LANSING, Mich. (July 23, 2026) — Today, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bills 585–586 into
law, bipartisan legislation to strengthen and protect the rights of
individuals placed in guardianships during property or real
estate sales. Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), sponsor of Senate Bill 585, has issued the following statement in response:
“Vulnerable adults placed into guardianship deserve to have
their rights protected. Once signed into law, my bill requires a
professional appraisal before the sale of real estate owned by an adult
placed in guardianship. This measure provides accountability and
clarity, protecting the assets of people placed under guardianship.”
This legislation protects the rights of individuals placed in
guardianships by requiring a court to find that a change of residence is
in the best interest of the person under guardianship and mandating
professional appraisals be made before any real estate is sold.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Port St. Lucie woman is facing another allegation of defrauding an elderly person.
According to Palm Beach County court records, Megan
E. Bernat, 46, was arrested on Wednesday, July 22, on exploitation of
elderly and money laundering transactions charges.
Bernat
was arrested on Sept. 3, 2025, on charges of personal identity fraud,
exploitation of an elderly person and money laundering transactions of a
73-year-old woman in West Palm Beach.
Megan Elizabeth Bernat
During the West Palm Beach Police Department’s
investigation into the 2025 case, it was discovered that another bank
account was used to make more than $30,000 worth of payments to Bernat’s
credit card.
The account was frozen by the bank, which prevented the account’s use.
Detectives
determined the frozen account belonged to a 92-year-old man who lived
at the MorseLife assisted living facility in West Palm Beach along with
the first victim.
Bernat was a social worker at
the living facility, and she was assigned as the second victim's
full-time care manager beginning on Dec. 30, 2021.
She assisted with the second victim's financial records.
During
that time, the second victim suffered from 18 medical problems
including dementia and needed help with routine tasks like laundry,
getting dressed and going to the restroom.
According to the arrest report, the second victim died on March 15, 2024, about two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.
Detectives
determined that the second victim’s bank account was used 30 times to
make mobile payments to a credit card account connected to Bernat.
An
investigation also revealed Bernat’s credit card was part of 30
transactions totaling $31,295.28 between May 11, 2023, and April 22,
2024.
Seven of the 30 transactions occurred
while the second victim was in hospice, including six transactions after
he died on March 15, 2024.
During a Thursday, July 23 court hearing, a judge ordered Bernat to
serve in-house arrest, wear a GPS monitor with bail set at $30,000.
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed Sen. Ruth Johnson’s
legislation to reform the state’s guardianship laws and help protect
vulnerable individuals and their homes from guardians who might not be
acting in their best interest.
“This reform is the result of hearing dozens of heartbreaking stories
from families who were forced to endure a loved one being removed from
their home — without a hearing or notice,” said Johnson, R-Holly.
“Compounding the ordeal, the loved one’s home is often sold for well
below market value, and families have no voice or recourse.
“With the governor’s signature, these new protections will ensure the
best interests of our most vulnerable residents — not the convenience
of their guardians — will drive important decisions like moving someone
out of their home and selling their house.”
Johnson’s measure, Senate Bill 586,
ensures that a protected individual’s living arrangements are truly in
their best interest. Under the new law, a guardian will not be allowed
to change an incapacitated person’s residence without court approval
after demonstrating the move is necessary and appropriate for the
individual’s needs.
The governor also signed SB 585,
sponsored by Sen. Jeff Irwin, to require a licensed appraiser to
appraise the value of a protected person’s home before any sale of that
property.
“Vulnerable adults placed into guardianship deserve to have their
rights protected,” said Irwin, D-Ann Arbor. “Now signed into law, my
bill requires a professional appraisal before the sale of real estate
owned by an adult placed in guardianship. This measure provides
accountability and clarity, protecting the assets of people placed under
guardianship.”
Johnson said, “This was a bipartisan effort to protect those who
cannot protect themselves by adding more meaningful accountability and
oversight to our guardianship system, and I want to thank Senator Irwin
for his teamwork on this critical issue.”
SAN ANTONIO — A Bexar County jury this week is hearing defamation
claims centered on a Netflix documentary episode about an alleged
guardianship abuse case involving a wealthy San Antonio businessman.
The case stems from "Guardians Inc.," an episode of the Netflix
documentary series "Dirty Money," which examined allegations of
financial exploitation in guardianship cases. The episode is no longer
available on the streaming service after the lawsuit was filed in 2021.
Tonya
Barina sued Netflix and several other defendants, alleging the episode
falsely portrayed her role as guardian for her great-uncle, Charlie
Thrash. That lawsuit states her reputation was "destroyed" and that she
was experiencing "daily and nearly hourly hated, disgrace, contempt and
ridicule."
According to court filings, Barina was appointed guardian of Thrash
and his estate after the 88-year-old San Antonio businessman, who
collected $3 million in assets while operating an auto repair business,
developed Alzheimer's disease and other ailments.
Barina's lawsuit was filed in March 2021 by Austin-based attorney
Carl J. Kolb. It alleges the documentary falsely suggested Barina sought
to exploit her position for financial gain, juxtaposing soundbites
about how "guardianship abuse is the crime of the 21st century" to paint
her as a criminal.
Instead,
the lawsuit accuses several defendants of isolating Thrash and
contributing to the decline of his business. Co-defendant Laura A.
Martinez received power of attorney from Thrash in 2016, but Adult
Protective Services believed it was "signed under undue influence," the
suit states.
Jo Ann Rivera is a close family friend of Thrash's and was featured
in "Guardians Inc.," along with Martinez and others, and said she was
surprised by the lawsuit.
"I don't believe there is any merit to her claim at all," Rivera told
KENS 5. "She put herself in the documentary and then was unhappy with
how she was viewed."
Phillip Ross, Thrash's one-time attorney and another co-defendant,
said the legal proceedings of the last several years forced him to
retire early.
"I feel like the plaintiffs are giving things their best shot," Ross
said. "I still feel confident... everything we said in the context of
the (Netflix) interviews was clearly true."
An amended petition nearly 50 pages long includes what are
essentially verbatim excerpts from "Guardians Inc." that Barina argues
left out important context and created a misleading narrative. The suit
also claims her attorney corresponded with producers of the episode a
year before it aired, but the material "was intentionally disregarded
and omitted from the episode because it would prove that plaintiff was
guilty of no abuse, exploitation or 'crime.'"
While her perspective appears in "Guardians Inc.," the suit states it
was "in no way a fair, true and impartial account" of the events.
Rivera said it was an emotionally charged case but stands firm that
nothing said on the documentary rises to the level of defamation.
"The fact is we are all public figures and negative comments, and, at
times, ugly remarks, are things we have to live with," she said. "Tonya
put herself in the boiling pot."
"I know reputation is a very fragile thing," Ross added.
Both Ross and Kolb told KENS 5 he expects the trial to continue into the middle of next week at least.
FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — A 64-year-old Dillon County woman is accused
of stealing more than $34,000 from a Florence nursing home resident
while acting as their conservator and power of attorney, according to
the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Delores Ann Edge of Latta is accused of one count of exploitation of a
vulnerable adult and one count of breach of trust with fraudulent
intent, with a value of $10,000 or more. She was booked into the
Florence County Detention Center on Wednesday.
“Investigators determined that Edge, while acting as the victim’s
conservator and power of attorney, knowingly and willfully engaged in
improper, unlawful, and unauthorized use of the victim’s assets and
property,” the attorney general’s office said in a news release. “The
investigation further established that Edge expended approximately
$34,071.98 of the victim’s funds for her own personal benefit without
lawful authority or permission to do so.”
The alleged exploitation occurred between April 23, 2024, and Feb. 6,
the attorney general’s office said. At the time, the victim was a
resident at Veterans Village Nursing Home in Florence.
The attorney general’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud
unit, known as VAMPF, investigated the case along with the Florence
County Sheriff’s Office. The Dillon County Sheriff’s Office assisted
with the arrest of Edge.
If convicted, Edge faces up to five years in prison and a fine of not
more than $5,000, or both, for the exploitation charge, the attorney
general’s office said. The breach of trust charge carries a sentence of
up to 10 years in prison or a fine at the discretion of the court.
Man who identifies as female charged with sex crime at facility for women where he also lived
By BILL SCHANEN IV
A
33-year-old resident of a Town of Port Washington group home for women
under protective guardianships is accused in Ozaukee County Circuit
Court of sexually assaulting another resident of the facility earlier
this year.
Madison E. Robison was charged on July 10 with second-degree sexual
assault of a person with a mental illness and is being held in the
county jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
According to a criminal complaint, Robison identifies as a female but
is a biological male who is listed as such on government records. The
complaint refers to Robison as a man.
On July 4, Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy Kendra Carter was called
to 33 Fields, a group home for women on Highway 33 where Robison lived
with women with mental disabilities, to investigate a report from a
citizen that Robison posted a video online that referenced sexual
activity and had taken advantage of a resident of the facility, the
complaint states.
Carter interviewed a resident of the home who is under protective
guardianship and diagnosed with cognitive developmental delay, autism
spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and
generalized anxiety disorder. Staff members said she has the mental
capacity of a person who is 6 or 7 years old and produced documentation
that shows the woman is classified as a vulnerable adult who “may not
understand a potential threat from others,” according to the complaint.
When questioned by Carter, the woman repeatedly denied having sex
with Robison, who she referred to as a woman, but said, “I don’t like
Madison bullying me,” the complaint states.
When Carter asked the woman if she knows what sex is, she replied,
“It’s like when you have sex with someone and they want to, like, hurt,
kind of want to hurt you.” She also said, “Sex is they say I love you.
They want to be like a friend,” according to the complaint.
The woman said that although Robison has long hair like a woman she
knows he has male anatomy. When asked by Carter if Robison had
intercourse with her, the woman began to cry and said, “I mean, like, it
was only one time. I mean that’s it,” the complaint states.
Carter than asked the woman if she wanted to have sex with Robison
and she said, “No, I mean I told Madison to stop doing that because ...
she was doing it hard on me. I told Madison to stop, but Madison
wouldn’t stop,” adding that the incident occurred in Robison’s room in
the basement of the group home, according to the complaint.
The woman said she is scared of Robison and had been staying in her
room to avoid him. A group home staff member confirmed this and said
Robison arrived at the group home on March 11. The complaint alleges the
sexual assault occurred between March and July.
Carter talked to another woman at the group home who is under a
protective guardianship and diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, has
intellectual disabilities and suffers from selective mutism due to
anxiety. She is at risk for self-harm and is not allowed to be in the
group home without a staff member present.
This woman told the deputy that she and Robison had sexual
intercourse in the basement of the group home but it was consensual, the
complaint states.
She said, “We had sex. Then he said that it was both consensual. We
both agreed to this. There’s nothing wrong,” according to the complaint.
The woman said Robison asked her if she fantasizes about him and told
her he loved her. She said Robison also talked about wanting to have
sex with the woman he is accused of assaulting, the complaint states.
Robison admitted to having sex with the woman who said it was
consensual and told Carter, “Me and a housemate, we consented on it. I
don’t know who would say it was assault, but it was basically consent,”
according to the complaint.
WBRC obtained financial
records showing the court’s public archival fund was used to pay a
political consulting firm nearly half a million dollars, buy radio
advertising, and reimburse the judge personally
By Jonathan Hardison and Morgan Hightower
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC)
- While patients allegedly sat in hospital beds waiting for mental
health hearings that never came, and families watched their loved ones’
estates stall in a courthouse backlog, Jefferson County Probate
Judge Yashiba Blanchard was spending public money on items at least one
of her predecessors said that money was never intended for.
Suspended Judge Yashiba Blanchard appears in court for alleged judicial ethics violations.(WBRC)
The
records — bank statements, check registers, and contracts covering May
2024 through June 2026 — show the Jefferson County Probate Court’s
Archival Discretionary Fund was used to pay a political communications
firm nearly half a million dollars, purchase tens of thousands of
dollars in radio and broadcast advertising, and reimburse Blanchard
personally for expenses that included a gala ticket, a catering bill,
and a Zoom subscription.
Blanchard took office in January 2025, so these financial records cover a period that begins before her tenure.
Blanchard was suspended in May 2026
after the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) filed a 120-page complaint
against her. She faces trial before the Court of the Judiciary — a
nine-member panel with the authority to remove her from the bench —
currently scheduled for November 2026. Her attorney, Emory Anthony, has
said she denies the allegations.
The state’s Department of Examiners of Public Accounts confirmed in July 2026 that it is conducting an audit
of the Jefferson County Probate Court, both the Birmingham and Bessemer
divisions. That audit began in March 2026 — two months before Blanchard
was suspended.
A fund built on fees from everyday residents
To understand why these records matter, it helps to understand the source of the money.
Under
Alabama law, every time a Jefferson County resident records a property
document at the probate court — a deed, a mortgage, a lien — they pay an
$11 special indexing and filing fee on top of standard recording costs.
That money flows directly into the Archival Discretionary Fund, which
the judge of probate controls. The law says it is to be used for
salaries of judicial assistants and for improving the office’s indexing,
recording, archiving, and retrieval systems.
Former Jefferson County Probate Judge
Alan King helped write that law. He lobbied for and helped pass the 2012
legislation that created the fund, and he oversaw it until he left
office in 2020.
“It was created to
safeguard our millions of records, deeds, other real estate records,
marriage licenses, judicial records for future generations,” King told
WBRC.
King said that during his
tenure, every expenditure from the fund went through a review process,
despite the law not requiring oversight and giving the probate judge
discretion over the spending of the funds.
“Everything
that was ever spent out of these funds was approved by the county
attorney’s office in advance, and also, by the state auditor’s office,”
he said. “All those proceeds that I used were all approved in advance,
and then I oversaw the expenditures.”
When Blanchard took office on January 20,
2025, the Bessemer division’s Archival Discretionary Fund held $5.9
million. The Birmingham division’s account held approximately $1.38
million. Combined, the office she inherited had roughly $7.3 million in
public funds under her control.
By the
time she was suspended 16 months later, the Birmingham account had
dropped to approximately $250,000 — a decline of more than $1.1 million.
The Bessemer account had grown to a peak of nearly $6.5 million by
December 2025, then fallen to under $1 million by May 2026.
The single largest vendor in the financial records is CBG Strategies LLC, a communications and consulting firm.
According
to contracts and check registers obtained by WBRC, CBG Strategies was
paid at least $192,000 under a 2025 agreement before Blanchard signed a
new contract with the firm on January 5, 2026. That new contract, which
runs through December 2026, is valued at $440,200, billed at $115,050
per quarter.
Date
Payee
Memo
Payment
Archival Discretionary Fund
3/27/25
CBG Strategies, LLC
Consulting Services
$67,500.00
Birmingham
5/9/25
CBG Strategies, LLC
Direct Mail, Reimbursement
$31,301.69
Birmingham
10/20/25
CBG Strategies, LLC
Consulting Services
$76,559.80
Birmingham
12/11/25
CBG Strategies, LLC
Consulting Services
$17,000.00
Birmingham
1/15/26
CBG Strategies, LLC
Consulting Services
$115,050.00
Birmingham
1/15/26
CBG Strategies, LLC
Consulting Services
$60,252.00
Birmingham
5/12/26
CBG Strategies, LLC
Direct Mail
$22,331.50
Birmingham
5/29/25
CBG Strategies, LLC
Consulting Services
$67,500.00
Bessemer
3/24/26
CBG Strategies, LLC
Inv#1364 &1371; Feb 2026 Mailer/Consulting Service Quarter 2 payment
$157,713.00
Bessemer
5/12/26
CBG Strategies, LLC
Direct Mail
$22,331.50
Bessemer
According
to the contract, the firm manages the court’s Facebook, Instagram, and
TikTok accounts, writes press releases, handles media inquiries,
develops “talking points for court leadership,” plans community events,
and provides what the contract calls an “onsite administrative
coordinator” — a person physically working inside the courthouse every
day.
In total, CBG Strategies received
at least $637,000 from the Archival Discretionary Fund across 2025 and
2026, based on the records reviewed by WBRC.
King, who wrote the law that created the fund, said that kind of spending was never what the legislation intended.
“That was not the intent of the
legislation,” he said. “It’s up to each person, whether they’re a
probate judge, circuit judge, mayor, to run their own campaign. To use
personal or county funds for basically their own personal campaign
purpose, is incredible to me. I’m astounded that the money was allegedly
spent in that way.”
The second major consulting firm in the records is Greene Consulting Group LLC, based in Huntsville.
Greene
Consulting was brought on to provide election-related services — voter
education, poll worker training, election communications, and what the
contract describes as an “Elections Operations Modernization
Initiative.” The firm’s principal is Samuel T. Greene, whose business
contact listed on invoices is a personal Gmail address.
Greene
Consulting signed a contract with Blanchard on January 5, 2026 — the
same day as the CBG contract — for $350,000 per year, billed at $87,500
per quarter, plus a $35,000 upfront retainer.
But something unusual appears on the
signature page of that contract. A handwritten notation reads: “voided
terminated at Date 1/13/2026.” The contract, in other words, appears to
have been canceled just eight days after it was signed.
Despite
that notation, the financial records show that on February 5, 2026, the
Bessemer Archival Discretionary Fund paid Greene Consulting Group
$124,500.
The
invoice submitted for that payment — dated January 30, 2026 — lists
$100,000 for “1st Quarter Consultant Pay” and $22,000 for an “Executive
Dashboard Summary.” The Executive Dashboard Summary itself is a single
page of narrative describing vague “foundational infrastructure” work
with no measurable outcomes, no attendance data, and no deliverables.
Greene Consulting had also been paid
under a prior contract in 2025 — records show payments of $31,250,
$62,500, $31,250, and $17,500 before the January 2026 contract was ever
signed. That prior contract has not been produced in the records
request.
In total, Greene Consulting
Group received at least $461,000 from the Archival Discretionary Fund,
based on the records reviewed by WBRC.
Advertising buys, gala tickets, and a catering bill
Beyond
the consulting contracts, the financial records contain a series of
expenditures that raise questions about whether public archival funds
were used for appropriate purposes.
Broadcast advertising:
The records show the court paid Summit Media — a radio and digital
advertising company — $53,875 on February 12, 2026. The memo line says
the expense is for “Order 673217, 673219, 673223, 673225A.” The court
also paid Richardson Broadcasting Corporation a total of approximately
$49,500 across multiple payments in 2025 and 2026, with invoices
described as “advertising.” Cumulus Media was paid $19,250 for a :30
commercial on Talk 99.5 Radio in March 2026. Courtney French
Broadcasting was paid $20,000 between February and March 2026 for radio
broadcast, and commercial spots.
Promotional merchandise: The court
paid JJ’s T-Shirts & Team approximately $9,629 for shirts, and
Superior Promos Inc. approximately $10,273 for promotional products —
both categorized as miscellaneous office expenses.
Photography:
A vendor called The Price Approach Photography was paid at least $7,650
across nine separate transactions. Memo descriptions on the checks
include “headshots,” “event photography,” “Judge Blanchard - Biography,”
and “photos for Judge Knox.”
Personal reimbursements to Blanchard:
The records show Blanchard herself was reimbursed or paid directly more
than 25 times over 16 months, with individual payments ranging from
$36.73 to $4,585.09. Among the items: a Zoom subscription ($159.90), a
catering bill from “The Happy Catering” ($249.25), a payment described
as a “2025 Foundation Gala” ($550), and multiple travel advances to
cities including Chicago, Salt Lake City, and San Antonio.
Community event sponsorships:
The records show two payments of $3,500 each to “Brenda’s Brown Bosom
Buddies” for what is described as a “Sistah Strut Sponsorship,” a $1,500
payment to “Men of Powderly” with the memo “Donation - Yashiba,” a
$1,500 payment to “Pinktopps Inc.” explicitly labeled as a “Donation,”
and a $1,000 payment to “The A List Network LLC” for a “Gala
Sponsorship.”
The law establishing the Archival
Discretionary Fund does not list community event sponsorships or
donations among its authorized uses.
King said the fund’s purpose was always narrow and specific.
“It was created to safeguard our millions of records,” he said. “That was the intent.”
Context: A court already under fire
All
this spending was happening as the Jefferson County Probate Court was,
by the Judicial Inquiry Commission’s (JIC) account, failing at its core
mission.
The JIC complaint, filed in May 2026,
alleges Blanchard did not hear a single involuntary commitment hearing
for the first nine months of her term — leaving the other probate judge
to handle all of them. When she did begin hearing cases, she capped her
docket at four cases per day and six commitment hearings per month —
handling only about 20% of the county’s caseload while the other judge
absorbed the rest.
The complaint
describes a patient who remained hospitalized through Thanksgiving
because Blanchard canceled her hearing to attend a meeting — and only
held the hearing after the hospital sent three requests explaining the
patient was “lying in bed crying and upset.”
Meanwhile,
dozens of estate and conservatorship cases sat without rulings for
months or years. Families paid mounting attorney fees. In at least two
cases, immigration authorities dismissed filings for delay, forcing
families to refile and pay fees again.
The
complaint also alleges Blanchard retaliated against staff, intimidated
attorneys, filed an unsupported State Bar complaint against a lawyer
(which was dismissed), and filed a police report against two attorneys,
resulting in their photographs being shared with courthouse security.
The
state audit of the Jefferson County Probate Court — covering both the
Birmingham and Bessemer divisions — is ongoing. The Alabama Department
of Examiners of Public Accounts has not said when it will conclude or
whether it has flagged any specific transactions.
WBRC
has submitted additional public records requests for contracts,
competitive bid documentation, and authorization records related to the
transactions identified in this report.
CBG Strategies declined comment on its contract and work with the Probate Judge’s office.
We reached out to Blanchard’s attorney, Emory Anthony, for comment on the financial records.
We also reached out to Greene Consulting Group and are waiting for a reply.
The allegations read like an elder exploitation nightmare: dozens of checks, two iPhones, and two Satsuma homes, all tied to one victim.
In an NBC 15 exclusive interview, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said the investigation began after the victim's daughter noticed unusual activity in her father's financial accounts — a discovery that investigators say uncovered a years-long scheme targeting an elderly Mobile County man.
"The investigation began November of last year when a family member of the victim came forward with what they saw some inconsistencies in his financial accounts," Burch told NBC 15. "The Sheriff's Office launched an investigation."
Court records show three people — Nora Powe Hobden, Melissa Lynn Hobden and Michael Lewis Crouch — are facing felony charges tied to allegations they stole checks, property and personal information from Tom Baxter.
The largest accusation is against Melissa Hobden. Criminal complaints filed in Mobile County District Court allege she took and cashed 35 checks belonging to Baxter, totaling $371,980. She is charged with first-degree financial exploitation of an elderly person and first-degree theft of property connected to those checks.
But the allegations go beyond checks.
Investigators also accuse Melissa Hobden of forcing Baxter to sign over two Satsuma properties: one at 13165 Williams Ave., valued in the complaint at $88,000, and another at 5515 Darring St., valued at $105,000. Separate theft charges were filed over each property.
Mobile County property records reviewed by NBC 15 show the Darring Street property has been in Melissa Hobden's name since 2022. A current property record lists her as the owner of 5515 Darring St. and shows a 2026 appraised value of $160,800.
NBC 15 also confirmed both Melissa Hobden and Michael Crouch list the Darring Street address in jail booking records — the same address investigators say was taken from Baxter.
Melissa Hobden is also charged with identity theft. According to investigators, she used Baxter's identifying and banking information to purchase two iPhone 17s under his name and had the phones shipped to her address.
Nora Hobden is accused in separate complaints of unlawfully obtaining and cashing a $46,842 check belonging to Baxter. She is charged with first-degree financial exploitation of an elderly person and first-degree theft of property.
Crouch is accused of cashing or attempting to cash checks tied to Baxter. One complaint alleges he cashed a $38,042 check. Another alleges he attempted to present a fraudulently obtained check valued at $9,450. He faces charges including first-degree theft, attempted first-degree theft and possession of a forged instrument.
Taken together, the complaints describe hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks, real estate and other property allegedly taken or targeted. Some of the charges involve the same alleged conduct under different criminal counts, meaning the court filings do not represent a final loss total.
But in his exclusive interview with NBC 15, Burch said detectives believe they're still uncovering the full scope of the alleged scheme.
Richard Dee Bierma Jr., 42, is accused of stealing $5,784 from an elderly Idaho Falls man.
Bierma faces charges including exploitation of a vulnerable adult and grand theft.
He allegedly used the funds to buy drugs; a preliminary hearing is set for July 29.
IDAHO
FALLS — Richard Dee Bierma Jr., 42, has been accused of stealing
thousands from the elderly man he lived with and cared for.
Bierma
has been charged with one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult
over $1,000, one charge of criminal possession of a financial
transaction card and one charge of grand theft.
Court documents
say the 73-year-old victim reported to police that $5,784 was taken from
his bank account and that there were 12 unauthorized withdrawals from
an ATM at U.S. Bank on 1st Street in Idaho Falls.
Officers
obtained a warrant to access bank records and video footage, but could
only verify that $5,120 was part of the unauthorized withdrawals.
In
surveillance footage from February, officers observed what appeared to
be the same man accessing the victim's account at the ATM each time,
documents report.
The victim identified the man in the video as Bierma, the man who'd been living with him.
The victim confirmed to police officers that he had never given Bierma permission to have or use his credit or debit cards.
Bierma was detained and taken to the Idaho Falls Police Department for questioning, documents report.
During
interviews, Bierma told police that he drove the victim around and
picked up his groceries. As a general rule, he said he'd never given
Bierma permission to make withdrawals from an ATM, but that he would
drive the victim to the bank and the victim would make withdrawals,
police said.
Bierma later confessed to police that he withdrew
the funds to pay for drugs, according to court records. But Bierma
claimed the victim was aware of it and had given him permission.
Bierma did admit to being the one shown in photos and videos at the ATM, according to police.
Bierma has been appointed a public defender. The Idaho State Public Defender's Office does not comment on active cases.
Bierma is set to appear in court for his preliminary hearing July 29.
The Key Takeaways for this article
were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed
by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
