A BELEAGURED care home provider who was jailed over the death of a resident has had another home effectively shut down after it was deemed unsafe.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it had taken urgent action which meant Matt Matharu could no longer provide care services at Highnam Hall in Park Avenue, Hartlepool.

This followed an inspection last month which identified a number of serious concerns regarding electrical safety. It also found people could not be safely evacuated in the event of a fire.

The home – rated as inadequate – is currently empty after all of its residents were moved to alternative accommodation, although the location is still registered with the CQC.

In August the CQC condemned Admiral Court Care Home, in Cleveland Road, Hartlepool, after it was found to be inadequate in all areas and residents were also moved out with the help of the local council.

Matharu, who is still listed as a director of Four Winds Care Limited, is understood to no longer have any direct involvement with the care homes he owns.

However his registration remains with the CQC.

Matharu was jailed for eight months in February this year after a 90-year old resident fell to her death from an upstairs window at the Parkview residential home owned by him in Seaton Carew.

Judge Michael Taylor said he was a “remorseless penny pincher” and had shown a reckless disregard for health and safety.

Parkview remains open, but is facing the possibility of enforcement action if it does not improve after an inadequate rating in April.

Another home with previous links to Matharu, Four Winds, in Park Drive, Hartlepool, is in the same inadequate category with a fresh report awaited after an inspection last month.

Debbie Westhead, deputy chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, said: “We are currently dealing with other breaches in relation to this provider and will report when action is completed.”

Matharu, of Elwick Road, Hartlepool, who was released early from his prison sentence in April on a tagged curfew, was also a director of another care home company, Finchworth Ltd, which runs Dinsdale Lodge Care Home, in Hartlepool, but resigned in June.

It was rated as inadequate in March but has since been upgraded to requiring improvement.

The Northern Echo approached the businessman at his home, but he said he had no comment to make at this stage.