Reviewing Minnesota’s Electronic Conservatorship System

As graduation time is upon us, it’s time to honor those dedicated court professionals who have completed the Institute for Court Management’s Fellows Program. Congratulations! Each graduate must complete a research paper as the final requirement of the program. I am pleased to highlight an exceedingly timely project report on Minnesota’s electronic conservatorship system, written by ICM Fellow Sherilyn Hubert of Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District, Protecting the Assets of our most Vulnerable in Minnesota, Sherilyn has carried out a very worthwhile research project that will benefit all courts that are considering the automation of the conservatorship reporting process.

In 2011, the Minnesota Judicial Branch implemented a statewide web-based program for conservators to enter their account information online to the courts—the Conservator Account Monitoring Preparation and Electronic Reporting (CAMPER) Program. In FY 2012/13, the program will evolve into CAAP (Conservator Account Auditing Program), which will feature a centralized unit to focus on auditing of accounts. The program, which was first piloted in Ramsey County, was created with the intent to eliminate accounting errors, deter financial exploitation, create workload savings for conservators and court staff, reduce paperwork, improve the identification of overdue and incomplete accountings, provide ready access to expense and receipt details, improve documentation and analysis of conservatorships, and improve the court’s auditing function. The system is used in all 87 counties in 10 judicial districts. It is the first statewide automated conservatorship system in the nation. Since voluntary implementation of the CAMPER program started in July 2010, over 4,000 protected persons have been entered into the database. In August 2011, the total amount of assets of protected persons was almost $400 million.

Sherilyn focused on three objectives for her paper: (1) to determine user satisfaction with the new system; (2) to examine and document past cases of financial loss by conservators; and (3) to research various registration systems relevant to Minnesota’s plans to implement a conservator registration system in 2013. For this blog, I am going to note some of the issues pointed out in regard to financial loss.

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Reviewing Minnesota’s Electronic Conservatorship System

Winter Park attorney among 22 disciplined

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 22 attorneys, suspending eight and disbarring 10, including a Winter Park attorney.

Four attorneys were publicly reprimanded and three were put on probation.

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion doesn’t alter the effective date of the discipline.


Full Article and Source:
Winter Park attorney among 22 disciplined

Florida Brain-Injury Center Gets Surprise Inspection

Investigators from three state agencies conducted a surprise inspection today of the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, a brain-injury treatment center where some patients were allegedly abused or neglected.

Florida state officials didn’t say what they found at the 196-bed institute, a closely held company known as FINR. The center is one of the largest in the country and draws patients from across the U.S.

“We are all concerned about the care, safety and well- being of the residents of the Florida Institute of Neurological Rehabilitation,” said Liz Dudek, secretary of the state Agency for Health Care Administration, which licenses the center.

In addition to that agency, investigators from the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Health participated in the inspection of the FINR campus in Wauchula, Florida, about 50 miles from Tampa.

The agencies said in a news release that they will review the information gathered and determine the most appropriate plan of response depending on the findings.

Full Article and Source:
Florida Brain-Injury Center Gets Surprise Inspection

See Also:
Abuse of Brain Injured Americans Scandalizes U.S.

Dartmouth man sentenced for bilking elderly man

BOSTON—A Dartmouth man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for bilking an 84-year-old widower he had befriended out of his entire $750,000 estate.

Richard Souza was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston to four years and three months in prison and three years of probation.

Authorities say the 47-year-old Souza persuaded the victim to buy real estate and take out an $85,000 loan, which Souza then withdrew from banks in small increments to avoid detection.


Full Article and Source:
Dartmouth man sentenced for bilking elderly man

See Also:
Man Charged With Bilking Elderly Man Out of His Entire Estate

Alzheimer's is really just 'type-3' diabetes, new research shows

NaturalNews) Emerging research on the widespread degenerative brain disease known as Alzheimer's suggests that this prevalent form of dementia is actually a type of diabetes. Published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, a recent study out of Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) confirms that Alzheimer's is marked by brain insulin resistance and corresponding inflammation, a condition that some researchers are now referring to as type-3 diabetes.

Dr. Suzanne de la Monte from RIH is the one responsible for making this fascinating connection, having found in her research that diabetes is closely associated with several key neuronal factors implicated in dementia. It turns out that Alzheimer's progresses as a result of the brain developing resistance to insulin, which in turn prevents proper lipid (fat) metabolism. Over time, these lipids build up in the brain rather than properly absorb, which results in increased stress and inflammation, as well as the symptoms commonly associated with dementia.

"This study points out that once AD (Alzheimer's Disease) is established, therapeutic efforts should target several different pathways -- not just one," says Dr. de la Monte. "The reason is that a positive feedback loop gets going, making AD progress. We have to break the vicious cycle. Restoring insulin responsiveness and insulin depletion will help, but we need to reduce brain stress and repair the metabolic problems that cause the brain to produce toxins."

Full Article and Source:
Alzheimer's is really just 'type-3' diabetes, new research shows

OBRA SPECIAL NEEDS POOLED TRUSTS and IL State Senate Bill 2840

We at ProbateSharks continue to have concerns about OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts. OBRA Trusts were created to allow people who have special needs to qualify for Medicaid by depositing their money into these trusts. The intention of these trusts was to preserve estates of disabled people by allowing them to qualify for public aid nursing homes while preserving their estate for their special needs.

Unfortunately, these trusts are being abused by certain guardians in Cook County. Elderly disabled people with large estates are being targeted for guardianships through unscrupulous methods including: Illegal removal of Powers of Attorney, deceit of the elderly by owners of guardianship companies, and inaccurate medical reports being submitted into court records to make the elderly appear to be disabled with dementia. Once the rich elderly disabled person becomes a ward of the court, the unscrupulous guardians place the wards' estates into OBRA trusts, place the ward into for-profit Medicaid-funded nursing homes, and then deplete the estate through guardian fees, care management fees, and attorneys fees.

In other words, OBRA Trusts are being used by some to financially exploit the elderly disabled while profits are obtained for the guardians, attorneys, case managers, and for-profit nursing home owners. This is being done at the expense of the wards, and the taxpayers in the state of Illinois.

In June of this year, Governor Quinn signed Senate bill 2840, which became Public Act 97-0689.It is called the Save Medicaid Access and Resources Together (SMART) Act. Its impact is anything but friendly to Illinois seniors, especiallly those who are wards of the 18th floor of the Daley Center.

Unlike the January 1st rules changes, which were driven by federal laws, these new rules changes are almost entirely due to the well-known Illinois budget problems. The new law cuts $1.6 billion from the Medicaid budget, primarily by modifying eligibility requirements and benefits.

The biggest change made by SMART is the elimination of Pooled Payback trusts (also called OBRA d(4)(c) special needs trusts) in Medicaid planning for those over the age of 65, UNLESS THEY ARE WARDS OF THE STATE OR PUBLIC GUARDIAN!!!

Full Article and Source:
OBRA SPECIAL NEEDS POOLED TRUSTS and IL State Senate Bill 2840

MADDEN BILL TO RECTIFY ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ISSUES BETWEEN STATES SIGNED INTO LAW

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Fred Madden (D – Gloucester, Camden) that will establish uniform procedures to address interstate conflicts regarding adult guardianship issues has been signed into law.

“For too long confusion has reigned regarding this issue. Arguments and questions over which state had jurisdiction have simply delayed the more important issue of establishing guardianship and protective orders. This law will remedy all of that and is, frankly, long over due,” said Madden.

The bill, known as the “New Jersey Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act,” (S1755) will establish that a New Jersey court will have jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order for a person if: New Jersey is that person’s “home state”; on the date the petition is filed New Jersey is a state with a “significant connection”; or if the home state and all significant connection states have declined jurisdiction.


Full Article and Source:
MADDEN BILL TO RECTIFY ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ISSUES BETWEEN STATES SIGNED INTO LAW

GAO Calls for Asset Transfer Rules for VA Pension Applicants, Legislation Planned

About 200 organizations are marketing financial and estate planning services to help pension claimants with excess assets qualify for the VA’s Aid and Attendance and other pension benefits, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes after a year-long investigation.

Citing abuses among these firms, the agency recommends that Congress consider establishing a look-back and penalty period for pension claimants who transfer assets for less than fair market value prior to applying for pension benefits, similar to Medicaid. The GAO says the VA agrees that look-back and penalty periods for asset transfers are needed, and the New York Times reports that a bipartisan group of senators plans to introduce legislation giving the VA look-back authority. The Times also notes that a senior official at the VA says the department is drafting new regulations that would clarify the types of asset transfers that might disqualify a pension applicant.

The GAO unveiled its findings in testimony at a June 6, 2012, Senate hearing, where lawmakers also heard from a VA official, veterans advocates and a woman whose father was victimized by one of the unscrupulous “pension poachers,” as Senate aging committee chair Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) dubbed them.

“While these organizations may be legally entitled to operate,” said witness Lori Perkio of the American Legion, “it is unclear as to whether or not they are truly serving the best interests of the veterans and their families.” In Florida, for example, Perkio claimed that “American Legion service officers have run across a growing number of lawyers specializing in elder law who contact veterans directly through assisted living facilities (ALFs) with promises of how to divert income and assets to qualify for VA pension. Many of these attorneys do not provide follow up assistance with the ultimate pension claims process.”


Full Article and Source:
GAO Calls for Asset Transfer Rules for VA Pension Applicants, Legislation Planned

Guardianship Case Highlights Plight of Elderly

WW2 veteran Guadalupe Olvera’s right to move in with his daughter in Aptos was disputed by Nevada authorities for three years

Last month Guadalupe Olvera, 93, rode in the Aptos Fourth of July parade. A survivor of the Battle of the Bulge, Olvera cruised through town in a vintage World War II jeep with his fellow VFW members. They waved at the families lining the streets, who saluted from the sidewalk and shouted, “Thank you for your service!”

It was a lovely day, but it’s been a long road for Olvera and his family to the Aptos parade. For most of the last three years Olvera and his daughter, Rebecca Schultz of Aptos, have been entangled in a messy and expensive guardianship dispute with his court-appointed guardian, Jared Shafer, a professional guardian and fiduciary who operates a business in Las Vegas.

Guardianship, also referred to as conservatorship, is a legal process where a judge appoints a third party individual to care for a “ward,” usually an elderly or disabled person. The guardian takes direct control over the ward’s life, both personally and financially. The guardian is often responsible for big decisions such as where the ward will live, who is allowed to visit with the ward and even whether to continue with life-support systems.

But the three-year dispute with Shafer wasn’t over the finer details of Olvera’s care. It was over who was entitled to serve as guardian of him and his nearly $1 million estate: Shafer or Schultz, Olvera’s only living child.

Schultz, an artist given to impassioned exclamation over injustices, sees more than a troublesome series of lawsuits for herself over the course of the ordeal. She sees at best a system weighted against families and at worst a conspiracy to steal from the elderly, sanctioned by Nevada courts and overlooked by the federal government.

She claims that Shafer has stolen outright from her father, saying that a year’s worth of Olvera’s carpenter pensions and social security payments are missing and have “never been accounted for.”

She says Shafer fabricated bills and withdrew excessive funds from Olvera’s Wells Fargo checking account, depleting it by almost $300,000 since November 2009.

“I went into this not knowing anything about guardianship. Not knowing anything about lawyers. I’m just an artist. I’m just a normal person. I didn’t know how bad Nevada was. I didn’t know how corrupt it was,” says Schultz.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianship Case Highlights Plight of Elderly

See Also:
Former Public Guardian

Lupe Olvera - Nevada/California Victim

Marcy E. Dudeck - Nevada/California Victim

New Judicial Accountability Law Takes Effect in Tennessee

A recently passed law to abolish Tennessee’s judicial discipline commission and replace it with a new ethics body, and to reform the way that judges are held accountable, has taken effect.

The law creates a new Board of Judicial Conduct, replacing the Court of the Judiciary. The plan also seeks to increase legislative oversight of the judicial branch.

“The new law aims to provide transparency and fairness to both complainants and judges,” said state Sen. Mike Faulk, a Republican, according to a Chattanoogan article. “It also gives the Board a mechanism to use the new Rules of Judicial Conduct, which are nationally recognized as a model for other states, adopted by the Tennessee Supreme Court.”


Full Article and Source:
New Judicial Accountability Law Takes Effect in Tennessee

Elderly Brooks man, victim of financial exploitation, tells his story

BROOKS, Maine — All his life, Arthur Green worked with his hands.

The 74-year-old retired construction worker and carpenter used those hands for 50 years as a laborer in Massachusetts. He also used them to build himself a home and an adjoining camp on Sanborn Pond in the small town of Brooks, where he expected to peacefully enjoy his twilight years among the loons and the tall white pine trees.

But when he used them in March 2011 to take hold of a notice of eviction that was served on him by the granddaughter he had helped raise, that sense of peace disappeared.

He learned that he had inadvertently signed away all his rights to the property, and that 20-year-old Nevin Bennoch of Brockton, Mass., was trying to sell some of his real estate while he was living there.

“It’s a heck of a thing to go through,” Green said this week.

What happened to Green is a tangled knot of financial exploitation, unclear understanding of estate planning and family betrayal that took months to unravel with the help of Legal Services for the Elderly, according to the attorneys who helped him recover his property.

Jaye Martin, director of the Augusta-based nonprofit agency, described Green’s situation as a “very classic scenario of a family member stealing the house and land and then trying to evict the elder from his own home.”

What separates Green from others is his willingness to talk about what happened to him, Martin and attorney Denis Culley said.

On Tuesday, Green sat at the kitchen table of the former hunting camp he had transformed into a comfortable lakeside home, his black cat Marie playing at his feet. He suffers from severe health problems and settled himself slowly and painfully into a chair. He said that he wanted to share his story so that nobody else will have to go through what he did, and Culley sat next to him as he disclosed the details of what had happened.

“Don’t sit there and think everything’s rosy, ‘cause it ain’t,” he said. “The worst ones to trust is your family.”

Full Article and Source:
Elderly Brooks man, victim of financial exploitation, tells his story

It’s bad judgment

Justice really is blind — at least when it comes to disciplining judges.

Case in point: Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alice Schlesinger, who presided over a slip-and-fall case against her own co-op board — a clear conflict of interest, yet it didn’t result in even a wrist slap from the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Schlesinger also sparked outrage when she overturned the firing of a teacher caught having sex in a city classroom and when she granted a child molester a shot at parole — but the CJC doesn’t have the legal authority to review counterintuitive decisions or even reversals.

“The commission needs to be overhauled,” said lawyer Raoul Felder, a former CJC chairman. “It’s not an impressive body.”

Numbers show the toothless watchdog does less each year.

It launched 172 investigations in 2011, the lowest number in a decade and decrease from 225 in 2010. A vast majority of the 1,818 complaints it received were dismissed without follow-up. Only 12 judges were disciplined.

The only city judge among them, Shari Michels of Manhattan Civil Court, was “admonished” for handing out campaign cards that wrongly implied she was endorsed by a newspaper.

The CJC’s complaints and hearings are secret under law.

“The commission itself has been calling for more transparency,” said CJC administrator Robert Tembeckjian. “It just hasn’t gotten any traction in the Legislature.”

The 11-member panel is made up of current and former judges, lawyers and law professors — all political appointees. The administrator runs a staff of 50 and a $5.3 million budget.

State law and the rules governing judicial conduct severely limit what it can prosecute.

Wacky rulings and high reversal rates are off-limits. But the panel can follow up on formal complaints or investigate bad behavior documented by the press.


Full Article and Source:
It’s bad judgment

Fla. Assisted Living Facility Owner Sent to Prison for $1.1 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A Miami-area assisted living facility owner has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for her role in a more than $1.1 million Medicare fraud scheme, says the Department of Justice. Billy Denica was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard in Miami, Fla.; in addition to her prison term, she was sentenced to two years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay $538,875 in restitution.

The kickback scheme involved funneling patients to a fraudulent mental health provider, American Therapeutic Corporation, in exchange for illegal healthcare kickbacks. Denica, the owner of Robyll Care Assisted Living Facility, admitted she knew ATC falsely billed Medicare for partial hospitalization programs (PHP)—a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness—based on her fraudulent referrals, court documents say.

Some of her Robyll residents would be offered gifts such as money, cigarettes, and candy in exchange for agreeing to be admitted to the hospital, so they could then be referred to ATC. Denica herself would also refer her residents to the fraudulent corporation in order to receive cash kickbacks for those who went.

The ALF owner’s participation in the fraud resulted in more than $1.1 million in fraudulent billing to the Medicare system, according to the plea agreement.


Full Article and Source:
Fla. Assisted Living Facility Owner Sent to Prison for $1.1 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Aging baby boomers face home health care challenge

CLEVELAND — For the past three years, Taura Tate's mornings have revolved around caring for a woman who suffers from the effects of a stroke and diabetes. She cooks her oatmeal for breakfast, helps with showers and makes sure she takes the right medicine.

Without the help of a home health aide, the woman, who's in her 70s, would be in a nursing home instead of living on her own.

But Tate has her own struggles. Until a recent promotion, her pay amounted to what she could make at McDonald's. She doesn't get health or retirement benefits and has worked at five agencies in the Cleveland area, some simultaneously, to guarantee she'll have enough clients.

"If they go into the hospital or go on vacation, you don't get paid," she said.

Demand for home health care workers is soaring as baby boomers — the 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — get older and states try to save money by moving people out of more costly nursing homes. But filling more than 1 million new home care positions over the next decade will be a challenge.

Full Article and Source:
Aging baby boomers face home health care challenge

San Jose: Judge rejects nearly $30,000 attorney fee to disabled man's trust

SAN JOSE -- In his strongest language yet, a Santa Clara County judge threw out almost $30,000 in attorney's fees charged to the trust of a disabled San Jose man whose fight against excessive charges in the local probate court is spawning sweeping reforms.

While Judge Franklin Bondonno said he lacks the power to strike down another $145,000 in attorney's fees billed to the trust of Danny Reed, the judge -- in a highly unusual gesture -- implored a higher court to overturn his decision.

The ruling comes in the aftermath of this newspaper's investigation, "Loss of Trust," which highlighted Reed's costly fight to beat back high trustee and attorney's fees billed to the 37-year-old brain-damaged man's special needs trust. When Reed objected, his trustee's attorney charged even more to defend the original bills.

"At some point, this endless wasting of Danny Reed's trust assets must stop," Judge Franklin Bondonno stated in a ruling released Monday. "As far as this Court is concerned, that moment is long past."

Bondonno's latest action strikes down a third set of fees requested by attorney Michael Desmarais, who is representing prominent Silicon Valley trustee Thomas Thorpe in this closely watched case illustrating the high cost of estate managers who serve elderly and disabled adults -- and how the court did little for years to stop it. In less than a month, the newspaper's series has prompted more scrutiny in Santa Clara County's lead probate judge's courtroom and a 25-member task force to study more far-reaching changes.

Original charges

In 2010, Thorpe hired Desmarais to defend a six-figure bill for just 41/2 months' work as a court-appointed trustee to manage Reed's estate, which -- under state law -- is on the hook for "reasonable" legal bills racked up on all sides of the case. When Reed objected to Thorpe's and his attorneys' original $108,000 bill, the costs soared.

The bills submitted by Thorpe's team so far amount to more than half of the money Reed has left in his trust. Reed's legal team includes a public defender and two private attorneys working free of charge.


Full Article and Source:
San Jose: Judge rejects nearly $30,000 attorney fee to disabled man's trust

See Also:
Santa Clara judge reconsiders his early ruling on a trustee excessive fee case

The Mercury News' "Loss of Trust" Series (Anchor article)

Norine Boehmer: Court-appointed estate managers do their best to help people

The San Jose Mercury News' investigative articles and video "Loss of Trust" raised issues relative to fees of court-appointed personal and estate managers, or licensed professional fiduciaries. Readers should have additional facts to provide a thorough and balanced perspective regarding their compensation.

Courts determine the amount of compensation based on the California Rules of Court established by the Judicial Council -- specifically, Rule 7.756, "Compensation of Conservators and Guardians." Those rules say the court may consider various factors in determining just and reasonable compensation, including the size and nature of the estate; the necessity of the services performed; amount of time spent; and whether services were routine or required more than ordinary skill or judgment, or unusual expertise or experience. The customary level of compensation in the community also can be considered.

"No single factor listed ... should be the exclusive basis for the court's determination of just and reasonable compensation," the rule says. It does not authorize a court "to set an inflexible maximum or minimum compensation or a maximum approved hourly rate for compensation."

In the case of the fees that were the subject of the article and video, this rule was utilized. The fiduciary submitted to the court a bill for services consistent with the business model of his company. The court applied the rule and reduced the fees significantly to the level it deemed appropriate. There has been no court determination that there was any wrongdoing or violation of the law.

Experience demonstrates that costs and effort are highest in the first several months of a conservatorship or special needs trust, depending on the difficulty of a situation -- hoarding issues, financial abuse or mismanagement, mental issues, family dysfunction, etc. The worse the situation, the more the skill and effort needed to create a safe and stable environment in which a conservatorship/special needs trust can be maintained.

Full Article and Source:
Norine Boehmer: Court-appointed estate managers do their best to help people

Lawsuit targets CEO of Hammons Hotels

The owners of more than half the hotels managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels have slapped the Springfield company with a lawsuit accusing CEO Jacquie Dowdy of violating contracts and usurping control of the business.

The owners, operating under variations of the name Atrium TRS and Atrium Hotels, filed the lawsuit in Delaware on July 20, naming Hammons Hotels and Dowdy specifically as defendants.

A long-time aide to founder John Q. Hammons, Dowdy assumed control of Hammons Hotels in October 2010, when Hammons was placed in a long-term residential facility for health reasons.

Hammons’ seclusion — long-time friends have reported being barred from visiting — led to an investigation by the state and an ongoing court case to establish guardianship.

The lawsuit filed by Atrium makes reference to the ongoing case, noting Dowdy “purports to have a power of attorney for Mr. Hammons ...,” but primarily concerns her handling of Hammons’ business concerns.

Chief among the complaints: Dowdy appointed herself CEO against Atrium’s objections and in conflict with a management contract between the two companies.

Full Article and Source:
Lawsuit targets CEO of Hammons Hotels

See Also:
Eight Petition for Guardianship for John Q. Hammons

Tonight on "T.S.Radio"

Linda Kincaid and Chris Murphy continue their discussion on abuse by public guardians in Santa Clara County and San Joaquin County, and several other California counties, and the repeated violations of legal instruments, statutes, civil rights and regulations regarding treatment and care of the elderly ignored by public officials.

Every public official listed below has been sent a special invitation to join the broadcast. In the event the invitation is received too late, or, the official is unable to participate Sunday evening, we have offered each and all of them equal time at their convenience.

Examples:

* CA State Assembly Member Jim Beall likes to brag about his concern for elders, and represents Gisela Riordan's (victim) district. Emails go to his assistant, Sunshine Borelli. (No assistance offered)

* State Senator Joe Simitian also brags about protecting elders, and he represents Gisela's dstrict. Emails for Emails for Simitian go to Tyler Haskell. (No assistance offered)

These public officials have been repeatedly contacted concerning elder abuse and not one has acted to protect the elderly from predatory guardianship:
* Supervisor George Shirakawa: supervisor.shirakawa@bos.sccgov.org
* Supervisor Mike Wasserman: mike.wasserman@bos.sccgov.org
* Supervisor Dave Cortese: dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org
* Supervisor Ken Yeager: Supervisor.Yeager@bos.sccgov.org
* Supervisor Liz Kniss: liz.kniss@bos.sccgov.org


Source:
TS Radio: Officials Fail to Protect the Elderly From Abuse

Bank manager charged with stealing elderly man's money

A St. Charles bank branch manager faces charges and is accused of withdrawing money from an elderly man’s accounts over a two-year period, police said Wednesday.

Lynn A. Pranga, 56, of the 200 block of Fairhaven Drive in St. Charles, is charged with one count each of financial exploitation of the elderly, forgery and theft – all felonies. She was arrested Tuesday night and released on $3,000 bond.

She could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

St. Charles police were led to Pranga, who worked as a manager at an MB Financial Bank branch at 2607 Lincoln Highway, during a six-month investigation that ultimately revealed she stole about $20,000 from an elderly man she knew, according to police.


Full Article and Source:
Bank manager charged with stealing elderly man's money

Chicago woman allegedly swindles elderly widow, leaves her at Westchester nursing home

La Grange, IL —

A woman who was caring for an elderly suburban Chicago woman was charged with swindling her out of her condominium and leaving the disabled widow at a Westchester nursing home with nothing, according to media reports.

Asura Rollins was charged Friday with one felony count of financial exploitation of the elderly. She allegedly obtained power of attorney over the 93-year-old woman and persuaded her to sell her River Forest home before leaving her at the nursing hime with no belongings.


Full Article and Source:
Chicago woman allegedly swindles elderly widow, leaves her at Westchester nursing home