Saturday, June 27, 2009

A Storm Brewing

The King of Pop is dead, and now begins what could turn into a legal battle over the custody of his three children — and what remains of his once-vast fortune.

Michael Jackson, who spent a lifetime and countless millions trying to recapture his lost childhood, has left his own children in legal limbo following his sudden death Thursday at a rented Los Angeles home, apparently of cardiac arrest.


Family associates and legal experts see a storm brewing over the care of 12-year-old Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr., 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and 7-year-old Prince Michael II Jackson.

Full Article and Source:
What Will Happen to Michael Jackson's Children, and His Fortune?

More information:
Although Rowe initially waived parental rights to the children, she later changed her mind, and an appeals court ruled she was the legal mother of Prince Michael Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine. USC law professor Scott Altman: "When a child has two legal parents and one of them dies, the other takes custody." To gain custody, other family members or individuals designated in Jackson's will as guardians would have to show that giving custody to Rowe would harm the children.
Michael Jackson's death: Will Debbie Rowe get custody of two kids?


Regardless of whether he left a will, Michael Jackson's three children stand to inherit everything he owned – after the creditors and taxman take what's theirs, say legal experts in California. Little is known about the King of Pop's estate planning or will, according to Business Week. Jackson had sole custody of his three children and ex-wife Debbie Rowe is the mother of the older two. The mother of the youngest child has never been identified.
Does Michael Jackson have a will? His kids, Prince Michael, Paris, Blanket might inherit millions

The mother of Michael Jackson's two eldest children is preparing to battle the singer's elderly mother for custody. Former nurse Debbie Rowe gave away her parental rights in exchange for a £4.2million pay-off ten years ago. But last night, she told friends she would fight 'tooth and nail' for their return.
Battle over Jacko's three children: Ex-wife who took £4m payoff wants custody

There is, say family sources, 'no prospect whatever' that they will be returned to Debbie Rowe - the biological mother of Jackson's older son and daughter, Prince Michael and Paris Katherine. His youngest son, known as 'Blanket', was born in 2002 from an unnamed surrogate mother. Prince Michael and Paris have never called Rowe 'Mom', having been raised by Jackson. He was paying Rowe £750,000 a year to stay away from the children and his family are determined to see his wishes are carried out. Should Rowe launch a custody bid - as she threatened earlier this month - battle will be joined.
What WILL become of the children in the masks?

Michael Jackson's family will wage an epic battle to make sure Paris and Michael Jr. do not end up in the custody of one Debbie Rowe -- this according to family members who spoke with TMZ. The family complained that the kids don't even know Debbie Rowe -- she hasn't been a part of their lives. They say the kids must remain "within the family."
Jackson Family Will Fight Rowe Tooth and Nail

Lawyer Declares Client Incompetent

After a long-running battle over his handling of an elderly widow’s case, Spokane attorney Steve Eugster has narrowly avoided disbarment.

The state Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Eugster should instead be suspended from practicing law for 18 months. He will also have to pay $13,500 to the now-deceased woman’s estate.

Justice Tom Chambers wrote for the majority: "Eugster breached his duty to maintain his client’s confidences, used confidences to take action directly contrary to his client’s interests, and created a nightmare for his client who had to spend $13,500 defending a petition to declare her incompetent."

The case involved Marion Stead, an 87-year-old Colville widow who hired him in 2004. Stead wanted Eugster to look into how her only child, Roger Samuels, was handling her finances.

Eugster, a longtime acquaintance, concluded that nothing was amiss. He tried to reconcile the family.

But Stead fired him and hired attorney Andrew Braff. She also hired a professional management firm.

By then, Eugster has said, he felt Stead couldn’t handle her own affairs. He refused to turn over her case file and instead asked a court to appoint a guardian for Stead. She spent $13,500 fighting that.

A court official interviewed more than a dozen people who knew Stead. Virtually all, including her doctor, said she could handle her own affairs.

Chambers wrote: "Eugster fails to explain why his epiphany that his client was incompetent seems to have occurred on the very day he discovered that she had retained new counsel and wanted to discharge him."

Eugster has said he felt that his elderly client was vulnerable, unable to understand her finances, and in danger of being taken advantage of.

Full Article and Source:
High court suspends lawyer Eugster

Elder Abuse Cases

Elder abuse is a national problem that will continue to rise with increases in the number of older adults, due to the Baby Boomer generation swelling the population 60 and older.

Estimates of the incidence of elder abuse range from 2 to 10 percent, depending on the survey method.

Data on elder abuse in domestic settings suggest that 1 in 14 incidents, excluding self-neglect, come to the attention of authorities.

Connecticut has the highest rate of reported elder abuse cases, which is almost three times the national median.

In 2006, the latest year in which reliable statistics are available, approximately 640 cases of elder abuse were opened in Fairfield County alone. Approximately 330 of these cases were in the Greater Bridgeport area.

In Connecticut, physical injury and financial abuse of the elderly and disabled are criminal offenses. Also unique to Connecticut is a mandated reporting rule for some professionals who suspect a case of elder abuse. Anyone, however, may report. Those who are not mandated to report but report in good faith, are free of liability.

Full Article and Source:
Connecticut leads nation in elder abuse cases

Friday, June 26, 2009

25-Year-Old Lawsuit Settlement

The stories were horrifying and heart-wrenching: a boy beaten bloody while in foster care; a 15-year-old girl tortured and starved to death by a mentally ill guardian; a 5-year-old fatally scalded by his mother after state officials removed him from a safe foster home.

It's no wonder such egregious cases of abuse and neglect have helped drive a 25-year-old lawsuit over how the Maryland Department of Human Resources and the Baltimore Department of Social Services care for the state's most vulnerable children and adolescents.

That's why the settlement announced this week between advocates for Baltimore's children and the city's foster care system represents a potentially tremendous step forward for the health and well-being of children in Maryland.

Some of the requirements:
1. The state must make sure children in its care have case plans and that they actually receive the health care, educational support and other services identified in those plans.

2. The agreement would allow the state to free itself from federal court supervision for the first time since 1988 if it meets dozens of specific goals and maintains that performance for an 18-month period.

3. Each caseworker will be responsible for no more than 15 children, and a single supervisor will be responsible for no more than six caseworkers.

4. The system has agreed to hire an outside expert with broad credibility in the field to monitor its progress and make periodic reports.

Full Article and Source:
A milestone for youths - Our view: Maryland now has a unique opportunity to fix its long-broken child welfare system; for the sake of future generations, it can't let that chance go to waste

Elder Abuse Task Force

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman created the Elder Abuse Unit in 2008, just months after taking office, to address a rise in reported crimes against the elderly, which include physical and sexual assaults, neglect, theft and other financial exploitation.

In the past, deaths at nursing homes or assisted living centers may have escaped scrutiny given the advanced age and medical condition of many residents. But the DA believes better trained police and caregivers will help detect more wrongdoing in the future.

Ferman: "Now that we have the Elder Abuse Unit, we’re looking in a much more comprehensive way at these kinds of deaths."

The DA’s unit supervises an Elder Abuse Task Force, a multi-disciplinary committee made up of law enforcement agencies and the county’s Aging and Adult Services. The task force reviews individual cases to determine whether a crime has occurred.

The group also works with geriatric and forensic specialists, the Montgomery County Bar Association, victim advocacy groups and others.

Full Article and Source:
District Attorney’s Office seeks to protect seniors

Cooke Donates 100K to Mission

A local judge has approved a $100,000 donation to Mission San Miguel from billionaire heiress Phoebe Hearst Cooke.

Conservatorship attorneys had no objection to the gift because it was consistent with Cooke’s longstanding giving to the mission.

Cooke has given as much as $1.3 million to the mission over the past five years to help it keep running after the devastation of 2003 San Simeon Earthquake, said the Rev. Ray Tintle, pastor of the San Miguel parish. The earthquake caused large cracks in the church’s sanctuary, and its rebuilding continues today.

"We could not have reopened without her help."

Full Article and Source:
Billionaire Hearst heiress gives $100K to Mission San Miguel

See also:
Hearst in Conservatorship

Tentative Ruling to Seal Records

Conservators and Lawyers Line Up

$2 Billion Conservatorship Battle

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Governor, Guardian and DCF Being Sued

Governor Pat Quinn and two Department of Children and Family Services officials are being sued over state budget cuts that will eliminate counseling services to abused children in foster care.

The children filed suit--110 wards of the state, listed in the complaint only by their first names. Also listed as a plaintiff is Robert Harris, Public Guardian of Cook County.

Named as defendants are Governor Quinn, as well as Erwin McEwen, Director of DCFS, and D. Jean Ortega-Piron, Guardianship Guardian of DCFS.

The complaint explains that "The children bring this action challenging the failure of the defendant, Pat Quinn, Governor of the State of Illinois to implement a budget which funds the Department of Children and Family Services in a manner consistent with the Department's responsibilities to the children in its care."

As a result of the current state budget, the general revenue fund for the Illinois DCFS will be cut in half, ending "all counseling services to children who are in state care due to physical or sexual abuse, neglect or dependency," a decision already announced by Director McEwen.

Full Article and Source:
IL Governor Pat Quinn and DCFS officials sued over state budget cuts

See also:
Senior Protest Against Gov. Cuts

The Anna Nicole Saga

The saga of Anna Nicole Smith is arriving in Seattle for a one-day-only performance.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is convening at the old federal courthouse downtown to hear the case of Marshall v. Marshall, the never-ending battle over the estate of Anna Nicole's dead husband, the Texas billionaire J. Howard Marshall.

Anna Nicole married Marshall, an 89-year-old oil tycoon, in 1994. But when he died 13months later, a Texas court ruled that his will didn't include Anna Nicole and awarded all his riches to his son, Pierce.

Anna Nicole's lawyers went to a bankruptcy court in California, which ruled that Pierce Marshall owed Anna Nicole $450 million. A federal district court then reduced that to $88 million. Then the 9th Circuit invalidated that, saying federal courts don't have jurisdiction over state probate matters.

Anna Nicole's took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and it ruled in 2006 that the federal court can indeed get involved. So now the 9th Circuit has to take up the actual issues of the money.

Anna Nicole died of a drug overdose in 2007, and Pierce Marshall died in 2006. So that leaves Anna Nicole's sole heir, 2-year-old daughter Dannielynn, fighting with Pierce's heirs.

Full Article and Source:
The Anna Nicole Smith circus is coming to town

See also:
Marshall v. Marshall

Forum Shopping

Celebrity Money Battles

Attorney Will Repay Estates

John F. Pawloski, an attorney accused by state regulators of unauthorized use of at least $28,000 from a disabled adult ward and two estates, has for the second time agreed to pay back missing money.

Pawloski, who in 2007 was acting as St. Clair County's public guardian and administrator, in May was accused by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of using $2,500 for himself from deceased Cahokia resident Vernon Denbo's estate without permission from a judge. Pawloski denied that claim in his response to the ARDC complaint.

Pawloski's lawyer, Jim Williams, told St. Clair County Associate Judge Stephen Rice that Pawloski would repay $7,522 missing from that estate.

Also in May, the ARDC accused Pawloski of unauthorized use of at least $20,000 from Cahokia resident Harold Watts' estate, and he has denied that claim, as well. Pawloski in April agreed to repay the $63,075 missing from the estate. The money, to be repaid through a payment plan, will mostly go to the National Cystic Fibrosis Association, the sole beneficiary of Watts' estate. Some will be used to pay the new administrator's cost of managing the estate.

Full Article and Source:
Metro-east attorney will replace money missing from dead person's estate

See also:
Who watches the guardians?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Life in Court's Hands

What does Gary Harvey want? Since Jan. 21, 2006 -- the day Harvey fell down his basement steps -- he has been unable to answer that question.

Harvey’s fall caused traumatic brain injuries that left him in a persistent, vegetative state -- unable to talk, walk, eat or otherwise function independently. His condition is not likely to improve, his doctors have said, according to affidavits.

With no living will, Harvey’s wishes are not clearly defined. Does he want to continue living with the help of life-sustaining machines, or does the 58-year-old Horseheads resident want to die?
A judge must decide.

On Tuesday, Chemung County will ask Supreme Court Justice Judith O’Shea to authorize the removal of Harvey’s feeding tube. The county will also request that the judge issue a do-not-resuscitate order. Those two actions will end Harvey’s life.

The county’s requests are based on the recommendations of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Ethics Committee, which decided May 29 the tube removal and the DNR order are in Harvey’s best interest. The ethics board says Harvey is suffering and has little to no chance of recovery.

What Chemung County wants, said Sara Harvey, is “to starve my husband to death.” She plans to fight vigorously to keep her husband alive.

However, Sara Harvey does not get to decide her husband’s fate. In February 2007, just a year after Gary Harvey’s fall, a judge ruled Sara Harvey could no longer be her husband’s guardian. The court ruled she was an abusive guardian who failed to use good judgment and follow medical advice.

The Chemung County Department of Social Services is Gary Harvey’s guardian.

Sara Harvey claims she was sandbagged at her guardianship hearing in 2007. She said the hearing went on without her having use of a lawyer.

Full Article and Source:
Man’s life in court’s hands

See also:
Save Gary Harvey's Life

Perry Vetos The Take Away Your Child Act

Gov. Perry vetoed SB 1440, which sought to clarify narrow and uncertain guidelines set by the Gates v. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DFPS) court case. However, the bill goes too far. It creates uncertainty about how DFPS would take children into custody which could potentially infringe on the rights of parents and guardians.

Gov. Perry: “This court-created uncertainty is real and must be addressed, however I’m concerned SB 1440 overreaches and may not give due consideration to the Fourth Amendment rights of a parent or guardian. I am directing DFPS, to study the effect of the Gates decision on the ability of the department to appropriately enter a residence and, if necessary, to transport the child for interviews in a neutral location. I am also directing the department to develop and recommend statewide procedures to follow when seeking court orders without compromising the rights of parents and families.”

Source:
Gov. Perry Announces Final Decisions on Legislation

More information:

If you ever need a classic example of an out of control Texas Legislature and an out of control legislative process, you need look no further than the passage, as amended, of Senate Bill 1440.

SB-1440 started life as a fairly innocuous bill authored by Sen. Kirk Watson (D-14) and co-authored by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-21) designed to speed the execution of an uncontested judicial order pertaining to child support or child protection. It passed in the Senate on April 16th on a viva voce vote, 31-0.
Source:
SB1440 The Take Away Your Child Act

Parents and children throughout Texas are in greater danger than ever, thanks to a recently passed child-protection measure by Democratic Sen. Kirk Watson – Senate Bill 1440 – that expands the powers of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to make it easier to remove children from their homes and families for investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect.
It’s been dubbed the “Take Away Your Child Act.”
Source:
COALITION ASKS TEXAS GOVERNOR TO VETO “TAKE AWAY YOUR CHILD ACT”

SB 1440 — CPS bill. Authored by Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), this bill has by far drawn the widest range of opposition of any from the 81st Legislature — bringing together home school advocates, socially conservative Republicans, Libertarians, and the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.

Another Kirk Watson bill, SB 1064 which died during the chub-a-thon in the Texas House, lives on as a last-minute amendment to SB 1440.

If SB 1440 is signed into law, Child Protective Services may enter a child’s home or take a child from school for an interview and to obtain medical records, according to powers given in the SB 1064 wording (though a judge’s permission would still be required).
Source:
Could these bills be destined for a Perry veto?

Where The Money Is

Authorities charge that Salem County investment adviser Jeffrey Southard systematically bilked elderly clients out of $1.8 million in a Ponzi scheme that unraveled when securities regulators began looking into his business. Southard pleaded guilty to preying on elderly clients, who turned over their money to him on the promise of guaranteed annual returns of 6 percent to 11 percent.

Instead of enriching his clients, Southard used much of the money to pay his mortgage, private-school tuition, car payments, and other personal expenses.

The story rated a few paragraphs in the newspaper, but the fact is that schemes by investment advisers and other professionals that target elderly clients are proliferating. The reason is, as Willie Sutton put it when asked why he robbed banks, that is where the money is.

People 50 and over are sitting on a vast pile of wealth - 70 percent of the net worth of U.S. households, according to MetLife, the insurance giant. Those assets have been accumulating over several decades of unprecedented economic growth in the United States.

Some elderly are especially vulnerable because they are physically weakened, emotionally vulnerable, or impaired in other ways that might affect their judgment.

That exposure, along with the potential changes in inheritance rules and the sheer magnitude of the over-60 demographic, is helping to fuel a sharp uptick in business for lawyers who are experts in wills and estates and overall wealth management.

Full Article and Source:
Law Review: As scams target elderly, a legal niche also booms

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Save Gary Harvey's Life

Gary Harvey suffered a traumatic brain injury after a heart attack and subsequent fall down a flight of stairs.

His wife, Sara, has fought for over three years to free him from Chemung County Dept. of Social Services, his court-appointed guardian, which has confined Gary to a nursing home. Sara feels he is neglected and abused, and wants to bring her husband home so that she can care for him.

The guardian has deprived Sara of critical information and shut her out of the decision-making process regarding her husband’s care and restricted her to limited, timed, and “supervised” visits.

Now, the County plans to seek a court order to withhold Gary’s nutrition and water and put him on DNR status.

Gary Harvey is a Veteran. “Supporting the troops” should mean to support them when they need us; not just when we need them. Gary Harvey needs us now.

Please call Chemung County Attorney Bryan Maggs at 607-733-4635 and express your support for Sara Harvey to make life-and-death decisions for her husband – instead of the County or court. Tell Bryan Maggs to surrender the guardianship and let Gary Harvey go home.

See also:
The Gary Harvey Story

Daughters Seeking Guardianship

Tamara Carter and Renita Head are questioning why the staff at Heartland of Holly Glen did not know their father, 96-year-old Golden Braswell, disappeared from their watch.

Braswell was discovered by Toledo police crews sitting in the middle of traffic in his broken down motorized wheelchair, a mile away from the nursing care facility.

Before Saturday's disappearance, the family was already fighting to get him out of the nursing home.

The daughters are concerned that their father did not have his two monitors with him (one on his wrist and the other on his wheelchair). They also believe the stories from the police and the nursing home are conflicting.

Head: "We are petitioning the court to get legal guardianship over him. We hope to take him back to Georgia to our home, to love, to nurture him and to honor him."

Full Article and Source:
Braswell's daughters seek answers

When Court Intervenes

A woman, referred to as "Mary," didn't understand when her father was declared disabled and temporary guardianship was given to her brother, who she distrusts with her father's estate.

Mary: "Two doctors made the decision (of disability). Two visits, and they made testimony. A judge told us a criminal has more rights than a disabled person."

Mary said she thinks the Madison County Circuit Court, and the attorney it appointed, contributed to her father losing his rights to work, drive and testify on his own behalf.

Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder said attorneys are required to watch out for their elderly clients, even if loved ones do not agree with them. Crowder co-chairs the 3rd Judicial Circuit Family Violence Prevention Council.

Full Article and Source:
Courts may intervene in elder disputes

Monday, June 22, 2009

Alone and Afraid

My Mother, Mollie Florkey, was forced into Heartland Nursing Home, Hillsboro, OH in June of 2007 by her son and legal guardian.

She is alone; she is afraid; she suffers from negligent "care" and abuse. I believe she is drugged.

All she wants is to come home, with me, and let me take care of her for her remaining days. But, her son won't allow her peace, security, or the love and comfort of her daughter. And the court doesn't care.

I am afraid my beautiful and treasured Mother is going to die and I can't save her.

Astor Died Early

It occupies but a single line in box No. 5 of a tax document regarding Brooke Astor’s estate, and so small one might have to squint to see it. But the message is glaring: “Date of death: 2/7/2006.”

But it was not until a year and a half later that Mrs. Astor died, at age 105, and that discrepancy was a focus of testimony on Thursday in the trial of her son, Anthony D. Marshall, 85, in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

He is accused of fooling Mrs. Astor, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, into changing her will so that he could tap into millions of dollars that she intended to leave for charity.

G. Warren Whitaker, a trusts and estates lawyer who prepared the tax document, said that one reason he began preparing to probate Mrs. Astor’s will, something that does not happen until a person dies, was that Francis X. Morrissey Jr., another estate lawyer, regularly told him “that her death might be imminent.”

More than three years before Mrs. Astor’s death, Mr. Whitaker, along with Mr. Marshall and Mr. Morrissey, was preparing how to handle her will and estate.

In addition to Anthony Marshall, Mr. Morrissey is also on trial, on fraud and forgery charges.

Full Article and Source:
On Sample Tax Form, Mrs. Astor Died Early

Guardianship Fight Over Inmate

While Leon Toney lay in a coma at a Tacoma rehab facility, the state invalidated his marriage.

The move draws into question whether the women he married, Rene, can continue as his guardian and make key decisions about his medical care.

She was given the role in May after a court battle with Toney’s aunt, Charrene Robinson, who moved to Tacoma from California to help take care of him. Robinson said she plans to redouble her challenge now that the state has voided the couple’s marriage.

Rene, who has largely stopped working to be at Toney’s bedside, said that she was going to fight the revocation.

"I don’t know why we all can’t get along and heal Leon. I’ve been in this man’s life. He called me his wife. I called him my husband. Now they’re trying to twist everything around. He’s going to wake up and be like, ‘What happened?’"

To make matters more complicated, if Toney awakens, the state Department of Corrections has claim to him. The 31-year-old was incapacitated in September after trying to hang himself with a sheet in an isolation cell at McNeil Island Corrections Center.

Toney was sentenced to 28 years for shooting a man in the stomach. He had served 12 years.

Problems with Toney’s marriage were found by a Washington State Patrol detective who was investigating his suicide attempt at the Corrections Department’s request. Based on the detective’s findings, the state voided the couple’s marriage license.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianship fight centers on inmate in coma

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Woman Wants Answers

Simply put, Monica Yepez wants answers.

She wants to know the details of what became of her dentistry practice after she was paralyzed. She wants an accounting of the sale of her $600,000 home in the Los Miradores neighborhood that went on the market while she was incapacitated. Now that she can speak again, she wants to know where her monthly $11,000 disability check is, and she wants to make sure no one is taking advantage of her.

Most of all, she wants to be in control of her life.

"I lost everything once," she said during a recent interview while sitting on a wheelchair. "Why take it away from me again? I'm not asking for miracles. Just give me what is mine."

Since June 2006, Yepez, who was a pediatric dentist for 13 years, has been a ward of the state. A medical procedure at Del Sol Medical Center in 2006 left her paralyzed. According to court records, she went to the hospital because she was dehydrated. Fluids that were supposed to help her instead caused her brain to swell, resulting in paraplegia.

Yepez lost not only her mobility but also her ability to speak.

For the past six months, Yepez's condition has been improving. She has regained the use of her hands, she can talk again and she can easily recall every detail of her life.

A year ago, she was not prepared to make decisions on her own. Now she is.

Full Article and Source:
Former dentist questions handling of estate

No Evidence of Criminal Activity

A state Attorney General's investigation into Macomb County Probate Court contracts with ADDMS Guardianship Services of Shelby Township found no evidence of criminal activity by the company or the court, according to a recent AG report sent to Michigan Supreme Court officials.

But the report did reveal questionable bookkeeping at ADDMS and possible breaches of fiduciary responsibility. David Tanay, chief of the Attorney General's criminal division, cited "deficiencies" in how the court is operated and recommended improved verification of bank receipts and prompt inventories of clients' assets to help correct the problems.

Source:
State finds no criminal actions at Probate Court

See also:
ADDMS and Fortuna Estate

State Probe of Guardianship Firm

"Nobody Gave a Damn"

The first time a beloved relative in his mid-70s wired several thousand dollars to strangers, believing he was paying taxes on huge lottery winnings, it seemed like a fluke, a mistake he would understand once we straightened him out.

Then it happened again. And again.

In less than a year, this Ivy League-educated professional sent at least $23,000 to slick con artists who came to know his personal interests, as well as his bank-account, credit-card and other personal information. Yet even more shocking than how effectively and efficiently scammers won his trust and his retirement savings was how impossible it was to stop them.

His children and stepchildren counseled him, cajoled him and took him to task. Experts, lawyers and his doctor were consulted. Law-enforcement agencies, from the local police to state officials to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were called. He agreed to give power of attorney to a son to help with financial matters. Yet he continued to send away money he couldn't afford to lose, fully expecting to see a huge reward in a matter of days.

"We never found a law-enforcement agency that cared," the son says. "To me, nobody gave a damn."

Full Article and Source:
A Family's Fight to Save an Elder From Scammers