Sunday, March 15, 2015

Steve Miller: Jared E. Shafer, Las Vegas Private Guardian and His Judges Fall Under Investigation

Elderly and disabled people being robbed of their assets by sociopathic private guardians with the help of crooked family court judges. This all sounds like the plot for a sequel to the B movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but unfortunately in today's Las Vegas, it's all very real and beginning to unfold on the local evening news.

The stories of the gruesome acts against the weakest of the weak were first told here on AmericanMafia.com, and now are about to make national news thanks to the efforts of KTNV TV CONTACT 13 producer Kean Bauman and investigative reporter Darcy Spears, VEGAS VOICE publisher Dan Roberts and political editor Rana Goodman, and the efforts of the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse.

After writing over a dozen articles on this sad subject, I'm proud to say the story has been picked up by other investigative reporters, therefore I have linked to their reports in this column.

Bauman and Spears' fearless report aired on Las Vegas Channel 13 News Friday, March 6, turned Las Vegas upside down.

The TV report followed a series in the VEGAS VOICE, Las Vegas' newspaper devoted to the interests of our valley's vast senior population.

I say fearless because the subjects of these reports are some of the most politically connected people in our city. They are supported by a team of completely corrupt local attorneys who help them bilk the wealth of unsuspecting seniors and disabled people who have the misfortune of having no relatives living in Nevada who can become their guardian in the event they are deemed incompetent by a local family court judge.

But its not just victims with out of state relatives who are affected. If there's enough wealth involved (poor people are not provided guardians by the court), and there is family living in Nevada, the Family Court almost always finds another reason to ban the family from handling their Nevada loved one's finances.

Accusations of drug abuse, alcoholism, bad credit, being unfit, being an exploiter with no relationship with the relative, or "They are just after the money" are used in court so a private guardian can hang on to a sizable estate. The guardians use whatever excuse suits them to make sure the family will not ever have any power, and the judges always comply with the for-hire guardian's wishes. They use the same script with all families.

Appointed Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim obviously doesn't read briefs or motions, just rules time and again in favor of his friends the guardians. In one instance, Norheim approved an order for payment of services for an unrelated person from the account of one of Jared E. Shafer's "wards."

He didn't even check to see if the person who was named on the payment was related to the ward whose account was charged, or if Shafer was double charging, Norheim just blindly signed the order. This unrestricted power of attorney sanctioned by the court is what creates the Invasion of the Body Snatchers atmosphere I mentioned earlier.

Full Article and Source:
Jared E. Shafer, Las Vegas Private Guardian and His Judges Fall Under Investigation

See Also:
'Jared E. Shafer's Bad Laws Legalize the Bilking of Las Vegas Retirees'

10 comments:

Diane said...

I cannot believe this criminal has been allowed to run loose for so long. Is the entire state of Nevada corrupt? What is taking so long to put this monster away for life? And the judges and attorneys as well. Their behavior is a disgrace to all of humanity.

Betty said...

I have followed all of Steve Miller's stories on the NASGA blog and I'm amazed Shafer continue to operate under all this scrutiny.

Anonymous said...

When Shafer is taken down, I wonder how many judges will go with him?

Selena said...

I am new to the Shafer stories so will go back and read them on this Blog. But, I am also impressed with these articles and thank Mr. Miller.

psy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
NASGA said...

Comment was deleted by written request of the person who submitted the comment that contained an error.

sagetty said...

It's a big, big deal that so many professionals in the media are willing to cover this story. I live in Pennsylvania, and no one will cover systemic elder abuse.

To Diane (first comment), yes I'm sure the whole state of Nevada IS corrupt. A few years ago, we had a scandal in PA that proved that was the case here. It's reasonable to think it's no different in NV.

Leslie said...

Jared Shafer, Patience Bristol, and Jon Norheim are responsible for my mother's death.

NASGA said...

Leslie, we are so sorry. Please consider joining NASGA and working with us for reform.

Leslie said...

I do need to join. I understand that Bristol is no longer serving time in Nevada state prison and that she has been released to a halfway house on W. Russell Rd. So that she can "get her life back on track again."