead merely allows Summit and Fantasia to offer Accura such a deal if they choose to do so.
Given the size of their former stake in the ownership group, Summit argues it has the right to demand immediate payment of 10% of the owed rent or $240,484, and Fantasia has the right to demand payment of 8.5% or $204,412.
The lawsuit seeks monetary judgments in those amounts as well as a court declaration stating that Accura has no rights under the contract between Summit, Fantasia and the ownership group.
Accura: No impact on resident care
In response to the lawsuit, Accura Healthcare said in a written statement the issue is “isolated to a small handful of our Iowa facilities.” The company said that while it “does not comment on specific details of pending litigation, we take all legal obligations seriously and remain fully compliant with our governing contractual agreements. We are actively reviewing the filing with legal counsel and intend to vigorously defend our position through the court system.”
The statement added that the lawsuit will have “no impact whatsoever on our day-to-day operations, our broader network of locations or our financial stability. Our highest priority remains unchanged: providing continuous, high-quality care to our residents and fully supporting our dedicated care teams across every community we serve.”
Some Accura facilities cited for insufficient staffing
In recent years, some Accura facilities have been cited by the state for insufficient staffing levels, which is believed to be one of the biggest contributors to poor quality care. Last year, self-reported staffing data that was analyzed by the nonprofit Long Term Care Community Coalition showed Accura Healthcare of Marshalltown was staffed at 43.5% below expected levels given the residents’ needs there.
On March 12, 2026, the Marshalltown home was cited by the state for insufficient staffing due to a failure to have a registered nurse in the building for at least eight consecutive hours every day. According to the inspectors, the facility failed to meet that standard on 19 separate days between Dec. 1, 2025, and March 8, 2026.
Accura Healthcare of Carroll was cited on April 2, 2026, for insufficient staffing, with inspectors noting that residents had complained of inadequate staffing and long waits of up to two hours for a response to their call lights.
State records indicate that while some of the Accura facilities have struggled to meet federal standards, the company’s CEO, Ted LeNeave, has continued to contribute significant amounts of money to political campaigns and to the industry’s primary political action committee, Iowa HealthPAC.
Campaign finance reports show that since June 2025, LeNeave has made at least $88,500 in political contributions, including $25,000 for the gubernatorial campaign of Randy Feenstra, who in June 2026 lost to Zach Lahn in the Republican primary. During that same period, Accura’s president, Lisa Toti, contributed $17,500.
Accura Healthcare operates more than 40 long-term care and senior housing communities across Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
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