Former Sullivan County public administrator Joan Brummitt answered for her oversight as guardian
by Matt Flener
MILAN, Mo. — A former
Sullivan County elected public official faced pointed questions from a
judge on Tuesday for how she handled the estates of 13 people whom she
oversaw as guardian or conservator.
The judge ordered former
longtime Sullivan County Public Administrator Joan Brummitt to appear
before him on Tuesday — in one case asking why she did not transfer more
than $400,000 from a ward’s estate to the new public administrator in
the county after Brummitt resigned from office.
Sullivan County Associate Circuit Judge Adam Warren on Tuesday, after
hearing an explanation from Brummitt’s attorney, gave Brummitt more
time to transfer ownership of that specific ward’s bank and brokerage
accounts to the new county public administrator before holding her in
contempt.
In 12 other probate cases of former wards, Warren cited
Brummitt for failing to file various reports. Brummitt cleared most of
those cases by filing the reports in the court record and before Warren
on Tuesday.
Brummitt declined to comment to KMBC 9 News about the cases.
Brummitt’s court appearance marks the latest questions from a judge.
In a separate criminal case, she is facing four felony counts of
financial exploitation of an older/disabled person and four felony
counts of stealing $750 or more.
She has pleaded not guilty.
Brummitt, in her role as Sullivan County Public Administrator, had the responsibility to care for wards of the state.
Public
administrators are elected in Missouri to take care of financial and
medical decisions for elderly or mentally ill patients when a judge
decides family or friends can no longer care for them.
Court documents in Brummitt's criminal case
Previous
court documents allege Brummitt moved money last October from an
elderly ward’s bank account to her personal bank account on four
separate occasions.
A Missouri State Highway Patrol investigator
said on Oct. 14, 2025, Brummitt used her personal cell phone and online
banking app to send money from the ward’s account through three separate
transactions, totaling $999, $1,900 and $1,980.
She made another online $999 transfer on Oct. 16, the MSHP investigator said in court documents.
The total amount came to $5,878.
Brummitt
is charged with four felony counts of financial exploitation of an
older/disabled person and four felony counts of stealing $750 or more.
A
Missouri State Highway Patrol investigator testified last month that
Brummitt admitted to the highway patrol that she moved money from the
ward’s account to hers.
The investigator told the court that Brummitt admitted to highway patrol investigators that hackers told her to move the money.
Brummitt’s criminal attorney, Mark Williams, has previously told KMBC 9 News that Brummitt is innocent until proven guilty.
In
a series called "Paper Prisons," KMBC 9 News is investigating ways to
systemically improve the care of those under guardianship by
highlighting stories of people struggling to navigate a tangled system
of legal paperwork, medical records and court orders.
When families enter probate court, they expect protection. They
expect oversight. They expect a system designed to safeguard vulnerable
adults who cannot protect themselves.
What many families say they do not expect, according to sworn filings
now before California courts, is isolation, financial consolidation,
rapid medical deterioration, and a wall of administrative opacity.
For some, the moment is unforgettable. A judge speaks. A ruling is
made. And in an instant, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter, a
human being who has fought to survive, becomes a ward of the county.
Families who reorganized their entire lives around caregiving are
suddenly reduced to observers. The people who knew the conservatee’s
medical triggers, emergency thresholds, daily rhythms, and hard won
progress are deemed unfit, often without a meaningful opportunity to be
heard.
Decision making authority over health care, living arrangements,
doctors, and treatment shifts to court appointed professionals
previously unknown to the family. Introductions are not required.
Approval is not sought. Oversight is assumed. Families walk out of court
stunned, disoriented, and often traumatized, grappling with how years
of intimate, hands on care could be erased in minutes by a procedural
ruling.
That experience forms the backdrop of what is now before the courts
in Ventura County in the matter of Joshua Saeta, a medically fragile,
wholly dependent adult.
Joshua did not enter the probate system because of age, dementia, or
gradual decline. According to sworn filings and medical records
submitted to the court, he became wholly dependent after suffering a
catastrophic cardiac arrest in 2017 that resulted in a severe anoxic
brain injury. His brain was deprived of oxygen long enough to cause
permanent neurological impairment. He survived, but survival came at a
cost.
From that point forward, Joshua required round the clock care,
complex medical management, and constant monitoring to remain alive. He
could not advocate for himself. He could not manage his medical needs
independently. His survival depended entirely on the consistency,
precision, and continuity of the care surrounding him.
In the years that followed, Joshua did not languish. According to
physician letters and court filings, he achieved relative medical
stability under a physician directed, home based care model. That model
emphasized continuity, familiar caregivers, specialized nutrition
protocols, carefully monitored therapies, and immediate response to
subtle changes that could signal medical emergency.
Central to that care was his sister, Jennifer Saeta, who became his
primary caregiver and medical advocate. For more than eight years, she
lived beside him, learning his baseline condition, emergency warning
signs, and recovery thresholds. Treating clinicians relied on her
longitudinal knowledge to prevent life threatening decline. The
stability Joshua achieved, according to the record, was not accidental.
It was built deliberately, over years, through constant hands on care.
Left:
Josh Saeta in August 2025 under his sister’s care. Right: Josh’s
condition has significantly deteriorated under Ventura County Probate
Care.
This is not a social media dispute or a family disagreement reframed
as legal drama. What has been filed in Ventura County Superior Court
under Case No. 201700495761PRCE, and in related appellate proceedings,
is an extensive emergency record alleging a repeatable pattern within
probate administration, one that according to the filings begins with
caregiver removal and culminates in severe medical decline.
The allegations are not informal. They are sworn, structured, and supported by documentary exhibits.
According to Jennifer Saeta’s sworn filings, Joshua’s stability
deteriorated after conservatorship authority shifted. The care structure
was altered. Placement changed. Family access was restricted. She
asserts that this sequence functioned as a divide and conquer process,
first removing the individuals most knowledgeable about Joshua’s daily
medical management, then isolating him from the continuity of care that
had sustained him for years.
Jennifer further alleges that no meaningful investigation preceded
her removal and that she was denied a full opportunity to advocate for
her brother before decisions affecting his life and care were finalized.
These assertions are presented as allegations, not adjudicated
findings.
Families caught in this process often describe the same refrain. You
may visit, but you may not intervene. Advocacy is reframed as
obstruction. Objection is characterized as noncompliance. While families
are told to support court appointed conservators, they allege they are
instead forced to watch as quality of life diminishes under the control
of strangers with no prior relationship to the conservatee.
The emergency petition in the Saeta matter does not accuse criminal conspiracy. It documents patterns.
On February 10, 2026, Andrew Rose submitted a sworn declaration in
support of emergency appellate review. Under penalty of perjury, he
describes recurring similarities he states he has observed across
unrelated Ventura County probate matters. Long standing caregivers
characterized as uncooperative. Sudden exclusion from medical decision
making. Institutional placement. Rapid medical decline. Restricted
communication. Difficulty obtaining records.
Attached to that declaration is a Unified Pattern Summary, which
explicitly states that it does not allege criminal conduct or reach
legal conclusions. It consolidates recurring factual similarities across
cases and leaves questions of culpability to judicial or investigative
review.
In the Saeta matter specifically, Jennifer Saeta alleges that a court
appointed professional charged with safeguarding Joshua’s interests
failed to function as an independent advocate. She does not allege
explicit collusion or criminal coordination. Instead, she asserts that
the professional’s actions and billing records reflected conduct
inconsistent with independent advocacy, leading her to conclude that
Joshua’s interests were not being meaningfully advanced. That
distinction is central to the filings, which frame the issue as systemic
misalignment rather than overt misconduct.
The financial dimension of the case is significant, though partially
shielded by confidentiality provisions. Court exhibits confirm that
Joshua is associated with a high value trust governed by a nondisclosure
agreement. Jennifer Saeta alleges that while Joshua’s physical
condition declined, substantial administrative and professional fees
were drawn from the trust. She argues that the pattern reflects
incentive rather than coincidence. These claims remain allegations and
have not been adjudicated.
Additional exhibits include a certified Ventura County Clerk Recorder
search documenting numerous estate related filings associated with a
recurring fiduciary name. The filings themselves are not alleged to be
unlawful. They are presented to demonstrate frequency, volume, and
concentration of fiduciary activity within a limited professional
ecosystem.
As the legal record expanded, the medical situation intensified.
While declarations were being prepared and exhibits compiled,
Joshua’s medical condition deteriorated. According to physician letters
submitted to the court, based on photographic review, longitudinal
treatment history, and clinical assessment, he now exhibits extensive
muscle wasting, depleted subcutaneous fat stores, and findings
consistent with severe malnutrition.
The filings state that Joshua has declined to the point of requiring
total parenteral nutrition, an intravenous intervention typically
reserved for cases in which the gastrointestinal system can no longer
sustain life through enteral feeding. The reviewing clinician
characterized his condition as an imminent threat to life, citing
aspiration risk, pressure ulcer risk, and medical instability associated
with prolonged bed confinement.
Jennifer Saeta attributes this decline to the sequence of legal and
medical decisions she is challenging. That attribution is presented as
her allegation.
The filings cite statutory frameworks governing elder and dependent
adult protection in California. Those statutes impose affirmative duties
to prevent neglect, broadly defined, and to investigate when a
dependent adult experiences unexplained decline. The filings do not
assert that Ventura County or its officials have been criminally
charged. They ask whether statutory obligations were fulfilled when a
wholly dependent adult declined precipitously under court supervised
care.
What began as a dispute over authority within a complex probate
structure has, according to the petitioner, evolved into an urgent life
safety matter. Jennifer Saeta states that after she sought independent
legal counsel and challenged decisions affecting Joshua’s care, she was
removed from participation in his daily medical oversight. She argues
that what appears procedurally administrative on paper has, in practice,
resulted in prolonged separation from the person most familiar with
Joshua’s medical baseline.
One of the most consequential aspects of the emergency petition is
procedural rather than financial. The Unified Pattern Summary notes that
in multiple probate matters, conservatees allegedly declined beyond
recovery before appellate review could occur. By the time higher courts
addressed the issues, the medical outcomes rendered the legal questions
effectively moot.
DISCLAIMER: Investigative reporting in high-profile litigation cases published by The Current Report is
non-commercial, fact-based journalism; any project fees compensate
research and reporting labor only, sources participate solely in
accuracy verification, and final publication is approved exclusively by
The Current Report after fact-checking is confirmed.
A caregiver is accused of yelling at and slamming a 90-year-old dementia
patient during a late-night incident inside a Pennsylvania home,
according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice.
by Jillian Pikora
Dhyshamier Lamar Holmes, 27, of Harrisburg, was charged with Misdemeanor Abuse of a Care-Dependent Person, court records show.
East Pennsboro Police were dispatched to the 100 block of Center
Street in Enola at 8 a.m. on Jan. 20 for a reported non-active assault,
according to a release issued Monday, Feb. 23.
The elderly victim told officers she had been assaulted by her caregiver, police said.
According
to the affidavit of probable cause, officers later learned the alleged
abuse involved a 90-year-old woman identified as A.S., who is deemed a
“care dependent person”.
On Feb. 5, police were contacted by Aging and Community Protective
Service Investigator Kyndra Strait regarding the case, the affidavit
states.
Strait provided three videos of the incident, and advised
that between Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, the caregiver was “yelling and
cursing” at A.S., the affidavit details.
The videos allegedly show Holmes “picking up A.S. and slamming her on
the couch,” and “yelling profanities at A.S.,” according to the
affidavit.
Holmes was later identified as the suspect and charged
under state law prohibiting a caregiver from striking, shoving, kicking,
or otherwise subjecting a care-dependent person to physical contact.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, at 2:15
p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Michael Sanderson, court records
show.
COLUMBIA S.C. (WACH) — Families often
don’t notice financial abuse until significant money is gone, and
experts say it frequently goes unreported, leaving many victims without
help.
“It is one of the most common types of abuse that goes
unreported. In fact, it is under reported,” said Dr. Macie Smith, an
elder care professional.
Smith
said financial abuse is one of the most common forms of elder abuse and
is often committed by someone the victim knows and trusts.
She
said victims may not acknowledge what’s happening because they still
trust the person involved, or they may stay silent out of fear.
In
a situation like that when they don’t accept the fact that they haven’t
abused because they still really do trust this person and sometimes
they don’t say anything because of fear. Fear of losing this person
because they think they’ve helped them all the time,” Smith said.
Smith also warned that people with power of attorney can misuse their authority.
Sometimes
people feel like when they have the power of attorney, that they can do
whatever they want to do on behalf of the other person. That is false.
Even though there is a power of attorney, they can still make their own
decisions,” she said.
Experts say warning signs of elder
financial abuse can include an older adult seeming confused about recent
transactions, showing changes in behavior, becoming more isolated than
usual, or expressing fear about money.
Smith recommended families
take steps early to help protect loved ones, including regularly
reviewing bank statements, considering a trusted third party to oversee
finances, and keeping open lines of communication about money.
She said South Carolina nursing homes are also required to help where they can.
They
are required to post flyers about financial exploitation, and they are
required to provide training to their residence about financial
exploitation,” Smith said.
For elders or vulnerable
people on Medicaid, families are encouraged to look at the Medicaid
exclusion list online, which includes many criminals who have abused
Medicaid along with their crimes.
Smith said anyone who suspects abuse should report it immediately to
Adult Protective Services so the situation can be investigated before
losses grow.
Sheriff’s office investigation leads to arrest of Keith Michael McEvoy
By Na'Khalia Frazier
LEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Keith
Michael McEvoy Thursday, Feb. 19, on charges of exploitation and
intimidation of disabled adults, elder persons and residents.
The investigation began when Adult
Protective Services notified police about allegations involving elder
abuse in Lee County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The
sheriff’s office Criminal Investigation Division completed an
investigation into the accusations and secured an arrest warrant for
McEvoy.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the settlement last month with the California-based company following allegations of elder abuse and fraud.
By Jason Barry
MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — The owners of Heritage Village Assisted Living facility have been permanently banned from operating healthcare facilities in Arizona.
As part of the settlement with the Arizona Attorney Generals’ Office they also must pay a $100,000 fine.
Arizona AG Kris Mayes announced the settlement last month with the California-based company following allegations of elder abuse
and fraud at the Mesa facility. The agreement prohibits the owners from
providing healthcare services to vulnerable adults in Arizona.
The case began after multiple reports in 2023 and 2024
exposed issues at Heritage Village that led to a state investigation
and lawsuit. Families reported incidents of mistreatment and abuse of
residents at the facility.
Family says settlement is insufficient
Renee Caruss said her mother, Carol, was among the residents who were mistreated at Heritage Village. In one incident, Carol was reportedly attacked by another patient.
“You
expect with all the money they get that she would be taken care of
properly - she wasn’t - she wasn’t taken care of,” Caruss said.
She believes the settlement does not provide enough accountability for what happened at the facility.
“The
people that were running that facility knew exactly what they were
doing the person the director at the time she’s working at another
facility right now,” Caruss said.
Attorney General defends actions
The
Attorney General’s office said its priority was protecting Heritage
Village residents and preventing similar issues at other long-term care
centers.
“Protecting Arizona’s most
vulnerable residents has been one of my top priorities since taking
office,” Mayes said in a statement. “In the Heritage Village case alone,
we seized control of the facility, replaced its management, forced the
sale to responsible ownership, and removed the prior owners from
operating two other Arizona facilities.”
The
Attorney General’s office noted that when Heritage Village faced
foreclosure and potential license revocation, their intervention
prevented mass displacement of elderly residents.
Legislative changes follow case
Dana Kennedy, state director of AARP Arizona, said the Heritage Village case led to important legislation that better protects vulnerable adults.
The
changes include stiffer penalties on care facilities, with fines
increased from $500 per day to $1,000 per day per resident per
infraction. The legislation also increased training for memory care,
added hiring restrictions for caregivers accused of abuse or neglect,
and expanded oversight.
“One important
thing is it closed a licensing loophole so it prevents bad actors from
evading oversight and it doesn’t allow DHS they cant transfer license to
another person it holds them accountable,” Kennedy said.
Case continues against other defendants
The
case remains active against several other defendants despite the state
settlement. An attorney for one of the victims said that families are
unlikely to receive money in civil cases they have filed.
The former manager of Heritage Village
can still work in the industry, but her license has been revoked, and
she will never again be able to manage a long-term care center.
Attorney Jennifer Wasserman represents the former owners who reached the settlement.
“This
agreement ends strongly-contested claims without any admission of
wrongdoing,” Wasserman said. “Regardless of the Attorney General’s
self-serving statements in their press release on this topic, the health
and safety of the employees and residents at Heritage Village have
always been a high priority to the defendants.”
Gary Langendoen, representing the defendants, said they disputed the validity of the Attorney General’s claims.
“We have always disputed the validity of the Attorney General’s claims,
particularly after some of the assertions stated in their press releases
were proven to be false based on incomplete and inaccurate information
from the receiver’s office,” Langendoen said. “Putting this litigation
behind us allows these defendants, the dedicated employees and valued
residents to move forward.”
San Antonio’s Department of Human Services is committing to increase
its support for senior citizens at risk of scams and neglect after a
request by a council member was filed last month.
During a Public
Safety Committee meeting this week, city staff told council members the
department would beef up its preventative messaging and initiatives and
report back regularly to the council about neglect, abuse, and scams.
The
Council Consideration Request (CCR) filed by District 5 Councilwoman
Teri Castillo calls for creating or enhancing initiatives that could
protect seniors from fraud.
A CCR is similar to introducing a bill
in the legislature to create new city policies. It requires getting the
support of four other council members and going through a committee
process before going for a vote in front of the full city council.
Castillo's requests include:
Auto-enroll seniors in the federal and state do-not-call registries
Provide
access to legal aid which can help seniors assign a trusted guardian,
create a living will, and/or other legal mechanisms to protect
themselves from fraud and abuse.
Create and provide seniors with
COSA-sponsored No Soliciting yard and door signage for seniors to ward
off scammers and unwanted salespeople.
Create guides for seniors which show them how to use their mobile phone to ward off scam calls.
Castillo
said her request was born out of a trend of scams in her district where
elderly residents had fallen victim to fraudulent door-to-door sales.
“They're
going under the guise of being part of CPS energy, or a trustworthy
solar company, and essentially were signing on to $95,000 loans, which
then would result in a lien on their property, and then, oftentimes,
solar panels that were not even connected,” Castillo said.
In
Bexar County there’s about 316,000 people over the age of 65 out of more
than 2 million residents. The Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services said there were 1,120 allegations of exploitation against
seniors; there were also 5,558 investigated allegations of neglect and
abuse in Bexar County in 2024.
Jessica Dovalina, deputy director
of the city’s Department of Human Services told the city council’s
public safety committee that of the more than 5,500 investigations,
about 92% were identified as self-neglect.
“Of those cases, 81%
were physical neglect, and 19% were medical neglect. And so that is
something that we continue to see at our senior centers, as well as
something that our providers continually lift up as part of the
discussions about what's happening in our community, given the high rate
of self-neglect as well as poverty in our community, which also has
increased, those are important factors,” she said.
Self-neglect is
when a person is no longer able to take care of themselves and provide
for their basic needs. She said the city’s senior centers serve about
22,000 active residents annually. “There we're addressing things like
social isolation, food insecurity, access to preventative screenings for
medical care, as well as caregiver training and resources and benefits
navigation and financial counseling.”
Later this summer, the
department has plans to release a “Status of Older Adults in San
Antonio” report that would focus on elder fraud, neglect, abuse and
exploitation, housing insecurity and cost burden, food insecurity,
social isolation, community, healthcare, and transportation. That’s
scheduled for September
Among the initiatives planned by the
department, it’s committing to create printable door and yard signs to
deter solicitors, develop metrics, cost estimates and resources needed
to expand the city’s services beyond senior centers, and create resource
guides regarding senior rights and tailored guides for cellphone users.
Special education teacher Rita Richards is advocating for guardianship of her former student, Zack
by Matt Flener
CLAY COUNTY, Mo. — Rita Richards showed up with a group of people to speak at a Clay County Commission business meeting last month.
The special education teacher had one mission: to ensure the county commission knew her concerns about her former student, Zack.
Zack became a ward of the state in 2014.
Richards invited him
to her family get-togethers and holiday celebrations to stay in touch
with him when he was put under public guardianship.
During that time, she started noticing concerns about his living conditions, hygiene, and safety.
His
current guardian is Clay County Public Administrator Alexa Summit.
Summit has held the office since 2021. Before then, two other public
administrators oversaw Zack’s care.
A judge has reviewed Zack’s case multiple times and kept him under
public guardianship through the Clay County Public Administrator’s
office.
Richards told the county commission about her experience advocating for her former student.
"I was pushed out,” she said. “I was not allowed to visit anymore. They didn't want to hear my concerns.”
After Richards spoke to commissioners, KMBC 9 Investigates asked Summit to comment on Zack's case.
An attorney responded on Summit’s behalf.
"We
do have to respect the confidentiality of the individuals that the
public administrator's office is tasked to serve as guardian and
conservator for,” said attorney Paemon Aramjoo. “We are therefore unable
to provide comment on a specific case or the individuals involved."
PAPER PRISONS: Public guardianship in Missouri under investigation
Richards contacted KMBC 9 Investigates after seeing KMBC’s “Paper Prisons” investigation
last year. The ongoing investigative series explores problems and
solutions for Missouri’s public guardianship system, which serves as a
societal backstop for people who struggle to find safe care with friends
or family.
The work of Missouri’s public administrators, who act
as public guardians, often goes unnoticed in probate courts, phone
calls, and long trips to visit wards across the state. They are tasked
with heavy caseloads in Missouri’s 114 counties and the City of St.
Louis.
Often, those wards are placed into facilities hours from where they once called home.
In Clay County, a recent performance audit found the Public Administrator was responsible for 309 wards, as of 2023.
More
than half of those live within the radius of Clay, Platte, Ray,
Jackson, Cass, Lafayette, Pettis, Saline, Johnson, and Carroll counties,
the audit found.
But at least 117 wards live in other counties across the state.
“It
would be my preference to place all individuals in Clay County but due
to the lack of resources, this cannot be accomplished,” the public
administrator’s office told the Clay County Auditor.
“We will continue to evaluate all wards to ensure they are in the most
suitable and least restrictive environment. We will also continue to
stay aware of resources in our community and advocate for quality care
for each person.”
Public administrators are assigned caseloads
from judges when hospitals, nursing homes, family, or friends recommend
court-approved placement for individuals to keep them safe, fed, and
housed.
But public guardianship has also come under fire in Missouri from the United States Department of Justice for unnecessarily institutionalizing people in nursing homes.
Judges
give Missouri public administrators wide control of wards' lives when
they believe family or friends can no longer care for them. They are
required to file yearly reports with the court about care plans for
their wards.
Clay County public guardianship oversight next steps
The
county commission began appointing the public administrator after the
2020 general election changed it from an elected to appointed position.
Circuit court judges now recommend a person for the role.
Richards told the commission she could serve as Zack's guardian, noting that she has not had response from Summit in years.
"I've sent 33 emails and I've had zero responses," she said.
Richards told the commission she found in court documents that Zack was stabbed by his roommate in 2025.
During
the meeting, she also asked people concerned about public administrator
guardianship om Clay County to stand in support. Dozens of people
stood behind her.
"Zack's survival should not be the end of this
story,” Richards also said from the podium. “It should be the beginning
of accountability.”
After the meeting, she told KMBC she felt the
commission listened to her concerns and hopes commission members will
establish an independent review board to keep the public administrator's
work in check.
If you know of someone going through struggles
with Missouri’s public guardianship system, or if you have a case to
highlight that exposes solutions for Missouri’s public guardianship
system that could teach lessons to others, please email investigates@kmbc.com
