Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Guardian to protect elderly scam victim from further exploitation


Clare Endicott.

A TRIBUNAL has stepped in to protect an elderly man with dementia who has sent at least $200,000 to an African country after being caught up in international internet scams.

The 83-year-old inpatient at a Queensland regional hospital tried to send more money to the scammers on the day he was admitted after a stroke and a decline in his mental acuity.

A social worker applied to the Queensland Civil and ­Administrative Tribunal for a guardian and administrator to be appointed to help with the man’s personal and financial decisions.

She said the man, who has had two strokes, had mortgaged his house to raise funds to send to the internet scammers, after sending money to an African country over several years.

He also had outstanding debts for loans, and his internet and phone services had been disconnected because of unpaid bills.

The social worker said he had refused to accept advice about his financial decisions, even from his partner.

The tribunal heard the elderly man was involved in two car accidents on the day of his recent stroke, but he had no recollection of them.

The social worker said the man did not understand that he was no longer allowed to drive, and he had regularly tried to abscond from the ­hospital.

Staff were forced to lock doors on occasions to prevent him from leaving, and an occupational therapist said he could have been run over had he not been restricted by hospital staff.

A doctor told the tribunal the man had developed dementia following a previous stroke, while the latest stroke had added to his cognitive and physical problems.

The tribunal heard he struggled with simple tasks, such as using a mobile phone and turning off a television.

Senior member Clare Endicott said the evidence satisfied the tribunal that the man was at an immediate risk of harm from financial exploitation, and that he would not be safe at home.

“He had placed himself at risk of harm by sending large sums of money to internet scams, he had incurred debts, and he had mismanaged his finances,’’ Ms Endicott said.

The Public Guardian was appointed for three months to make decisions about the man’s accommodation, healthcare, contacts, visits and service provision.

Full Article & Source:
Guardian to protect elderly scam victim from further exploitation

3 comments:

StandUp said...

I'm glad to hear a positive story about a guardian.

Doug Young said...

@StandUp........ don't be fooled by this report which is most definitely not what it seems. Kangaroo courts (civil and administrative tribunals) by legislation have native jurisdiction over guardianship and administration matters. Only a few victims have been able to escalate their matters to a proper court(eg Bucknall and Maher) Kangaroo courts do not observe rules of evidence, they can inform themselves any way they wish, including lies and innuendo, and they are not required to determine the truth or otherwise. Endicott runs the Queensland kangaroo court (QCAT) which is responsible for destroying the lives of thousands of victims. She has been found biased in at least two Court of Appeal decisions and the only reason there haven't been a lot more is that the appeal process has been deliberately rigged for the last six years to prevent any further embarrassment to the perpetuators of the guardianship racket. The guardianship racket in Australia differs from the US arrangement in that guardians (also known as advocates in some states) only deal with personal, accommodation, medical and(some) legal matters, and administrators deal with financial and property-related legal matters. Both guardians / advocates and administrators are almost always government appointments. The kangaroo courts (tribunals) in all states have incestuous relationships with the guardians / administrators, consequently extreme protections apply resulting in all three entities being immune to any form of recourse. There have been three landmark wins in Queensland, Bucknall (QSC09-128), Maher (QCA11-225), and Marmin (QCAT-G29078) and a handful in other states, but the vast majority of victims never regain control of their lives. Australians have an advantage denied to US citizens in that we can approach the International Criminal Court, and this was a major factor in the Marmin win. Furthermore, the latter involved the most overwhelming evidence of capacity ever seen in a comparable matter anywhere in the world, with some forty positive reports from medical and allied health professionals. Kangaroo courts have since Maher in 2011 created their own negative evidence. Consequent to Marmin, it will be considerably more difficult for kangaroo courts to create their own evidence.

Doug Young said...

A followup to the Marmin matter in which the kangaroo tribunal and its criminal cohort the Office of the Public Trustee lost control of Ms Marmin's estate with considerable unexploited assets remaining. While the organized crime gang did manage to embezzle most of her savings in the 27 months she was in its clutches, the organized crime gang was understandably aggro that she escaped with the bulk of her estate intact. The Queensland legislature has just responded with a Bill that, if passed, would legalize fabrication of evidence by kangaroo tribunal thugs, negate any human rights protection conferred by way of Australia's membership of the United Nations, and over-ride common law requiring assumption of capacity at each review. This would mean that once in the clutches of the guardianship racket, the only way our is the death of the victim. Furthermore, the organized crime gang is aware that a review is overdue in respect of a certain very wealthy individual currently in the clutches of the guardianship racket, and that there isn't as much as one scrap of probative evidence of his claimed incapacity. If current law was observed, the thugs would have no option but to return control of this bloke's life as there is no evidence they can rely on to rebut his capacity. Rather than act honorably, the scum are ow attempting to amend legislation to ensure the victim's estate is retained in the control of the organized crime gang masquerading as the Queensland government. In September 2016, a group of advocates met with a special representative from the United nations Human Rights Council and were told 'Australia is the most corrupt country in the world'. Beware any north americans considering migrating here to escape your own government crime gangs because the Australian chapters are considerably more ruthless than anything the US has created.