This is an over whelming story of the Watts' family's fight to seek justice with supporting evidence against a Bendigo Bank Manager (Christine Frankham) who used her position and trust to take advantage of their elderly mother, Yolanda Hutton.
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Bendigo Bank (Christine Frankham): This will not go away!!!
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JOIN the Bendigo Banksters Facebook Page
YouTube Video Source:
Bendigo Bank (CHRISTINE FRANKHAM)
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Disgraced Conahan in default for ignoring lawsuit
Conahan, locked away in federal prison, has ignored a civil lawsuit filed against him in connection with the kids-for-cash judicial scandal, federal court officials said Thursday.
The acting clerk for U.S. District Court in Scranton on Thursday ruled Conahan is in default for "failure to answer, plead, or otherwise defend against the complaint."
Conahan is a defendant in a class-action civil rights lawsuit on behalf of thousands of juveniles who appeared in court before his colleague, former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. Both men are serving lengthy prison sentences for accepting kickbacks for placed juveniles in two for-profit detention centers. The default opens Conahan to damages when the case is finally resolved in federal court.
The suit also seeks damages from Ciavarella, PA Child Care LLC, Western PA Child Care LLC and Mid-Atlantic Youth Services Corp., which own and operate the centers in Pittston Township and Butler County, and the former co-owner of those companies, Robert J. Powell, a Drums attorney who paid the judges $770,000.
Wealthy developer Robert K. Mericle, who paid $2.1 million to Conahan and Ciavarella, who placed juveniles in two for-profit detention centers built by his construction firm, is no longer a defendant in the lawsuits. He won court approval last year for a $17.75 million settlement with more than 1,000 former offenders who appeared in the county juvenile court in 2004-2008. After the suit was initially filed, Conahan asked a court to dismiss the suit on the basis of "judicial and legislative immunity." Since a federal judge denied the request, Conahan has not responded to the suit, court documents filed Thursday said.
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Disgraced Conahan in default for ignoring lawsuit
Friday, October 4, 2013
Don't Sign Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Homes
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Don't Sign Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Homes
Don't Sign Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Homes
Jury convicts disbarred northern Indiana lawyer of forging other attorneys' names on documents
MISHAWAKA, Indiana — Jurors have convicted a disbarred northern Indiana attorney of forging the names of other lawyers on court documents.The St. Joseph County jury returned guilty verdicts Wednesday against 47-year-old Rod Sniadecki on three felony counts of forgery.
The South Bend Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1eHYFGU ) Sniadecki's former legal assistant testified she forged the signatures and faked information in a tax return to secure a mortgage on his South Bend office.
Defense attorney Len Zappia argued the assistant did so without Sniadecki's knowledge to keep the office running while he was gone.
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended Sniadecki in 2007 for starting a relationship with a woman whose divorce he was handling and lying about it. He was disbarred in 2010 for the forgery case.
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Jury convicts disbarred northern Indiana lawyer of forging other attorneys' names on documents
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Ashwood Assisted Living has license revoked; facility closed
Its license expired more than a year ago in August 2012. Since then owner Scott Schuett had been following the lengthy appeals process to keep it in operation despite continued inspections showing numerous violations. Of six facilities he once operated in the region, only Chesapeake Home in Chesapeake remains open.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, the facility was empty, its doors locked. All of its residents, who receive SSDI and auxiliary housing grants, have been relocated.
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Ashwood Assisted Living has license revoked; facility closed
See Also:
State Closes Hampton Assisted Living
Hampton's Ashwood raises questions about licensing process
Virginia: Scott Schuett, Operator of 5 ALF's, License Revoked!
Scott Schuett: Operator of Peninsula Assisted Living Homes Fights for License
Newport News Assisted Living Facility Closes
Woman arrested for malicious wounding in Newport News retirement home incident
Man Charged in Assulting Woman, 92, in Suffolk
Injury Leads to More Scrutiny for Suffolk Home
Assisted Living Concerns: Facility Resident Tried to Enter Home
Board Alleges Improper Care at Adultcare Homes
State Suspends Assisted-Living Facility Administrator's Licenses
Check the License Status of Any Facility Through the Virginia Department of Social Services Website
'Adviser' convicted of bilking elderly Bradenton woman out of $1 million
Ronald J. Perrault, 42, was convicted on grand theft and organized scheme to defraud charges associated with them, according to a release from Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Perrault faces up to 35 years in prison at his sentencing Dec. 4.
The state Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud found that Perrault, while acting as an unlicensed financial adviser for the woman, defrauded her of $727,000 during the last five years and more than $1 million throughout the course of their relationship, the release said.
The investigation found that the woman initially invested $50,000 in Perrault’s fraudulent business in October 2007, followed by $100,000 in December 2007, according to the release. During the next four years, Perrault convinced her to invest an additional $577,000. She continued to submit to Perrault’s demands until her account was depleted. From 2008 until his arrest in 2011, the victim was Perrault’s only client and an investigation found all funds were transferred to Perrault for personal use.
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'Adviser' convicted of bilking elderly Bradenton woman out of $1 million
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
State bills target elder abuse, theft
“The changes to the law included in these bills will make a real difference as our Elder Abuse Unit works to hold defendants accountable when they abuse senior citizens in our community,” Dumanis said.
She was joined by Sens. Mark Wyland, R-Carlsbad, and Joel Anderson, R- San Diego, in encouraging the governor to sign the legislation.
SB 543, which is sponsored by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, would ensure that theft from an elder is a “qualifying prior offense” when sentencing a person to prison, removing an ambiguity in the law to treat elder theft with the same seriousness as any other form of theft.
“My mother was a victim of financial fraud, so this issue is personal to me,” Wyland said. “One of the most meaningful things we can do as legislators is to strengthen laws to protect the vulnerable in our communities from people who would take advantage of them.”
According to Anderson, “SB 543 will ensure criminals who commit crimes against our grandmas and grandpas will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“I believe, by signing this bill into law, Governor Brown will be sending a clear message to seniors,” he said. “California will not tolerate senior abuse and we are committed to protecting these cherished members of our society with all our might.”
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State bills target elder abuse, theft
Family Feud Cops Called
Jean Kasem -- Casey's wife -- will NOT allow Kerri, Julie and Mike to visit their father, who lives in the exclusive Holmby Hills area near Bev Hills. We're told they've been trying to make contact with their dad for 3 months, to no avail.
Casey -- who is 81 and has advanced Parkinson's -- hasn't been heard from in months.
The kids are outside the house right now ... with a group of friends, family and former co-workers of Casey -- and we're told Jean has just called the cops trying to get them away from the property.
Casey's brother, who is on the scene, tells TMZ Jean has had a strained relationship with Casey's kids for years. The brother says he hasn't spoken with Jean since Casey married her -- 33 years. Kerri, Casey's oldest daughter, tells us Jean has aggressively blocked the kids from the house.
Kerri tells us it's not about money. The kids have all been excluded from Casey's will and they've known that for a long time. She says they just want to see their dad, and they can't.
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Family Feud Cops Called
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Linda Kincaid Reports -- Elder abuse: NCPEA Forum on Polyvictimization in Later Life
NCPEA describes the following forms of elder abuse.
- Physical abuse is physical force that results in bodily injury, pain, or impairment. It includes assault, battery, and inappropriate restraint.
- Sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an older person.
- Domestic violence is an escalating pattern of violence by an intimate partner where the violence is used to exercise power and control.
- Psychological abuse is the willful infliction of mental or emotional anguish by threat, humiliation, or other verbal or nonverbal conduct.
- Financial abuse is the illegal or improper use of an older person's funds, property, or resources.
- Neglect is the failure of a caregiver to fulfill his or her care giving responsibilities. Self-neglect is failure to provide for one's own essential needs.
Polyvictimization is a complex phenomenon and a new term for the elder abuse field.
The Forum will include brief presentations and active workgroups exploring different dimensions of the issue. Discussions will be videotaped, with segments to be used in a virtual training series being produced as part of the project.
The Forum aims to arrive at a new framework that places elder abuse within the context of polyvictimization. It will also contribute a later life perspective to the ways that polyvictimization is typically considered.
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Elder abuse: NCPEA Forum on Polyvictimization in Later Life
Prominent Muskegon attorney faces discipline over thousands kept from former firm
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| Shawn P. Davis |
The conduct, which Davis has admitted, lasted at least from 2007 until his partners confronted him and terminated him from Nolan & Nolan & Shafer PLC in August 2011. Since then, Davis has continued to practice law in Muskegon in a solo practice.
Davis admitted intentionally keeping cash and checks that many of his clients paid him, money he was supposed to turn over to the firm.
After his partners confronted him, he agreed to leave the firm and eventually admitted to taking a total of at least $14,060 on at least 22 separate occasions that he or his partners documented.
In September 2011, Davis paid the firm $50,000 as part of an agreement that severed his connection with his former partners and settled all claims between them, without admitting that he took more than $14,060. He had earlier repaid $6,150 of the misappropriated money.
According to documents obtained by the Muskegon Chronicle from the Attorney Grievance Commission, Davis attributed his behavior to financial pressures. In his defense he asserted his conduct was caused by a “temporary mental disability” – a “very high level of stress and depression he was undergoing as the result of facing serious financial difficulties.”
He was never prosecuted. But his license to practice law is in jeopardy.
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Prominent Muskegon attorney faces discipline over thousands kept from former firm
Monday, September 30, 2013
Meet Brenda Kelley-Nelum, A Champion for Seniors (and NASGA Legislative Liaison!)
Brenda Kelley-Nelum, a loyal AARP volunteer, is a champion for senior citizens. She has been a longtime activist for standing up and protecting seniors from abuse and wrongdoings. A Washington D.C native, Brenda attended public school before they were integrated. In 1954, her 7th grade year, she went from a small six room elementary school to the quite large Eastern High School. The transformation she said is unforgettable. Brenda continued her education and received a BA from Howard University.
Brenda’s career consisted of being a federal auditor for the inspector general and a financial representative for the National Council of Senior Citizens now called Senior Service America. She worked extensively with the Virginia Leadership Institute getting citizens in the Prince William area involved in the community through becoming members of state and local commissions. For fun, Brenda does different community service projects like planning an event educating people on healthy soul food cooking through the zeta chi omega chapter of her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. With over 100 attendants, some of the guests included the state President of AARP, a state senator, and a city council member. In her spare time Brenda, enjoys using Facebook and Twitter to keep up with friends and family.
Brenda first got involved with AARP to advocate for a new healthcare system. She saw AARP being criticized for supporting the Medicare Part D prescription drug legislation. Watching citizens in Richmond publicly destroying their AARP membership cards pushed Brenda into action; she thought “shouldn’t these people be working with AARP in order to have their concerns fought for?” and with that, she got involved. She felt that AARP was committed to seeing healthcare reform to the very end and she wanted to be a part of that—regardless of the flack she might receive from friends and neighbors.
Brenda mostly works with AARP on healthcare issues but she is a big advocate for doing more to combat elder abuse; a cause AARP is deeply concerned about. Brenda has been very vocal about elders being abused by those in trusted with their guardianship and would like to see the issue have more light shed upon it. Brenda would like to see AARP working on more of a micro level in order to be more responsive to every senior’s needs and concerns.
Source:
Meet Brenda Kelley-Nelum - A Champion for Seniors
Brenda first got involved with AARP to advocate for a new healthcare system. She saw AARP being criticized for supporting the Medicare Part D prescription drug legislation. Watching citizens in Richmond publicly destroying their AARP membership cards pushed Brenda into action; she thought “shouldn’t these people be working with AARP in order to have their concerns fought for?” and with that, she got involved. She felt that AARP was committed to seeing healthcare reform to the very end and she wanted to be a part of that—regardless of the flack she might receive from friends and neighbors.
Brenda mostly works with AARP on healthcare issues but she is a big advocate for doing more to combat elder abuse; a cause AARP is deeply concerned about. Brenda has been very vocal about elders being abused by those in trusted with their guardianship and would like to see the issue have more light shed upon it. Brenda would like to see AARP working on more of a micro level in order to be more responsive to every senior’s needs and concerns.
Source:
Meet Brenda Kelley-Nelum - A Champion for Seniors
Medical Clinic Owners and Patient Recruiters Charged in Miami for Role in $8 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
WASHINGTON—Several patient recruiters, including two medical clinic owners, have been arrested in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving defunct home health care company Flores Home Health Care Inc. (Flores Home Health).Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations Miami Office made the announcement.
In an indictment returned on September 24, 2013, and unsealed this afternoon, Isabel Medina, 49, and Lerida Labrada, 59, were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison upon conviction. Together with Mayra Flores, 49, and German Martinez, 36, Medina and Labrada also face charges for allegedly conspiring to defraud the United States and to receive health care kickbacks, as well as receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison upon conviction.
According to the indictment, the defendants worked as patient recruiters for the owners and operators of Flores Home Health, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Medina and Labrada were also the owners and operators of Miami medical clinics, which allegedly provided fraudulent prescriptions to the owners and operators of Flores Home Health.
Flores Home Health was allegedly operated for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for, among other services, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary and/or were not provided.
Full Article and Source:
Medical Clinic Owners and Patient Recruiters Charged in Miami for Role in $8 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Tonight on T.S. Radio: Doug Franks - Still Trying to Free Ernestine
A court date has been set, then reset, just to determine if Ernestine will be allowed future phone calls and visits with her family. It is now set for 10/1/13
What does Ernestine think when she no longer gets a daily phone call “ringer turned off” from her three sons? “Do my children care about me anymore”?
The guardian and her attorney operate under the guise of “protecting” Ernestine while they drain her financially and provide sub-standard care.
Her children have no say and she has no say, in her life. She is a prisoner in her own home!
5:00pm PST…6:00pm MST … 7:00pm CST… 8:00pm EST
LISTEN LIVE or listen to the archive later
Anderson’s civil trial postponed
A scheduled Sept. 30 civil trial, pitting Anderson and his attorneys against the State Bar of Texas’ Commission for Lawyer Discipline, has been put on hold because of those negotiations.
Although the investigation has been ongoing for almost two years, concerning Anderson’s role in Michael Morton’s 1987 murder conviction, events sped up rapidly this week.
• In a letter with Monday’s date on it, Anderson submitted a resignation letter to Gov. Rick Perry.
• On Tuesday, Perry accepted Anderson’s resignation as judge of the 277th District Court.
• On Wednesday, Kelly Moore – the judge specially appointed to hear the civil trial – notified local officials of the postponement. The civil trial had been set to start Sept. 30 in the county’s 26th District Court.
Now, Moore is calling for both sides to meet again in court Nov. 8. That purpose of that hearing is for Moore to receive an update on the status of the mediation.
Anderson served as Williamson County’s district attorney in 1987, prosecuting Morton on a murder charge stemming from the 1986 murder of Morton’s wife, Christine. Morton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but was freed in 2011 on the basis of DNA evidence.
Anderson’s lawyers – and representatives from the State Bar of Texas – are neither confirming nor denying what are supposedly the mediation’s details. They will also not discuss how long ago the two sides entered negotiations.
“I cannot comment,” one of Anderson’s lawyers – Mark Dietz of Round Rock – said in a Thursday email.
A State Bar spokesperson did, however, confirm negotiations are taking place.
“The Commission [for Lawyer Discipline] continues to work toward a final resolution in this matter that will protect the interests of the public and the Bar is confident that such a resolution will be reached,” Claire Mock responded in an email. “As matters pending before the Commission for Lawyer Discipline are confidential and in light of the obligations regarding avoiding unnecessary trial publicity in our own rules of disciplinary conduct, the Commission for Lawyer Discipline will have no further public comment on this matter until it is resolved.”
Following a five-day court of inquiry held in February, in April visiting Judge Louis Sturns ruled there is probable cause to believe Anderson withheld evidence from Morton and his lawyers during that 1987 murder trial.
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Anderson’s civil trial postponed
Not guilty verdict for nursing home employee
A not guilty verdict for a nursing home employee accused of killing a patient in Windham County.
Jodi LaClaire of Bennington, N.H.,worked at the Thompson House in Brattleboro.
She was accused of killing 83-year-old Nita Lowery.
Prosecutors say, LaClaire injected Lowery with insulin, which caused Lowery's death.
Investigators also found evidence that LaClaire tried to take out money from Lowery's bank account.
The Brattleboro Reformer reports that the jury convicted LaClaire on those theft charges, but not the second-degree murder charge.
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Not guilty verdict for nursing home employee