One of the nation’s top litigators now represents MorseLife Health System’s former CEO in his lawsuit against the senior center and more than a dozen community leaders in Palm Beach County.
Jack Scarola, a West Palm Beach lawyer who represented several women alleging sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, recently joined the case as an attorney for Keith Myers.
Myers served as president and chief executive of West Palm Beach-based MorseLife for 19 years. He was ousted from his post in January by the non-profit’s board of directors following months of public uproar over the millions of dollars paid to Myers’ firm, which managed MorseLife’s executive operations.
The fees totaled $47.2 million during a five-year period, newly released federal tax records show. The sum includes $11.3 million for the 2024 fiscal year, $1 million more than the previous year.
Four months after Myers was ousted from MorseLife, he filed a blistering lawsuit against his former employer, its board members and numerous business and philanthropy leaders.
In his Palm Beach County Circuit Court lawsuit, Myers said he was wrongly fired from the charity and is owed severance money. He also claims he was badmouthed afterward by community members whom Myers claimed falsely accused him of engaging in theft, fraud and misuse of MorseLife’s funds
The complaint alleges breach of contract by MorseLife, and defamation by 13 named individuals.
In a June 24 interview, Scarola blasted the MorseLife board and community leaders named in the complaint.
“Mr. Myers is the victim of an absolutely unjustified assault on his reputation,” said Scarola, a partner in the Searcy, Denney law firm.
Scarola is known for representing nearly 20 of Epstein’s survivors. He’s also won multi-million-dollar verdicts for clients against companies such as Chiquita Brands and Morgan Stanley.
MorseLife has called Myers’ allegations “baseless and without merit” and said the lawsuit will be “vigorously defended.”
Scarola’s involvement promises to rachet up the stakes in a case that names some of Palm Beach County’s top philanthropists, business officials and members of the Jewish community.
Many of these defendants already have hired top law firms to represent them in the case.
The increasingly high-profile case now threatens to continue the turmoil at the venerable senior center, which has been beset by controversy for more than a year.
MorseLife turmoil began with a letter to board members
Founded in 1983 as the Jewish Home for the Aged, MorseLife provides health care, housing and supportive services for seniors living in its independent and assisted-living, rehabilitation and memory-care facilities, its website said.
The 52-acre campus is just south of the CACTI Park of The Palm Beaches, the spring training home of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.
An anonymous January 2025 letter, sent to 52 MorseLife board members, first expressed concern that the non-profit’s “excessive” compensation arrangement could violate federal tax laws and Medicare regulations.
The letter focused on the pay arrangement between MorseLife and its top executives. Myers and MorseLife Chief Financial Officer Randy Wolan were owners of Amplifii Management LLC, the private, for-profit company paid to manage the senior center, according to state records.
Details of MorseLife’s executive compensation practices were the subject of a 2025 investigation by The Palm Beach Post.
After publication of The Post’s articles, some MorseLife donors said they no longer would support the non-profit unless there was greater disclosure of the charity’s finances.
Months later, in January 2026, MorseLife Board Chairman David Mack announced Myers’ departure.
In an email to board members, donors and senior residents, Mack did not explain why Myers’ was ousted. But he said he hoped Myers’ removal would end a period of “distractions” that have overshadowed MorseLife’s mission.
Scarola said MorseLife’s board has tried to distance itself from the pay agreement and even blamed Myers for the large fees. But Scarola said the compensation arrangement was known and approved by the board.
A MorseLife spokesman on June 24 said the non-profit would not comment on the $11.3 million fee paid to Amplifii in fiscal year 2024.
Myers’ claims are “fabricated,” one defendant says
In addition to MorseLife, Myers’ lawsuit also names Mack, MorseLife’s chairman, and board member Terri Sriberg. Business leader and philanthropist Bill Meyer is named, as are real estate broker Paulette Koch and entrepreneur David Brodsky.
Also named are Jewish Federation Chairman Barry Berg and President Michael Hoffman, as well as former MorseLife board members Michael Margolis and Sandy Sirulnick. Philanthropists Ellen Levy, Susan Ross, Nikki Harris and Francine Kittredge also are named in the complaint.
The lawsuit contains paragraphs of alleged defamatory comments made against Myers by the defendants. The remarks were part of private conversations at recent fundraising events, said Arthur Schofield, the lawyer who first filed the case for Myers.
Scarola said the alleged conversations were not tape recorded, which is forbidden in Florida unless both parties consent.
But Scarola said there were “multiple witnesses who made contemporaneous notes.” Those notes have been transcribed, he added, and witnesses are prepared to testify about the accuracy of their notes.
In a May 1 interview, Meyer said he was “shocked” to see his name in the lawsuit and said the former CEO’s allegations were “fabricated.”
Others named in the complaint would not comment or could not reached for comment.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Epstein victim lawyer takes on MorseLife case for fired CEO
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
