Citing a stack of reports criticizing state officials for not properly overseeing facilities that care for people with developmental disabilities, advocates called on Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday to appoint an independent figure to improve safety at state-run care facilities.
In a letter delivered to the governor's office, advocates said the Department of Developmental Services repeatedly has failed to improve operating procedures at the state's four developmental centers.
A new, independent safety official is needed to ensure the 1,500 residents are protected from abuse, states the letter from the California Supported Living Network, the California Disability Services Association and other organizations.
The request came after a state audit released last week described how reports of abuse at developmental centers have not been properly investigated. Auditors say investigators often failed to interview alleged victims or photograph crime scenes.
Auditors cited frequent turnover within the department's investigative arm as one reason issues raised in earlier reports have not been addressed. They recommended improving investigator training and reassessing staffing requirements at the centers.
The advocates and former residents of developmental centers who gathered at the state Capitol said they would prefer to see the facilities shut down, allowing residents to receive alternative forms of assistance. More than 99 percent of the 250,000 people who receive services through the department reside in communities, not the state-run centers.
"Ultimately the only solution to their safety is to close these institutions, but that can't happen overnight," said Greg deGiere, public policy director for The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration. "The people who are living there now deserve much better than California has given them."
Full article and Source:
More Oversight Sought at Developmental Centers
See Also:
NASGA's website: No One is Safe
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
CA Elder Affairs Committee Holds Hearing Regarding Anti-Psychotic Drugs In Nursing Homes
The state Legislature’s Elder Affair’s Committee holds a hearing Tuesday to discuss the use of anti-psychotic drugs in nursing homes. It is at 10:30 a.m. in Room B-2 at the State House.
“An Act Relative to Psychotropic Medications,” (S. 303) would require long term care facilities in Massachusetts to obtain written consent before administering a psychotropic medication to a resident. Caregivers with the health workers union, 1199SEIU, will testify.
Caregivers will share their experiences with residents with dementia and advocate for alternative treatments to anti-psychotic drugs. The alternatives include person-centered care, consistent assignments and adequate staffing levels. The health care union leadership will explain how it believes the legislation would reduce the rates of anti-psychotic drug administration in elder care facilities.
Full Article and Source:
CA Elder Affairs Committee Holds Hearing Regarding Anti-Psychotic Drugs In Nursing Homes
“An Act Relative to Psychotropic Medications,” (S. 303) would require long term care facilities in Massachusetts to obtain written consent before administering a psychotropic medication to a resident. Caregivers with the health workers union, 1199SEIU, will testify.
Caregivers will share their experiences with residents with dementia and advocate for alternative treatments to anti-psychotic drugs. The alternatives include person-centered care, consistent assignments and adequate staffing levels. The health care union leadership will explain how it believes the legislation would reduce the rates of anti-psychotic drug administration in elder care facilities.
Full Article and Source:
CA Elder Affairs Committee Holds Hearing Regarding Anti-Psychotic Drugs In Nursing Homes
Ex-banker allegedly swindled $2m from clients
WOBURN — A former personal banker on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to charges that she swindled more than $2 million from her relatives and elderly customers at the Bank of America branch in Reading.
Elaina Patterson, 53, was charged with 16 counts of larceny over $250 and 15 counts of larceny from a person over 60. She was released without bail, but prohibited from working in financial services.
Patterson, of Wilmington, used her position as a longtime, trusted employee and a favorite of elderly bank customers to carry out a Ponzi-like scheme for nearly 12 years, according to court documents.
Patterson, who left the bank in 2011, bought Cadillac Escalades, took vacations in Aruba and Las Vegas, stayed at glitzy hotels, and paid her children’s college and private school tuitions with money she allegedly stole from her cousins, aunts, and uncles — as well as elderly customers — according to the complaint.
Full Article and Source:
Ex-banker allegedly swindled $2m from clients
Elaina Patterson, 53, was charged with 16 counts of larceny over $250 and 15 counts of larceny from a person over 60. She was released without bail, but prohibited from working in financial services.
Patterson, of Wilmington, used her position as a longtime, trusted employee and a favorite of elderly bank customers to carry out a Ponzi-like scheme for nearly 12 years, according to court documents.
Patterson, who left the bank in 2011, bought Cadillac Escalades, took vacations in Aruba and Las Vegas, stayed at glitzy hotels, and paid her children’s college and private school tuitions with money she allegedly stole from her cousins, aunts, and uncles — as well as elderly customers — according to the complaint.
Patterson’s lawyer, Michael Smerczynski, said his client is cooperating with the authorities, noting that she had turned over files to investigators.
Full Article and Source:
Ex-banker allegedly swindled $2m from clients
Couple given probation for bilking elderly woman
VALPARAISO | Porter County Superior Court Judge Mary Harper accepted a plea agreement Wednesday for a Michigan City couple who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 from an elderly, blind Chesterton woman they were caring for.
The plea agreement imposes an eight-year prison sentence for both Bary and Robbin Bostic with the couple getting credit for the 252 days already served and the rest to be served on probation. They also must reimburse the victim and must take part in a program of intensive monitoring and classes.
Robbin, 40, and Bary, 48, pleaded guilty in June to stealing gold, silver and platinum coins and bars, jewelry and cash between January and April 2012. They reportedly have returned about three-fourths of the stolen assets.
Police said they were alerted to the theft March 16 after responding to a burglary complaint at the woman's downtown area home. She was living in a Michigan City hotel because of a mold problem, which police later found to be minimal enough not to warrant moving out.
Police learned the Bostics rented a storage unit in their name with a check from the woman, and they took gold, silver and platinum coins and bars valued at more than $220,000 to sell to a jeweler. Robbin Bostic had a wedding ring set belonging to the victim but claimed it was a gift from the woman.
Full Article and Source:
Couple given probation for bilking elderly woman
The plea agreement imposes an eight-year prison sentence for both Bary and Robbin Bostic with the couple getting credit for the 252 days already served and the rest to be served on probation. They also must reimburse the victim and must take part in a program of intensive monitoring and classes.
Robbin, 40, and Bary, 48, pleaded guilty in June to stealing gold, silver and platinum coins and bars, jewelry and cash between January and April 2012. They reportedly have returned about three-fourths of the stolen assets.
Police said they were alerted to the theft March 16 after responding to a burglary complaint at the woman's downtown area home. She was living in a Michigan City hotel because of a mold problem, which police later found to be minimal enough not to warrant moving out.
Police learned the Bostics rented a storage unit in their name with a check from the woman, and they took gold, silver and platinum coins and bars valued at more than $220,000 to sell to a jeweler. Robbin Bostic had a wedding ring set belonging to the victim but claimed it was a gift from the woman.
Full Article and Source:
Couple given probation for bilking elderly woman
Thursday, July 18, 2013
TN: Family Says Conservatorship Bilked $300K From Mother's Estate; The Conservator: Attorney John E. Clemmons
John E. Clemmons' law license was suspended a few months ago after he was accused of writing himself more than $50,000 in unauthorized fees from the bank account of a disabled client.
Now, another family says they're out more than $300,000.
Malone's children not only lost their mother, but they also lost everything that she had collected - all the precious memories. Clemmons sold everything at auction.
"They sold her clothes, family photos in that auction," Lyle said. "It was one of the saddest days I've ever been through."
"And now, seeing the money that has been taken from her, it's like living her death all over again," Boone said.
Source:
Family Says Conservatorship Bilked $300K From Mother's Estate
See Also:
Nashville Attorney John E. Clemmons Charged With Theft in Conservatorship Case
Now, another family says they're out more than $300,000.
Malone's children not only lost their mother, but they also lost everything that she had collected - all the precious memories. Clemmons sold everything at auction.
"They sold her clothes, family photos in that auction," Lyle said. "It was one of the saddest days I've ever been through."
"And now, seeing the money that has been taken from her, it's like living her death all over again," Boone said.
Source:
Family Says Conservatorship Bilked $300K From Mother's Estate
See Also:
Nashville Attorney John E. Clemmons Charged With Theft in Conservatorship Case
Five Legal Documents Same-Sex Couples Need in Texas
A recent story of a North Texas man that took social media by storm has unique legal issues for same-sex couples across Texas.
Lon Watts says he was forced to move from his home of 12 years, and was banned from caring for his partner who suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease, after a legal battle with his partner’s family.
While the state still does not recognize same-sex domestic partnerships or marriage, one Austin attorney advises same-sex couples of five legal documents they need to protect themselves in Texas courts.
When Watts' partner of 34 years, Jim, was hospitalized with Alzheimer’s disease, Watts found himself in a jam. His partner's family petitioned a court for guardianship status over his property, even though Watts had signed a power of attorney document and lived with Jim for 12 years.
Claire East, an estate attorney from Hopper Mikeska in Austin, says that same-sex couples in Texas can protect themselves with five basic legal documents.
- Medical and Financial Powers of Attorney: These two documents, East said, allow a partner to make medical and financial decisions for their incapacitated partner. “Those are really important documents. They’re as important as wills,” East said. “The idea with having powers of attorney is you can avoid guardianship.”
- The Declaration of Guardian in the Event of Later Incapability: East said this is a one page document that determines explicit guardians in the event of incapacity. A guardian makes personal decisions like residency and medical treatment, as well as financial decisions and asset management.
- Disposition of Remains: This document allows a person to appoint someone specific to make decisions about his or her remains after death. In the event of death, only a spouse, an adult child, parent or an adult sibling can make funeral arrangements and decisions about a person's remains. East said the state does not recognize same-sex partnerships in these cases.
- Will: East says that without a will (and depending on who owns the home), the partner’s home and assets will be left to immediate family members, instead of a partner, which could mean a contentious situation in which a partner could be forced to move out of a shared home.
Full Article and Source:
Five Legal Documents Same-Sex Couples Need in Texas
See Also:
Lon Watts, Texas Gay Man, Says Partner Jim Heath's Sister Forced Them Apart, Evicted Him
8th Circuit Court of appeals threatens Minneapolis lawyer with sanctions
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals took the unusual step on Monday of threatening to impose its own sanctions on a Minneapolis foreclosure attorney for continuing to file appeals, using legal arguments that have been repeatedly rejected by the district court in Minnesota as well as the federal appeals court.
Attorney William B. Butler already faces possible discipline from the federal district court in Minnesota and the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, both of which are currently conducting investigations of him. Butler's problems were described in the Star Tribune last Thursday.
It is the third time in five days that the appeals panel has upheld the dismissal of a Butler lawsuit. On Thursday and Friday it issued separate opinions, upholding dismissals of his suits by Minnesota District Court judges.
On Monday, a three-judge appeals court panel issued its latest ruling, upholding a decision by U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, who dismissed a case filed by attorney Butler last August. The appeals panel called Butler's continued rehashing of arguments "troubling," citing three similar Minnesota cases in which his arguments were rejected.
"HIs deliberate attemp to ignore these cases suggests that he has the intention of deceiving or misleading the court into ruling in his favor," the panel said in Monday's decision. "At the very least, it suggests he lacks a nonfrivolous basis for appeal. Such conduct may provide a basis for this court to impose its own sanctions in the future."
The appeals court quoted liberally from Schiltz's harsh criticism of Butler for using the "show me the note argument" that the foreclosing entity no longer possesses the original foreclosure borrowing note, making the foreclosure invalid. In his August ruling, Schiltz imposed sanctions totalling $79,766. Butler has said he will not pay the sanctions by local federal judges, insisting his position is correct, the courts are wrong and he will eventually prevail. The sanctions now total $323,307, according to Star Tribune calculations.
Full Article and Source:
8th Circuit Court of appeals threatens Minneapolis lawyer with sanctions
New Virginia Law Aims To Help Elderly Victims
Every year there are more than 1,000 cases of financial exploitation of adults in the State of Virginia. The sad reality is elderly individuals are at a great risk of being taken advantage of by caregivers, including both professionals and relatives. Thankfully, legislators in Virginia recently passed a new law that is designed to help reduce that number.
The new law, which was implemented as of July 1, 2013, creates a criminal penalty for those who aim to take financial advantage of seniors. The law specifically states that it is a crime to financially exploit any mentally incapacitated adults.
One tragic case highlights the dangers of financial exploitation and involved a woman, Jeannie Beidler, who says her uncle financially exploited her grandparents, both of whom were suffering from dementia. Beidler says her uncle was their live-in caretaker and not only financially abused them, but also subjected them to physical abuse and neglect. The uncle would let the elderly couple sit around in their own waste for days while he forced Beidler’s grandmother to write him blank checks.
Once the scheme was finally uncovered the uncle was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect, but there was no crime for the financial exploitation he had engaged in. Now that the new law has been passed future cases will allow prosecutors to go after those people who preyed on vulnerable seniors in their time of need.
Sadly, stories of seniors being scammed out of the money it took them a lifetime of hard work to earn are increasingly common. According to a study by MetLife, incidents of elder financial fraud increased by 12% from 2008 to 2010, amounting to a whopping $2.9 billion in stolen money.
There are a lot of reasons why seniors are such attractive targets for financial crime. Experts say that those over the age of 50 control over 70% of the country’s wealth, yet many may not realize the true value of the property they possess. As elders become more physically frail, they may not see or hear as well or think as clearly as they used to, leaving openings for unscrupulous people to take advantage of them. As a group, the elderly are also likely to suffer from disabilities that make them dependent on others for help. These “helpers” may have nearly limitless access to the assets of their victims, and often exert powerful influence over the senior.
Though financial exploitation is bad enough, the fact is financial crime often goes hand in hand with other kinds of senior abuse. In many cases, caregivers who try and steal money from an elderly person have also been found to have either physically abused or neglected them.
Full Article and Source:
New Virginia Law Aims To Help Elderly Victims
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Ruling That Could Change Everything for Disabled People With Million-Dollar Trusts
When Judge Kristen Booth Glen walked into her Manhattan Surrogate's courtroom one day in 2007, she had no idea she was about to challenge the nation's top banks on behalf of tens of thousands of disabled people.
Before her stood lawyer Harvey J. Platt, who was petitioning to become the legal guardian of Mark Christopher Holman, a severely autistic teen who lived in an institution upstate.
Holman had been left an orphan nearly three years earlier after the eccentric millionaire who adopted him passed away. According to doctors, he had the communication skills of a toddler, unable to bathe, dress, or eat by himself.
But before Judge Glen would grant this seemingly perfunctory petition, she had a few questions for Platt.
"How often have you visited Mark Holman?" she asked the lawyer.
"Since his mother died, I have not visited him," said Platt.
"And when you say you haven't visited him since then, how often had you visited him prior to that?"
"I haven't seen him since he was eight or nine," responded the lawyer. "His mother used to bring him to our office with his brother, just to show him my face and so forth and so on, so I haven't seen him probably since 1995 or 1996."
It was around that time that Platt helped Mark's mother, Marie Holman, draft her will and create trusts for him and his older brother. A decade later, when she was dying, Platt promised Marie he'd apply to become Mark's guardian.
"And have you visited the institution which he currently resides in?" Glen asked.
"No, I intend to, but I have not as yet," Platt said, sounding weary. "I don't think even a visit has much significance anyway. He's totally nonverbal—he's never spoken a word. He's potentially aggressive."
This didn't sit well with Judge Glen. When it came to signing away the rights of disabled people to guardians, she was perhaps the most cautious judge in New York. But what came next would floor her.
Platt informed her that Mark's trust had reached nearly $3 million. But while his trustees—Platt and JP Morgan Chase—had collected thousands of dollars in commissions, they hadn't spent a penny on Mark. Medicaid covered his basic care at the institution upstate, but neither the lawyer nor the bank had considered how his mammoth trust might further aid his quality of life.
"Whether there is a cure for his autism or not, the question is: Are there things that could make his life more pleasurable or fulfilling?" Glen asked. "If somebody took him out to the movies once a week, or somebody took him out to lunch, or what he really likes to do is watch football—I don't know. There's always something that could make people happier, and I don't think you could know that without really visiting him and knowing what's going on."
As she spoke, Glen could not have predicted that the case would become a five-year obsession for her. Or that she was about to disrupt a lucrative trade in which some trustees sponge commissions off wealthy disabled people—while doing little to enhance their care.
"They're lazy pieces of shit," says Glen. "It's a business. They collect their commissions, and they think their only responsibility is to invest the money and keep the money safe with no regard for the beneficiary."
Full Article and Source:
The Ruling That Could Change Everything for Disabled People With Million-Dollar Trusts
See Also:
The Fleecing of Medicaid and the American Taxpayer
Before her stood lawyer Harvey J. Platt, who was petitioning to become the legal guardian of Mark Christopher Holman, a severely autistic teen who lived in an institution upstate.
Holman had been left an orphan nearly three years earlier after the eccentric millionaire who adopted him passed away. According to doctors, he had the communication skills of a toddler, unable to bathe, dress, or eat by himself.
But before Judge Glen would grant this seemingly perfunctory petition, she had a few questions for Platt.
"How often have you visited Mark Holman?" she asked the lawyer.
"Since his mother died, I have not visited him," said Platt.
"And when you say you haven't visited him since then, how often had you visited him prior to that?"
"I haven't seen him since he was eight or nine," responded the lawyer. "His mother used to bring him to our office with his brother, just to show him my face and so forth and so on, so I haven't seen him probably since 1995 or 1996."
It was around that time that Platt helped Mark's mother, Marie Holman, draft her will and create trusts for him and his older brother. A decade later, when she was dying, Platt promised Marie he'd apply to become Mark's guardian.
"And have you visited the institution which he currently resides in?" Glen asked.
"No, I intend to, but I have not as yet," Platt said, sounding weary. "I don't think even a visit has much significance anyway. He's totally nonverbal—he's never spoken a word. He's potentially aggressive."
This didn't sit well with Judge Glen. When it came to signing away the rights of disabled people to guardians, she was perhaps the most cautious judge in New York. But what came next would floor her.
Platt informed her that Mark's trust had reached nearly $3 million. But while his trustees—Platt and JP Morgan Chase—had collected thousands of dollars in commissions, they hadn't spent a penny on Mark. Medicaid covered his basic care at the institution upstate, but neither the lawyer nor the bank had considered how his mammoth trust might further aid his quality of life.
"Whether there is a cure for his autism or not, the question is: Are there things that could make his life more pleasurable or fulfilling?" Glen asked. "If somebody took him out to the movies once a week, or somebody took him out to lunch, or what he really likes to do is watch football—I don't know. There's always something that could make people happier, and I don't think you could know that without really visiting him and knowing what's going on."
As she spoke, Glen could not have predicted that the case would become a five-year obsession for her. Or that she was about to disrupt a lucrative trade in which some trustees sponge commissions off wealthy disabled people—while doing little to enhance their care.
"They're lazy pieces of shit," says Glen. "It's a business. They collect their commissions, and they think their only responsibility is to invest the money and keep the money safe with no regard for the beneficiary."
Full Article and Source:
The Ruling That Could Change Everything for Disabled People With Million-Dollar Trusts
See Also:
The Fleecing of Medicaid and the American Taxpayer
Britney Spears has conservatorship hearing
Britney Spears has reportedly arrived to court and is meeting with a judge for a review of her father's sole conservatorship of her estate. The singer has remained under a conservatorship order since 2008 following a very public meltdown. According to Radar Online, the 31-year-old was escorted into the judge's chambers by sheriff's deputies for a private meeting. The hearing is not expected to be open to the public. The outlet reports the judge is conducting a routine review. "No changes are expected to be made," according to Radar.
Full Article and Source:
Britney Spears has conservatorship hearing
See Also:
Britney Spears Has Had ENOUGH Of Her Conservatorship!
State bar judge recommends 2-year suspension for lawyer
OAKLAND, Calif. — A state Bar Court judge has recommended that an attorney who represented former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV be suspended from practicing law for two years for smuggling from jail an alleged hit list of witnesses in Bey's murder case.
Judge Pat McElroy said in her 16-page ruling that Lorna Brown's “misconduct significantly harmed the administration of justice” because “witnesses were understandably frightened and one requested and received witness protection protocols.”
But McElroy said she doesn't recommend that Brown, 67, should be permanently disbarred because she has no prior record of discipline in 22 years of practicing law and eventually admitted what she did and expressed remorse.
Brown's recognition of wrongdoing “assures the court that her misconduct is unlikely to reoccur,” McElroy said.
Brown's attorney, Vicky Young, asked for a six-month suspension for Brown at the end of a three-day hearing on the matter in April but State Bar prosecutor Robin Brune asked for her to be disbarred.
It will be up to the California Supreme Court to finalize McElroy's recommendation.
Full Article and Source:
State bar judge recommends 2-year suspension for lawyer
But McElroy said she doesn't recommend that Brown, 67, should be permanently disbarred because she has no prior record of discipline in 22 years of practicing law and eventually admitted what she did and expressed remorse.
Brown's recognition of wrongdoing “assures the court that her misconduct is unlikely to reoccur,” McElroy said.
Brown's attorney, Vicky Young, asked for a six-month suspension for Brown at the end of a three-day hearing on the matter in April but State Bar prosecutor Robin Brune asked for her to be disbarred.
It will be up to the California Supreme Court to finalize McElroy's recommendation.
Full Article and Source:
State bar judge recommends 2-year suspension for lawyer
All Types of Elder Abuse Hike Hospitalization Risk
Maltreatment of older adults -- including financial exploitation and psychological abuse -- independently raised their likelihood of ending up in the hospital, a population-based study showed.
Physical abuse doubled the rate of hospitalizations, adjusted for sociodemographics and socioeconomics, medical comorbidities, cognitive and physical function, and psychosocial well-being, found XinQi Dong, MD, MPH, of Rush University Medical Center and Melissa A. Simon, MD, MPH, of Northwestern University Medical Center, both in Chicago.
Being abused in more than one way had a dose-dependent impact, with a relative risk of 2.59 with two or more types, the researchers reported online in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study couldn't determine causality but does have implications for care, they noted.
"Healthcare professionals should consider screening for elder abuse among older patients who may have frequent encounters with hospitals, as well as those who present to hospital settings for dehydration, malnutrition, delirium, and skin ulcers," Dong and Simon wrote.
Full Article and Source:
All Types of Elder Abuse Hike Hospitalization Risk
Physical abuse doubled the rate of hospitalizations, adjusted for sociodemographics and socioeconomics, medical comorbidities, cognitive and physical function, and psychosocial well-being, found XinQi Dong, MD, MPH, of Rush University Medical Center and Melissa A. Simon, MD, MPH, of Northwestern University Medical Center, both in Chicago.
Being abused in more than one way had a dose-dependent impact, with a relative risk of 2.59 with two or more types, the researchers reported online in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study couldn't determine causality but does have implications for care, they noted.
"Healthcare professionals should consider screening for elder abuse among older patients who may have frequent encounters with hospitals, as well as those who present to hospital settings for dehydration, malnutrition, delirium, and skin ulcers," Dong and Simon wrote.
Full Article and Source:
All Types of Elder Abuse Hike Hospitalization Risk
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
D.C. lawyer gets harsher penalty for lying in discipline hearings
A lawyer who convinced a District of Columbia bar discipline hearing committee that she was truthful about events from several years earlier had less credibility in a subsequent hearing by the Board on Professional Responsibility and ultimately, on Thursday, when the D.C. Court of Appeals upheld the Board.
Stephanie Y. Bradley’s “intentional falsehood” turned out to be an aggravating factor for the board’s decision, upheld by the appeals court (PDF), to suspend her from the practice of law for two years.
The initial hearing committee, though believing Bradley’s explanation on some key points, had found her ethical lapses sufficient to recommend 90 days. She had previously received three formal admonitions.
The suspension concerned Bradley’s failures as a court-appointed guardian for two persons. From 1999 until 2004, she represented the interests of a man with developmental disabilities who was hospitalized with head trauma, until she could have him moved to a nursing home; and from 1999 until 2004, she represented the interests of an elderly and infirm woman.
Though claiming she regularly visited the man at the nursing home, Bradley was shown to have largely ignored him for nine years, having filed only three of the required semi-annual reports with the superior court and ignoring calls and letters from the man’s family in Texas, who wanted to move him closer to them. In 2004, the family got another lawyer to initiate the move and filed a bar complaint against Bradley.
While guardian for the woman, Bradley failed to prevent a purported family friend and caretaker from embezzling between $200,000 and $250,000 from her bank account and failed to file for a payout from a life insurance policy and for a civil-service lump sum benefit due the woman.
In 2003, another lawyer represented the woman in removing Bradley from her care, then sued Bradley and recovered more than $400,000.
Full Article and Source:
D.C. lawyer gets harsher penalty for lying in discipline hearings
Stephanie Y. Bradley’s “intentional falsehood” turned out to be an aggravating factor for the board’s decision, upheld by the appeals court (PDF), to suspend her from the practice of law for two years.
The initial hearing committee, though believing Bradley’s explanation on some key points, had found her ethical lapses sufficient to recommend 90 days. She had previously received three formal admonitions.
The suspension concerned Bradley’s failures as a court-appointed guardian for two persons. From 1999 until 2004, she represented the interests of a man with developmental disabilities who was hospitalized with head trauma, until she could have him moved to a nursing home; and from 1999 until 2004, she represented the interests of an elderly and infirm woman.
Though claiming she regularly visited the man at the nursing home, Bradley was shown to have largely ignored him for nine years, having filed only three of the required semi-annual reports with the superior court and ignoring calls and letters from the man’s family in Texas, who wanted to move him closer to them. In 2004, the family got another lawyer to initiate the move and filed a bar complaint against Bradley.
While guardian for the woman, Bradley failed to prevent a purported family friend and caretaker from embezzling between $200,000 and $250,000 from her bank account and failed to file for a payout from a life insurance policy and for a civil-service lump sum benefit due the woman.
In 2003, another lawyer represented the woman in removing Bradley from her care, then sued Bradley and recovered more than $400,000.
Full Article and Source:
D.C. lawyer gets harsher penalty for lying in discipline hearings
Former CFO, lawyer plead in St. Louis pre-arranged funeral fraud case
ST. LOUIS • Two more defendants involved in what prosecutors have called a “Ponzi-like” pre-arranged funeral scam that could cost $600 million pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges.
The former chief financial officer of National Prearranged Services, Randall K. Sutton, 67, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and insurance fraud.
A few hours later, the company’s former lawyer, Howard A. Wittner, 76, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements intended to deceive insurance regulators, and to willfully permitting a felon to engage in the insurance business.
Wittner admitted lying to state regulators and concealing the source of money used to buy a medical malpractice insurer. The third count refers to former owner, James “Doug” Cassity, a convicted felon.
Under the plea deal with prosecutors, Sutton faces up to seven years in prison, and Wittner faces up to five years when sentenced Nov. 7.
The pleas leave one remaining defendant, former investment adviser David R.
Full Article and Source:
Former CFO, lawyer plead in St. Louis pre-arranged funeral fraud case
The former chief financial officer of National Prearranged Services, Randall K. Sutton, 67, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and insurance fraud.
A few hours later, the company’s former lawyer, Howard A. Wittner, 76, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements intended to deceive insurance regulators, and to willfully permitting a felon to engage in the insurance business.
Wittner admitted lying to state regulators and concealing the source of money used to buy a medical malpractice insurer. The third count refers to former owner, James “Doug” Cassity, a convicted felon.
Under the plea deal with prosecutors, Sutton faces up to seven years in prison, and Wittner faces up to five years when sentenced Nov. 7.
The pleas leave one remaining defendant, former investment adviser David R.
Full Article and Source:
Former CFO, lawyer plead in St. Louis pre-arranged funeral fraud case
Elder Care Homes Ensnared By Foreclosure Crisis In California
This article was made possible with support from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Miller, who is now 77, suffers from several health problems. He has sleep apnea and congestive heart failure, which causes him to get winded easily and pause every 10 or so steps to catch his breath. A large man with a thick swatch of white hair and a booming tenor voice, he calls his cane a "kind of a security blanket" because he's had two knee operations, and one of his legs sometimes gives out.
Miller’s fall and subsequent move led him to two different elder care facilities -- both of which, he discovered later, were in foreclosure. He now lives in a third facility called Morning Glory Care Home, a four-bedroom elder care house on a cul-de-sac in Vallejo, a city of roughly 117,000 that's 35 minutes northeast of San Francisco. But only a few months after moving in, he noticed some unusual visitors passing through the home. "Two women came through with clipboards and were kind of looking around,” he said. "When you're 76 years old and it's your third place, you get a little bit scared."
His fears turned out to be justified. He asked the home’s administrator about the women and was told they were relatives. But Miller didn’t believe him. As more strangers floated in and out, he felt an uneasy sense of foreboding. "So I Googled the property,” he said, "and was blown away to find that it had been in foreclosure since December 2010."
Most disturbing to Miller was the lack of warning that his home was foreclosed. Despite a law put into force in January 2012 that expressly requires the people operating the homes to inform residents about the change, those in charge did not tell him that Morning Glory was in foreclosure. Nor had he been given any warning about his previous two residences. "The first home was bank-owned and being put up for auction,” he said. "The second one -- there was a notice on the door -- and [the owner] yanked it off so we couldn't see it."
Miller’s experience of moving to three different facilities in just over a year's time -- and the possibility that he’ll have to move to a fourth -- may be extreme. But the elderly having to shuffle from home to home is certainly not a rarity in boom-and-bust California, where about 170,000 individualsuals live in residential care facilities that in some areas face alarming foreclosure rates. A state law requiring owners and administrators of these homes to inform authorities and residents if they miss a mortgage payment seems little more than words on paper. In many cases, the authorities are as much in the dark about a home’s financial troubles as the residents and their families.
The state Department of Social Services only has the personnel to check up on 30 percent of these homes each year, according to the California Health and Human Services Agency. Those serving as long-term care ombudsmen, who visit the homes regularly, are many times similarly uninformed about a home's status change.
"We often don't know that a place is closed until we knock on the door," said John Lord, a long-term care ombudsman in Vallejo.
When it comes to health and quality of life, experts are inclined to agree that moving often and abruptly is a bad idea for the elderly, especially for those who are frail or suffering from conditions such as dementia. "The trauma for them becomes being in a new setting where nothing is familiar, and they don't know how to adjust," said Ruth Gay, director of public policy and advocacy for the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California and Nevada. "It manifests in things like agitation, aggression, fear, withdrawal, and people start to decline ... They are at risk for falling, not eating well, and all of those things can be a vicious cycle downward."
Full Article and Source:
Elder Care Homes Ensnared By Foreclosure Crisis In California
Richard Miller, 77 |
Richard Miller had been living in his second-floor San Francisco apartment for 23 years when, one day in 2010, he fell down the stairs. His doctor recommended he move into a residential care facility for the elderly, where residents have meals provided and, if needed, get help with dressing, eating and bathing. Miller wasn’t eager to make the move, and three years later, he has had plenty of reasons to regret it.
Miller, who is now 77, suffers from several health problems. He has sleep apnea and congestive heart failure, which causes him to get winded easily and pause every 10 or so steps to catch his breath. A large man with a thick swatch of white hair and a booming tenor voice, he calls his cane a "kind of a security blanket" because he's had two knee operations, and one of his legs sometimes gives out.
Miller’s fall and subsequent move led him to two different elder care facilities -- both of which, he discovered later, were in foreclosure. He now lives in a third facility called Morning Glory Care Home, a four-bedroom elder care house on a cul-de-sac in Vallejo, a city of roughly 117,000 that's 35 minutes northeast of San Francisco. But only a few months after moving in, he noticed some unusual visitors passing through the home. "Two women came through with clipboards and were kind of looking around,” he said. "When you're 76 years old and it's your third place, you get a little bit scared."
His fears turned out to be justified. He asked the home’s administrator about the women and was told they were relatives. But Miller didn’t believe him. As more strangers floated in and out, he felt an uneasy sense of foreboding. "So I Googled the property,” he said, "and was blown away to find that it had been in foreclosure since December 2010."
Most disturbing to Miller was the lack of warning that his home was foreclosed. Despite a law put into force in January 2012 that expressly requires the people operating the homes to inform residents about the change, those in charge did not tell him that Morning Glory was in foreclosure. Nor had he been given any warning about his previous two residences. "The first home was bank-owned and being put up for auction,” he said. "The second one -- there was a notice on the door -- and [the owner] yanked it off so we couldn't see it."
Miller’s experience of moving to three different facilities in just over a year's time -- and the possibility that he’ll have to move to a fourth -- may be extreme. But the elderly having to shuffle from home to home is certainly not a rarity in boom-and-bust California, where about 170,000 individualsuals live in residential care facilities that in some areas face alarming foreclosure rates. A state law requiring owners and administrators of these homes to inform authorities and residents if they miss a mortgage payment seems little more than words on paper. In many cases, the authorities are as much in the dark about a home’s financial troubles as the residents and their families.
The state Department of Social Services only has the personnel to check up on 30 percent of these homes each year, according to the California Health and Human Services Agency. Those serving as long-term care ombudsmen, who visit the homes regularly, are many times similarly uninformed about a home's status change.
"We often don't know that a place is closed until we knock on the door," said John Lord, a long-term care ombudsman in Vallejo.
When it comes to health and quality of life, experts are inclined to agree that moving often and abruptly is a bad idea for the elderly, especially for those who are frail or suffering from conditions such as dementia. "The trauma for them becomes being in a new setting where nothing is familiar, and they don't know how to adjust," said Ruth Gay, director of public policy and advocacy for the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California and Nevada. "It manifests in things like agitation, aggression, fear, withdrawal, and people start to decline ... They are at risk for falling, not eating well, and all of those things can be a vicious cycle downward."
Full Article and Source:
Elder Care Homes Ensnared By Foreclosure Crisis In California
Monday, July 15, 2013
Shady Practices in Conservatorship
Bryan Rosen's recent letter to the "Independent" detailing Judge Stern's startling ignoring of a proper "Power of Attorney," thereby forcing the use of psychotropic drugs on a person trapped in the court's Conservatorship program, is only the most recent example of the extensive and repeated corruption of our local court's management of this system.
Full Article and Source:
Shady Practices in Conservatorship
See Also:
Bryan Rosen: Conservatorships in Santa Barbara
I've asked the editor of the new Santa Barbara online publication "Mission and State" - which specializes in investigative journalism - to explore this issue. No luck so far.
Full Article and Source:
Shady Practices in Conservatorship
See Also:
Bryan Rosen: Conservatorships in Santa Barbara
Psychological Vulnerability in Older Adults Increases Risk for Financial Exploitation
Older adults with extreme depression symptoms and low social status fulfillment are at greater risk for financial exploitation, according to new data.
Researchers analyzed data from a representative US sample of 4,461 respondents from the 2002 Health and Retirement Study regular survey and a 2008 Participant Lifestyle Leave Behind Questionnaire. Respondents were 61.9% female, 85.4% white and their mean age was 65.8 years. A majority (70.6%) reported having partners.
Researchers analyzed data from a representative US sample of 4,461 respondents from the 2002 Health and Retirement Study regular survey and a 2008 Participant Lifestyle Leave Behind Questionnaire. Respondents were 61.9% female, 85.4% white and their mean age was 65.8 years. A majority (70.6%) reported having partners.
Financial fraud, including identity theft, fake home repairs and telemarketing scams, in the overall sample was 4.5% with 52.7% of respondents reporting satisfaction with their finances. The most significant prevalence of fraud (14%) was observed among older adults with the highest depression and lowest social-needs fulfillment, compared with the rest of the sample
'Life With Pop"
From bestselling author and clinical psychologist Janis Abrahms Spring comes
a refreshingly honest and tender portrait of a devoted daughter caring for her
father through his final years of life
After her mother died, Janis Abrahms Spring "inherited" her father-Pop- and set off on an all-consuming five-year mission to make his days as rich and comfortable as possible. This is their story, overflowing with humor, insight, and love. In beautifully crafted vignettes, spring brings their deepening relationship to life-both the joy and the imposition, the happiness and the heartaches.
From her unique perspective as a clinical psychologist, Spring explores the emotional and practical complexities of parenting a parent. Inspiring, deeply moving, and frank, Life with Pop is an ultimately comforting meditation on a universal experience, as well as a book with profound lessons on how to grow old gracefully.
Available @ Amazon
After her mother died, Janis Abrahms Spring "inherited" her father-Pop- and set off on an all-consuming five-year mission to make his days as rich and comfortable as possible. This is their story, overflowing with humor, insight, and love. In beautifully crafted vignettes, spring brings their deepening relationship to life-both the joy and the imposition, the happiness and the heartaches.
From her unique perspective as a clinical psychologist, Spring explores the emotional and practical complexities of parenting a parent. Inspiring, deeply moving, and frank, Life with Pop is an ultimately comforting meditation on a universal experience, as well as a book with profound lessons on how to grow old gracefully.
Available @ Amazon
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Tonight on T.S. Radio: How Judges Help Attorneys Steal From the Elderly and Disabled
Join us this evening as Richard Kuse, Sassoon Sassoon, and Gary Wildman join the show to talk about the court run grand theft, embezzlement and estate theft, rackets operating in New York State.
Friends of judges, utilizing their courts, are cashing in on estates via the buddy system operating in New York Surrogate courts. As and example: In the case of Ted Ammon (deceased) $10 mil in court approved attorney fees! Estate theft, forged documents, murder and grand larceny. Learn the difference between an exemplified vs. certified court docket. Judges are not only condoning the theft from the clients, they are helping attorneys do it.
6:00 pm MST ... 7:00 pm CST ... 8:00 pm EST
LISTEN LIVE or listen to the archive later
Friends of judges, utilizing their courts, are cashing in on estates via the buddy system operating in New York Surrogate courts. As and example: In the case of Ted Ammon (deceased) $10 mil in court approved attorney fees! Estate theft, forged documents, murder and grand larceny. Learn the difference between an exemplified vs. certified court docket. Judges are not only condoning the theft from the clients, they are helping attorneys do it.
6:00 pm MST ... 7:00 pm CST ... 8:00 pm EST
LISTEN LIVE or listen to the archive later
Connecticut Department on Aging Will Better Serve State's Growing Senior Population
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, state Department on Aging (SDA) Commissioner Edith Prague and members of the General Assembly’s Aging Committee, held a ceremonial bill signing today for Public Act 13-125, An Act Concerning the Department on Aging. The legislation fully establishes SDA which was statutorily created on January 1, 2013 and will ensure that Connecticut’s seniors have access to the supportive services necessary to live with dignity, security, and independence.
“Under the leadership of Commissioner Prague, this department will greatly improve the quality of life for our state’s growing senior population,” said Governor Malloy. “Over the last decade, the number of elderly residents living in Connecticut has grown nearly 5 percent and currently makes up more than 14 percent of the state’s population – that number is expected to grow to 21.5 percent of the population by 2030. This is why it is crucial that we have an office specifically designed to assist these residents and administer the services and programs that they depend on day-in and day-out.”
“There's much we need to do to help elderly residents in our state and, now that we have a department that focuses specifically on them, we can work on improving the way we deliver those services,” said Lt. Governor Wyman. “As the past chairman of the State Senate’s Committee on Aging, Commissioner Prague has experience on issues pertaining to elderly services and is well-respected by her colleagues in both parties as a staunch advocate for senior citizens across the state. I am happy to have Commissioner Prague as a partner as we work towards the Governor’s goal of improving the quality of life and care for Connecticut’s older adults.”
Full Article and Source:
Connecticut Department on Aging Will Better Serve State's Growing Senior Population
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