The Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller's Office has spent months doing audits of the county's guardianship program and found over $1 million in questionable expenses and possible theft.
Some of the cases they investigated came in as tips on the Clerk's office Guardianship Fraud Hotline.
They say they found some cases of fraud, which were turned over to police or the sheriff's office for further investigation.
Palm Beach County has about 2700 people who have court-appointed guardians who handle their financial affairs.
The clerk's audits found over $1 million in questionable expenses and possible theft.
No one has been arrested so far. But according to the clerk's office Boynton Beach Police and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office are involved, and arrests are expected soon..
Full Article and Source:
Audit Turns Up Big Questions
See Also:
Guardianship Fraud Hotline
13 comments:
Thank you, Ms. Bock!
Yea! But, how did all this thieveing go on if accountings were filed with the court as mandated and the court was paying attention?
This is a great step! I hope they're looking at professional guardians as well as the non-pro's, too.
Well this is hopeful news applause to Palm Beach County Florida with successful conclusions to find reason to question suspicious activities. I hope this agency is an 'equal opportunity' auditor looking at all the attorney billing and the accounting and inventory from the so called professional guardians and their employers some are not for profit - guardianship and not for profit must be a sick joke but they are getting away with that label for tax purposes and other self serving reasons at our expense.
Medicaid fraud and Medicare fraud appear to be part of the pattern.
Today I googled guardianship and looked at the images. Knowing what I know those images are misleading guardianship is not what it is advertised to be caring warm and fuzzy feeling for the guardianized for the conserved.
There is a dark side the truth needs to come out and the good news is the perfect storm is forming in this matter.
I encourage every citizen to read the laws in their respective states now -- not when they or someone they love and care about is sucked into the system by then it's too late, you are entering an arena no different than the Romans and the Christians it's all theater with the conclusion in the final script.
I have been doing much research and it is dead-on and overwhelming pattern that sibling discord (or other family member who is disgruntled) is a red flag for the nursing home or other type medical facility and/or elder "protective" agencies, that they then know they have a situation that will allow them to get their claws into the family estate and is the card that they play to get public appointments.
Disturbingly--as also in my case-- the middle sister (who had a prior public pyschotic episode--with a 30 mile high-speed police chase that she was charged with highjacking, attempted murder and other litant offenses and then dismissed because of mental disease "causing" lack of intent and known to the public guardian and "protective" elder services) was a primary cause of allow the vultures to starts sucking up the estate for their own personal gain.
This Essex County Massachusetts Probate Judge just issued his trial decree for permanent public guardian and conservator--which was replete with his stating that he found my middle sister to be credible in her fabrications and lies about me and my sister, Devora.
Yet, the judge would not allow me virtually any cross-examination to show how mentally disturbed my middle sister has been all her life and continues to be.
And, even though I had a valid supboena requiring the public guardian and conservator to testify, this probate judge quashed the subpoena and declared that they did not have to testify!!!!
The public guardian and conservator, and elder services, and the other cohorts all aligned knowing that the middle sister has had a long-time publicly known formal mental illness diagnosis AND gets disability money from the State specific on that formal mental illness diagnosis--and when her husband who in the year 2000 made $250K as a chemist for a big-time corporation. Not to mention that I gave hard core concrete evidence (such as emails by middle sister to her aider and abetters) to all these parties that the middle sister exploited my father. Elder services ignored it all.
LSB
I have been doing much research and it is dead-on and overwhelming pattern that sibling discord (or other family member who is disgruntled) is a red flag for the nursing home or other type medical facility and/or elder "protective" agencies, that they then know they have a situation that will allow them to get their claws into the family estate and is the card that they play to get public appointments.
Disturbingly--as also in my case-- the middle sister (who had a prior public pyschotic episode--with a 30 mile high-speed police chase that she was charged with highjacking, attempted murder and other litant offenses and then dismissed because of mental disease "causing" lack of intent and known to the public guardian and "protective" elder services) was a primary cause of allow the vultures to starts sucking up the estate for their own personal gain.
This Essex County Massachusetts Probate Judge just issued his trial decree for permanent public guardian and conservator--which was replete with his stating that he found my middle sister to be credible in her fabrications and lies about me and my sister, Devora.
Yet, the judge would not allow me virtually any cross-examination to show how mentally disturbed my middle sister has been all her life and continues to be.
And, even though I had a valid supboena requiring the public guardian and conservator to testify, this probate judge quashed the subpoena and declared that they did not have to testify!!!!
The public guardian and conservator, and elder services, and the other cohorts all aligned knowing that the middle sister has had a long-time publicly known formal mental illness diagnosis AND gets disability money from the State specific on that formal mental illness diagnosis--and when her husband who in the year 2000 made $250K as a chemist for a big-time corporation. Not to mention that I gave hard core concrete evidence (such as emails by middle sister to her aider and abetters) to all these parties that the middle sister exploited my father. Elder services ignored it all.
LSB
It's a great step. A better one would be to add oversight to the court proceedings to ensure all laws for imposing guardians are observed in the first place. That much alone could prevent unscrupulous guardians from being placed (because judges and lawyers who ignore the laws likely have their hands in the cookie jar too).
If only we could ger guardianship fraud hotlines for each state as a beginning. At least, it's a place where people can go to try and get some help. I agree with Standup, though, I hope they're looking at the professionals and not just families.
Good news for Florida!
Yes, thank you, Ms. Bock. I am very hopeful other states will do what you're doing in your county.
It is the first time I hear of a guardianship fraud unit and hotline. It is something greatly needed throughout the country.
I hope they deliver and start a clean up of the family courts.
Public Guardians are the biggest theives. In Santa Clara County, CA, the Public Guardain makes short work of sizeable estates.
This article brings to mind the Rita Denmark guardianship case involving a Volusia County, FL Professional Guardian, Jetta L. Getty who is the owner of Young at Heart Elderly Services in Port Orange FLorida.
Rita Denmark, 76, WAS DOMICILED and RESIDING in Pennsylvania. She was physically in excellent health but had mild dementia. Denmark had a long time, PA banker and an accountant looking after her financial affairs. She had a PA medicare supplement plan, workers compensation insurance, and a personal care companion as needed. She had advance directives in place and she was registered to vote in PA when she took a "life changing" trip to Florida, with one of her daughters.
Just DAYS after their FL arrival, a dispute between the Denmark's children occured and the FL Court become involved where a guardianship petition was filed.
Officer's of the Court involved in this case assured Denmark's daughters that the guickest, easiest and least expensive way to get this problem resolved and get their mother back home, was to allow Professional Guardian, Jetta L. Getty to sort out the facts and report back to the court. Getty promptly purchased an airline ticket (with her own money) sending Denmark's daughter/traveling companion back to PA which they now believe was to get this daughter out of Gettys way.
The involved Officers of the FL Court consist of; 4 attorneys and guardian Getty who were ALL PAID from Denmark's approximate $470,000.00 estate. This ENTIRE ESTATE was promptly converted under "Getty's guard," into unnecessary legal fees for "team probate," unnecessary guardian fees FOR "HERSELF," unnecessary "warehouse/rent" fees (Denmark had a home in PA) and unnecessary "drug charges," some of which were SPECIFICALLY requested by Getty who has no medical education!
It took about 3 1/2 years for Denmark's daughter to discover that NOT ONE of those Officer's of the Court EVER told the judge that Denmark was a PA resident and domicile. The FL court's documentation substantiates that Denmark was a PA domicile and that the involved officers of the court knew it. This FL court record is full of deceipt and omissions by Getty, filed through her attorney, yet nothing has been done about it!
It has been 5 yrs now and Denmark was never returned to her domicile state, her friends or her family.
Currently Jetta Getty has Denmark in an undisclosed location while she continues to RAKE IN "fees for herself." The FL taxpayers are apparently paying any balance due for this PA woman with their HARD EARNED TAX DOLLARS and would most likely they would be outraged IF they only knew!
If you have any information about Rita Denmark or want to know more about this case, PLEASE contact NASGA, you may do so confidentially.
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