Guardian Abuse of WWII Veteran

Office of the Nevada Attorney General
555 E. Washington Avenue, Suite #3900
Las Vegas, NV 89101

December 3, 2011

Re: Jared E. Shafer, Professional Fiduciary Services of Nevada -Report of Guardian Abuse

Dear Catherine Cortez Masto,

I wish to request the State of Nevada file a series of criminal complaints against Jared E. Shafer of Professional Fiduciary Services of Nevada for several violations of Nevada NRS provisions. These include: NRS 160 Veterans Guardianship Uniform Act in violation of having over five wards, violation of NRS Chapter 199 Crimes against Public Justice for preventing my father from attending hearings, failure to terminate a guardianship when his ward moved out of the state, failure to provide my father an attorney as required by your state law, verbal assault by making threats, fraudulent double billing and more. There should also be an investigation of his attorney, Alan D. Freer, for malicious billing against my father. A copy of this letter is being posted on the nonprofit website, National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse. Please take the time to read the facts as stated in this complaint. I’m filing this document on behalf of my father, a widowed 92 yr old WW2 veteran of the U.S. Army and Air Force.

I have not attempted to contact you sooner because Mr. Shafer, former public guardian for Clark County, warned me that it wouldn’t do any good to write to you because your father was one of his best friends and he guaranteed you would take no action. However, after reading your website, I decided that in the best interest of my father I should contact you because I believe you are the only person in Nevada who can stop Mr. Shafer’s exploitation and abuse of my 92 year old widowed father.

My mother insisted she and father move to Nevada in 2002 after a lifetime in California. Because of the early death of my brother, mom, overcome by her grief, had my father deemed incompetent by a man who was not a licensed medical doctor, which resulted in her becoming dad’s guardian. The guardianship was strictly OVER HIS PERSON. Our family knew my father was competent and we have a total of 9 evaluations from doctors in Nevada and California as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs stating my father is legally competent. A Nevada M.D. stated in her 2007 report that in her opinion no guardianship was needed. Commissioner Norheim, Mr. Shafer and attorneys Elyse Tyrell and Alan Freer arbitrarily decided it would be to their advantage to ignore all of this documentation. Mr. Shafer refuses to accept any professional opinion unless it comes from a Nevada M.D. of his choice. Shafer has stated he controls what the doctors write and requested that I not obtain any more reports. In fact, I have a report from a California M.D. issued one month ago stating my father is fully competent. We have a very interesting situation, if my father is tested in California he is competent, but when he crosses the border into Nevada he is incompetent. As you can see this set of circumstances is very harmful to my father. How would you feel if someone you loved had to live with this horrible situation? My father lives and breathes this anxiety every day of his life. Mr. Shafer has told many victim families, “I write the reports and the doctors sign them. If these doctors want to work in this state they do what I tell them.” I will supply names and telephone numbers of others who can back up this statement.

Source:
Victims: L.O. Nevada/California Victim

Note: "L.O." is a NASGA Member

E-Filing Now Available for Nebraska Probate

Nebraska County Courts have added probate case filings to the list of case types available through the court's Internet-based filing system. Probate e-filing is now offered for existing cases in the areas of estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and trusts. Nebraska attorneys can submit their filings to any of the 93 county courts in the state via the Nebraska Judicial Branch's eFiling system. Probate case types join civil, criminal and juvenile case types, which are already a part of eFiling.

Confidential documents are protected throughout the filing process and when stored within the computer files, just as financial and personal information is now protected in other types of eFiled cases.

"We are very pleased to be adding Probate to our suite of electronic filing services," said State Court Administrator Janice Walker. "Our hope is that the trial courts' continuing advances in technology have made it easier for attorneys to conduct business and pass these benefits on to their clients."

Full Article and Source:
Probate Cases Join E-Filing in Nebraska

'The Adele Chris Act'

Read proposed legislation submitted by Marked for Destruction's author, John Caravella, to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security at their request for a Model Law" to combat abusive guardianships: The Adele Chris Act


View the May 25, 2010 Subcommittee Hearing

Contact the Committee and voice your support

What Adele Fraulen might have thought to be nothing more than a meaningless bad dream one night in 1935 would actually come true. At age 79 she would find herself living a nightmare -- a struggle for her life, simply because she innocently trusted the wrong professionals to help with her portion of a Million Dollar inheritance; they would steal her very existence. Her neighbors, Chris and Patricia Zurillo, would realize that Adele's life was going terribly wrong and dedicate themselves to freeing her from captivity. “Marked For Destruction” is a rare book that exposes an ever-expanding crime against our elderly.

Source:
MarkedForDestruction.com


A Free Gift From Adele's Neighbors - Read 'Marked for Destruction' online

Aging in America: Future Challenges, Promise and Potential

View The Senate Special Committee on Aging's Forum: Aging in America, Future Challenges, Promise and Potential

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Senate Special Committee on Aging Holding Forum Today: 'Aging in America: Future Challenges, Promise and Potential'

Former Public Guardian Sentenced for Illegally Purchasing Client's Property

A former official in the Madera County Public Guardian’s Office was sentenced today [11/14/11] to three years of probation for illegally purchasing property from a person who died while under the county’s care, the county District Attorney’s Office said.

Heather Young, 32, a former county deputy public guardian, had pleaded no contest to the charge in October. A DA’s Office investigation in 2009 led to a grand jury indictment against Young in April 2010.

Public guardian officials are not allowed to buy property from a client’s estate other than at a public sale, because the officials play a role in setting the property’s value.

Full Article and Source:
Ex-Madera County Official Sentenced for Buying Clients' Property

Charges Dropped Against MA Man Accused of Helping Father Commit Suicide

Charges against a Massachusetts man who was accused of helping his father, a prominent attorney and West Hartford resident, commit suicide were dropped [12/08/11]. Prosecutor Thomas Garcia told Judge Joan Alexander that he didn't want to continue to pursue the charges against Bruce Brodigan, 57, of Somerville, Mass. The judge approved the request.

"I feel my client is happy that it's over," said Hubert Santos, Brodigan's attorney.

In September 2010, Brodigan, allegedly helped his father, George, take his own life through an overdose of drugs and alcohol. George Brodigan, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died at home with a half-filled bottle of Mount Gay rum and a copy of Derek Humphry's "Final Exit," a guide to ending one's life, at his bedside.

According to police, Bruce Brodigan said his father wanted to take his own life before he became incapacitated. He told police that his father's condition had declined and that there was talk about whether he could remain at his home without additional care.

"He loves his father and just wanted to relieve him of his pain," Santos said Thursday [11/8].

It is illegal in Connecticut to assist in another's suicide, and Brodigan was charged in January with second-degree manslaughter, tampering with or fabricating evidence and providing a false statement.

Garcia said he decided to drop the charges after Judge David Gold, who was recently transferred to another Connecticut courtroom, told him he would not grant Brodigan a special form of probation, which would have allowed allow him to clear his record upon successful completion.

Full Article and Source:
Charges Dropped Thursday Against Man Accused Of Helping Father Commit Suicide

Ohio Attorney Loses W Va. License

As he did in his home state a year ago, an Ohio attorney has lost his license to practice law in West Virginia.

The state Supreme Court on Nov. 22 annulled the license of James R. Henry. The Court's action mirrored that of Ohio's High Court when it ordered Henry's permanent disbarment last December after an investigation found he mishandled the cases of eight former clients during a three-year period.

Records show in disbarring Henry, the Ohio Court said his failure to perform work on client's cases after he was paid a retainer was "tantamount to theft of the fee from the client."

'A pattern of neglect'
According to the Ohio Court's Dec. 22 order, Henry, a sole practitioner in Gallipolis, was charged with 25 violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct by its Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline. Though not specifically indentified, the order says Henry, among other things:

* Informed a father from Indianapolis in May 2008 four days too early about a hearing in Gallia Court of Common Pleas' Juvenile Division on his petition for sole residential parent and guardian of his son. The father had to later file a pro se motion for immediate or emergency change of custody when Henry missed the deadline to file a motion for a final hearing or agreed order.

* Failed to keep a man updated on the status of a potential lawsuit against his former employer. The man paid Henry a retainer of $2,500 in February 2007, and did not hear from him after September 2009 due to Henry's phone getting disconnected.

* Failed to return over $1,500 to a couple in July 2009 after they sent him certified letters saying they no longer wanted him to complete a trust for them. The letters were sent after repeated calls made to his office informed them his voice mailbox was full.

* Closed his office without giving a woman notice he failed to complete the estate settlement for her late husband's estate after paying him $500. Between the time she retained him in April 2009, and he closed his office that December, the woman made repeated calls to his office only to have them go unanswered or him tell her he'd be completing the work soon.

Full Article and Source:
Ohio Atty Loses WVa License

Senate Special Committee on Aging Holding Forum Today: 'Aging in America: Future Challenges, Promise and Potential'

The Senate Special Committee on Aging is holding a forum Wednesday to commemorate the committee's 50th anniversary, titled: “Aging in America: Future Challenges, Promise and Potential.”

Convened by retiring Committee Chairman Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), the forum will be held Wednesday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. (E.T.). Featured panelists include Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for the Administration on Aging; Robyn Stone, Dr. P.H., executive director, LeadingAge Center for Applied Research; and Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director of the National Institute on Aging.

The forum will be held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in Washington, D.C.

Source:
Senate Special Committee on Aging to Host Forum on Aging

Nearly 2 Years After Devastating Head Injury, Snowboarder is Back

Instead of riding for Kevin, snowboarders can ride with Kevin again. Kevin Pearce's remarkable recovery will reach a major milestone next week when he gets back on snow for the first time in the two years since his life-threatening accident on the halfpipe.

"I'm kind of trippin' that we're finally here," Pearce said Thursday. Pearce suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident during practice Dec. 31, 2009, that left him in a coma. His plight spawned the slogan "I Ride 4 Kevin," and ever since the accident, those stickers and patches have been plastered across snowboards and jackets on slopes across America.

Source:
Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network

FL: Ex-Lawyer Gets 2 Years Prison for Elder Fraud

A disbarred Kissimmee lawyer was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for bilking elderly people out of their life savings.

Linda Vasquez, formerly known as Linda Littlefield, pleaded no contest in May to engaging in a scheme to defraud of $20,000 or more. The state dropped 11 counts of fraudulent use of personal-identification information.

Vasquez, 40, also was ordered to pay some restitution, although the amount was not available.

Vasquez's ex-husband, Ross Littlefield, 47, pleaded no contest in November to one count of fraudulent use of a credit card. The state dropped 10 other fraud charges and one count of scheme to defraud. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 24.

Several lawsuits are pending against the former couple, a pooled trust they controlled, foundations that administered the trust and Medicaid Benefits Experts, a company Littlefield established last year in Tampa after her arrest.

An attorney for some of the plaintiffs said hundreds of thousands of trust money has vanished.

Source:
Ex-Lawyer Gets 2 Years Prison for Elder Fraud

See Also:
Elderly Couple Faces Nightmares

AZ Woman, Boyfriend Charged With Theft Against Bedridden MS Patient

A Tucson woman and her boyfriend are both facing fraud and theft charges against a bedridden multiple-sclerosis patient, who later died.

36-year-old Lea Marie Hughes is already in jail for allegedly neglecting 64-year-old Ruthann Jacox. She died Nov. 8 at Tucson Medical Center 11 weeks after Hughes was arrested on suspicion of vulnerable adult and child abuse charges.

Hughes' boyfriend, 39-year-old Gilbert Pierre Peralta Jr., denied the charges after his arraignment Thursday in Pima County Superior Court.

Peralta told the Arizona Daily Star the couple loved Jacox as though she was a member of the family and denied ever stealing from the ailing woman.

Source:
Woman, Boyfriend Charged With Fraud

Man Indicted, Accused of Fleecing Oil Company Heir of $20 Million

A Chappaqua man accused of bilking a Katonah musician and oil company heir out of $20 million has been indicted on felony charges that could send him to prison for up to 25 years.

Vickram Bedi pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree grand larceny after rejecting a plea deal in which he would have agreed to serve five to 15 years in state prison.

A grand jury indicted him on Nov. 29.

Westchester County Judge Barbara Zambelli today restored Bedi's $3.5 million bail to $5 million after prosecutors detailed the complicated six-year scheme that Bedi allegedly used to fleece Roger Davidson, a pianist and composer.

Bedi and his girlfriend, Helga Ingvarsdottir, are accused of conning Davidson into believing he was in grave danger because his computer had been compromised and offered him protection. Davidson had taken his virus-plagued computer to Datalink Computer Services, owned by Bedi, in August 2004.

The schemes, prosecutors claim, included stories of threats by Polish priests affiliated with the Roman Catholic Opus Dei order. Bedi allegedly told Davidson that the Central Intelligence Agency had subcontracted with him to help prevent the Polish priests from infiltrating the U.S. government.

Full Article and Source:
Chappaqua Man Indicted Accused of Fleecing Oil Company Heir of $20 Million

Arthur Goldstein Included Among 'Best Lawyers in America'

Upper Saddle River resident Arthur S. Goldstein has been included in the latest edition of the publication "Best Lawyers in America."

Selection to the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers is based on a peer-review survey comprising more than 3.9 million confidential evaluations by other top attorneys, according to the publication's website.

"It is an honor to be included, for the eighth consecutive year, in such a prestigious peer-review publication," said Goldstein, a litigator who practices in the areas of banking, commercial and estate litigation, and white collar criminal law, in an email.

He is a member of the law firm Wolff & Samson PC, which has 25 members from a range of Wolff & Samson's practice groups listed in the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers.

Goldstein served as legal counsel to the Transition Committee of Bergen County Executive-elect Kathleen Donovan, according to a press release from the firm. He also leads Wolff & Samson's efforts as special counsel to the Bergen County Improvement Authority.

Full Article and Source:
Arthur Goldstein Included Among 'Best Lawyers in America'

Three Charged With Forgery of Late State Representative's Will

Forgery charges have been filed relating to the will of the late state representative Ulysses Jones, Jr.

Avis Langford-Brannon, Beverly Prye and Sandra Richards have been indicted on charges of forgery, tampering with evidence and aggravated perjury.

All three women are employed by the Memphis Fire Department. Their bonds are set at $20,000 each.

In May, the fight over Jones' will ended with a Probate Court judge ruling that the signature on the document was not Jones' and therefore not valid.

The fake will had left the bulk of the estate to a woman he lived with for the past 18 years.

Two handwriting experts testified Jones' signature was a forgery.

The estimated $100,000 estate is now in the hands of Jones' two adult children, who contested the will.

Source:
Three Charged With Forgery of Late State Representative's Will

Massachusetts' Highest Court Rejects Criminal Prosecution of Nursing Home Facility

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts indicted Life Care Centers of America, a nursing home corporation, based on its staff's alleged failure to act to protect a resident from known life-threatening harm. The indictment charged the corporation with involuntary manslaughter and neglect based on its collective knowledge and conduct of a number of the corporation's employees, without singling out any one employee for indictment.

This was the first time in Massachusetts that a corporation had been indicted criminally for manslaughter and neglect in a nursing home setting without the charging of an individual, and the question of whether a corporation can be held liable under such a theory was taken up by the state's highest court.

Unfortunately, the court declined to find a criminal prosecution proper against the corporation, ruling that the alleged criminal responsibility could not be supported under state law.

AARP's brief, filed by attorneys with AARP Foundation Litigation, reviewed the history of nursing home regulation, litigation and criminal liability.

The brief also discussed the collective knowledge theory of corporate liability — a legal doctrine that is derived from the concept that a corporation can be held criminally liable for the acts or omissions of its agents acting within the scope of their employment. This theory has, for example, held trucking firms criminally liable for knowingly and willfully permitting unsafe drivers to operate, and it has been used in other situations where the courts determined it was the corporation's responsibility to determine whether its employees, in carrying out their duties to their employer, were complying with the law.

AARP's brief detailed how numerous states around the country had brought criminal charges against nursing home corporations and have resolved those cases separately from charges brought at the same time against individual officers or agents of the corporation. That separate liability, the brief argued, combined with the collective knowledge theory, supported the state's contention that a corporation can in fact be held liable for criminal misconduct in the absence of charges against individuals

Full Article and Source:
Commonwealth of MA v Life Care Centers of America

Read AARP's Amicus Brief

The Ponzi Thief Who Picked Judges

Where do judges come from?

From Marybeth Feiss, of course.

Feiss, according to federal investigators, ran the fraudulent political contribution scheme that enabled her bombastic, absurdly grandiose, insanely ostentatious Ponzi thief of a boss, among other outrages, to buy himself a seat on the state judicial nominating committee.

Feiss, 42, was charged last week with bundling hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions from 2006 through 2009 at the behest of the infamous scammer Scott Rothstein. Some $3 million was funneled to local, state and federal candidates and political parties, much of it illegally, through lawyers and employees (and their spouses) of his now-defunct Las Olas Boulevard law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

The criminal complaint, filed Thursday (exactly two years after the feds arrested Rothstein), states: “It was the object of the conspiracy that Rothstein and his co-conspirators, including Feiss, aimed to dramatically increase the political influence and power of RRA and become one of the most powerful law firms in the country by utilizing some of the attorneys and administrative personnel of RRA and other persons associated with RRA to unlawfully make prohibited political contributions.” Rothstein reimbursed his minions for the contributions, much of it in the guise of bonuses.

John Gillies, the head of the FBI office in South Florida, put it a bit more succinctly. With Feiss, his administrative assistant, doing what assistants do, Gillies said, “Rothstein tried to buy political influence with the money he stole from the Ponzi scheme to contribute millions of dollars to political campaigns.”

But Rothstein didn’t just try to buy political influence. He outright bought it.

Full Article and Source:
The Ponzi Thief Who Picked Judges