Minnesota AG, Lori Swanson, Sues Estate Planning Service, Alleging Fraud

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said she is suing Heritage Partners, a Minnesota company she claims lured senior citizens with free steak dinners at popular restaurants and then fed them scary estate-management and insurance sales pitches.

The civil suit was filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court, alleging consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices. Calling Heritage a "living-trust mill," Swanson said it promised clients their legal documents would be prepared by an experienced estate-planning attorney.

But the clients ended up with boilerplate documents assembled by Dennis Lawrence, an Arizona man who's not licensed as a lawyer in Minnesota or Arizona. According to state law, only members of the Minnesota bar are permitted to prepare wills and trusts.

The trusts were full of problems and didn't suit individuals' situations, Swanson said. She said about 500 Minnesota households paid Heritage about $2,300 apiece -- or more than $1 million.

"They paid for a complicated trust, with an attorney, and that is not what they got," Swanson said. "(Heritage Partners') real goal is to get their foot in the door ... and then sell insurance products."

Gary and Penny Pietila of White Bear Lake responded to a Heritage flier and went to a local steakhouse for a free dinner and to find out about ways to pass on their assets after death. The speaker was Heritage's president and founder, insurance agent Anthony Friendshuh. What he had to say frightened Penny Pietila and, she said, "I fell for it, hook, line and sinker."

The couple ended up paying more than $2,000 for the trust document, but the health care and financial responsibilities they had laid out for their two daughters got fouled up, with all the weight put on one daughter's shoulders. They had a terrible time getting it straightened out, they said.

At the behest of the Heritage insurance agent, during 2012 and 2013, they also had moved much of their nest egg into annuities and were unhappy when the annual fee proved more costly than the interest the annuities earned.

"We were actually going south," Gary Pietila said.

During the dinners, Heritage Partners discussed estate planning, probate and trusts with senior citizens, Swanson said. Insurance agents set up appointments with attendees to try to convince them to buy legal services and investments.

Full Article and Source:
Minnesota AG Sues Estate Planning Service, Alleging Fraud

Free Marie Winkelman: Pray for Justice Now

Marie Winkelman’s guardianship has a large cast of characters who benefit from her status as a Ward of the State of Florida, including family members and quasi-family members, as well as a host of attorneys and numerous service providers that were unknown to Marie before she was forced into guardianship.

A Large Cast of Attorneys
Marie’s first guardianship attorney, Erika Dine, was appointed by Judge Deno Economou, who single-handedly presides over the probate courts in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, Florida. Dine was also the attorney who represented the guardian (Aging Safely, Inc.) of Al Katz, who was an 89-year-old Holocaust Survivor, as is Marie. See this writer’s previous investigative series on the Al Katz guardianship.

Barry Spivey, Marie’s next attorney, prepared and signed a mediated settlement agreement that he asked Judge Economou to adopt in his incapacity and guardianship order, which declared Marie to be incapacitated and made Sabal Trust Company her Trustee. Spivey never showed the Agreement to Marie before or after it was signed and never told her he had a closed hearing with the Judge to declare Marie incapacitated and put her into guardianship, losing all control of her millions of dollars in trust.

Also attending the secret hearing on December 2, 2013, was Rebecca Proctor, the attorney for Marie’s two guardians, Raymond Millman and Alina Koren, Marie’s sole blood relative, who was rescued by Marie from Poland as a toddler after the Holocaust. Attorney Proctor is a Director of Aging Safely, which is the agency that was Al Katz’s guardian for two months, during which time he went from fully verbal and mobile to “imminent death” status.

Both Proctor and Alina Koren (plus her husband, Dr. Yoram Koren) signed the Mediated Agreement that made Marie’s trust part of her guardianship and transformed it from revocable to irrevocable, thereby sealing the beneficiaries of the trust forever, including Alina Koren. Thus, its primary beneficiaries, Marie’s stepdaughters – Corinne Szychowski and Diane Winkelman – are set to inherit millions of dollars each from the trust.

Full Article and Source:
Free Marie Winkelman: Pray for Justice Now

See Also:
Marie Winkelman Guardianship:  A Test Case to Lower the Bar on Incapacity in Florida

Jahi McMath's Mother Gives Update

Jahi McMath, the 13-year-old California girl who was declared brain dead after complications from tonsil surgery, is reportedly doing “much better physically.”

In her first public update in over a month, Jahi’s mother, Nailah Winkfield, released a letter on Facebook informing her followers of Jahi’s status, stating that she sees changes in her daughter that “give [her] hope.”

Winkfield said she has spent the past month focusing on Jahi’s health, and she had to withdraw from the public eye for safety and privacy reasons.

In the letter, Winkfield also thanked everyone who had supported her as she fought to move her daughter to another medical facility. “Because of your unselfish generosity I was able to do what I was afraid I would never be able to do, move my daughter from Children's Hospital Oakland before they removed her from her ventilator and stopped her heart,” Winkfield wrote. “This was itself a miracle. Please know that all of the support we received has been used towards helping Jahi.”

Full Article and Source:
Mother of Brain Dead Teen Jahi McMath Gives Update on Daughter's Condition

See Also:
At Issue in 2 Wrenching Cases - What to Do After the Brain Dies

Woman Convinces Disabled Man to Give Her $27K - and it's Legal!

The FOX6 Investigators were recently contacted by a Milwaukee mom at her wits end, trying to protect her disabled son from financial ruin.

After looking into the story, we found a loophole in Wisconsin law that makes it easy to prey on society’s most vulnerable.

Patrick Meyer thinks this woman is his friend.

Patrick is 45-years-old and has cerebral palsy. He works in the kitchen at St. Ann’s Center in Milwaukee, an adult daycare. His mom says he’s mildly mentally disabled, and she’s done her best to preserve his independence even though he still lives at home.

She even taught him how to balance a checkbook so he can control his own finances.

The first red flag — a cruise.

Patrick thought he was going to go on a cruise in August.

“A three hundred dollar check and a five hundred dollar check just given to this person and there was no paperwork or anything or a receipt of a cruise being scheduled,” says Saganski.

The second red flag — a bounced check.

And then, his mom says, she saw it happen.

“I saw him with her filling out a withdrawal slip from the bank, not from his checkbook,” she said.

When his mom checked his bank account, she says she was floored by what she discovered. Almost every month for the last two years Patrick had given thousands of dollars away.

Saganski estimates Patrick has given away nearly $27,000 in personal checks and cash since 2011.

She says most of that money has gone to a Milwaukee woman named Carmen Lacey. Lacey’s a home healthcare worker, which means she takes cares of the elderly and disabled for a living.

She’s also a felon: drugs, battery, and burglary all part of her criminal history. And even though she got out of prison years ago she’s still on parole, taking care of some of Milwaukee's most vulnerable adults.

But Lacey won’t have to pay for anything, most likely, because what she did isn’t a crime. Under Wisconsin law, it’s not financial exploitation because Patrick wasn’t forced or coerced. He gave the money willingly because he wanted to.

Milwaukee Police call it “heartbreaking,” but that doesn’t mean it’s illegal, at least not under current law.

Full Article and Source:
Woman convinces disabled man to give her $27K, and it’s legal

San Francisco Landlords Targeted for Elder Abuse

Lisa Gray-Garcia, aka “Tiny,” led a press conference outside the San Francisco Hall of Justice Feb. 5 to announce that she and fellow activists were filing elder abuse charges against San Francisco landlords.

Clad in a gray pantsuit and flanked by activists and senior citizens who were facing eviction or had lost housing in San Francisco, the Poor News Network founder condemned landlords who’ve invoked the Ellis Act as “dangerous criminals.”

Gray-Garcia said criminal charges were being filed against the landlords in accordance with California Penal Code 368, which creates a special category for crimes – such as infliction of pain, injury or endangerment – committed against elders and dependent adults.

The theory is that carrying out an Ellis Act eviction against a senior citizen qualifies as a criminal act under that law, since an elder can suffer physical harm as a result of being turned out of his or her home.

The targeted landlords were taken from a list compiled by the San Francisco Anti Eviction Mapping Project, a volunteer-led group that published names, property ownership, and identifying information of 12 landlords who had repeatedly invoked the Ellis Act in San Francisco. Garcia read out their names as part of the press event.

Full Article and Source:
San Francisco Landlords Targeted for Elder Abuse

See Also:
Confronting the Speculators

California provides scant information to families looking for residential elderly care

According to the California Department of Social Services website, Valley Springs Manor is open for business and fully licensed.

That may come as a surprise to the families of 19 residents who were abandoned at the facility in October because state regulators closed it for providing substandard care. The fact that state records don't reflect the well-publicized incident points to a bigger problem: Californians looking for a safe option for a loved one can get scant information about such facilities from the state agency that regulates them.

The agency's website lists little more than addresses and licensing status for California residential care homes. And when this news organization asked the state for complete information on inspections, violations, citations and fines on such facilities, it was told that fulfilling such a request would take four years and would require a payment of almost $30,000.

Instead, the Department of Social Services provided information on the number and amount of fines levied against each facility in the state in 2012 and 2013. The news organization is making that information available in an exclusive, searchable database providing useful if incomplete guidance to family members who so far have found little help from the state.

Anita Phillips is one of those. When she placed her ex-husband, Stan, at Valley Springs, she had no idea that the home had a history of violations, or that its administrators were being investigated by the state.

"Nobody said, 'This place is in trouble,'" before the home closed, she said. "But it was falling apart."

Full Article and Source:
California provides scant information to families looking for residential elderly care

Searchable Database

Free Justina - The Killing of an American Family

Advocates Fight for Justina Pelletier, Teen Held by State in Psych Ward - Feb. 10, 2014

Source:
YouTube:  Free Justina - The Killing of an American Family

See Also:
Boston Children's Hospital to be Investigated by Department of Public Health

NOTE:  From the article above:
"For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the case, in February 2013, 15-year-old Justina Pelletier was checked into Boston Children’s Hospital with flu-like symptoms by her parents. Prior to her admission, Justina had been undergoing treatments for Mitochondrial Disorder at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Over three years ago, Justina had been diagnosed with the rare genetic condition of Mitochondrial Disease. Her 25-year-old sister, Jessica, also suffers from the disease. Both girls were treated by a specialist at Tufts Medical Center, Dr Mark Korson. The hospital was only a two-and-a-half-hour drive from their home in West Hartford, Connecticut.

At the recommendation of her doctor at Tufts Medical Center, Justina was admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital to see a gastro-intestinal specialist, Dr. Alex Flores, who had recently transferred from Tufts to BCH.

Almost immediately, a different team of doctors swept in. delivering a different diagnosis, questioning the original diagnosis of mitochondrial disease...."

Family Retaliated Against for Speaking Out

The last time Lou Pelletier spoke with his 15-year-old daughter was Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day. For this father of four, though, the day held a different meaning for his youngest valentine: It marked one year since she was taken and placed in a psychiatric ward against her parents’ will.












“We need help,” Lou Pelletier told TheBlaze in an exclusive interview, explaining why he made the decision to break a judge’s gag order and talk about the situation.

“I’m trying to save my daughter’s life,” he said.

“While still being able to live,” Jessica, one of Justina’s older sisters, added.

For more than a year, Justina Pelletier has been the center of a battle between her parents, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and Boston Children’s Hospital, and two controversial medical diagnoses. After her family began speaking out last November about their fight against these major institutions in court, they were placed under a gag order.

Full Article and Source:
Father so Heartbroken About Daughter Held at Hospital Against His Will, He Just Defied a Judge's Order to Talk to Us:  'I Want to Have All My Guns Blazing'

Petition: "We the People" respectfully request that our elected Government Officers in Washington D.C., calls for an immediate full investigation in each criminal case exposed in this petition

The primary intent of this petition is to tell the elected powers in Washington D.C. that your rights have not been protected by your participation in the US legal system.

There are still many Americans who still are under the Illusion that we live in a free country and that the US legal system is fair, impartial and actually enforce the laws designed to protect the rights of the more vulnerable members of our society. (e.g., the 99%, the elderly and the disabled)  I can tell you from our personal experience being the victims of illegal preceding that if you cannot afford a lawyer who is not connected to the “dark side” of the US justice system. (i.e., lawyers/judges who focus on racking up legal fees for themselves and their colleagues, while they do not ensure that the rule of Due Process is adhered to in their courtrooms) a person can end up having a very unpleasant experience at the expense of the officers of the court who do not have their client’s best interests at heart.

SIGN the petition!

Georgia House Panel Backs Tougher Penalties Against Elder Abuse

A Georgia House panel on Monday approved a bill that would toughen penalties for operating an unlicensed personal care home, raising a first offense to a felony from a misdemeanor.

The vote came after compelling testimony from Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn, who described to the House Health and Human Services Committee two cases of abuse in unlicensed Cobb County homes.

In one case, Flynn said, a woman in her 50s with dementia was kept in a garage in a “sweltering hot” home and was deprived of food and medicine.

The owner in that case, after a plea bargain, was given just a one-day sentence, with credit for time served, Flynn said.

“That really got our attention,” he said.

Full Article and Source:
Georgia House Panel Backs Tougher Penalties Against Elder Abuse

New SC Legislation Aimed at Preventing Abuse and Trafficking of Seniors to be Introduced This Week

Legislation will be introduced this week in the State Senate that proposes the creation of the "Senior Trafficking and Exploitation Reform of 2014" in South Carolina. On Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., Lieutenant Governor Glenn McConnell and Senator Thomas Alexander, Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Aging, will hold a press conference in the Lower Lobby of the State House to discuss specifics of the proposed legislation.

The Senior Trafficking and Exploitation Reform of 2014 seeks to deter persons who have previously manipulated the system by closing existing loopholes, increasing penalties for those who knowingly and intentionally cause harm, and by addressing new forms of abuse and exploitation that were not recognized or defined by previous law. The 1993 Omnibus Adult Protection Act did not protect all seniors and limited their protections. This legislation is a proactive approach to preparing South Carolina for a large influx of older adults, who are becoming increasingly vulnerable to new forms of clever schemes and creative tactics by scammers and predators alike.

"There have been cases reported, for instance, where unscrupulous predators trolled emergency rooms looking for elderly persons without any stable home environment to return to after being discharged from the hospital," said South Carolina's chief advocate for seniors, Lieutenant Governor Glenn McConnell. "These predators will promise a place to live and care in exchange for the elderly person’s monthly income, but in reality, this elderly person may receive sub-standard care while their money has now been handed over to a potential criminal."

While the Senior Trafficking and Exploitation Reform of 2014 legislation maintains many of the effective policies contained in the Omnibus Adult Protection Act, the proposed bill's language draws from legislation passed in other states, such as Florida and Alabama, in an effort to strengthen our own state laws and expand the protections afforded to all persons age 60 and older from the perils of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and human trafficking. The act also ensures fairness by protecting certain innocent parties intending goodwill.

Full Article and Source:
New Legislation Aimed at Preventing Abuse and Trafficking of Seniors

Long Island Group Home Workers Allegedly Forced Developmentally Disabled People to Fight

Four workers at a group home allegedly encouraged a person with developmental disabilities to attack another disabled person on Long Island, prosecutors said.

As CBS 2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported, prosecutors called it a disturbing abuse of their position for group home workers who were supposed to be taking care of disabled residents instead of taking advantage of them.

Erin McHenry of Brookhaven, Justin McDonald of Lindenhurst, Stephen Komara of East Moriches and Rosemary Vanni of Eastport face felony charges of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, prosecutors said.

“These defendants encouraged two developmentally disabled adults to participate in, what I said on record, is a developmentally disabled fight club,” said special prosecutor Jacqueline Kagan, of the New York State Justice Center for Protection of People with Special Needs.

Kagan said one group home worker shot cell phone video while three others raucously laughed, as they encouraged two severely disabled men to fight.

“They encouraged them to strike each other – one knocking over the other in the wheelchair – and then rewarding them with praise,” Kagan said.

The disabled men – in their 50s but with the mental capacity of preschoolers – were residents of the Independent Group Home Living program in Hampton Bays.

Full Article and Source:
Long Island Group Home Workers Allegedly Forced Developmentally Disabled People to Fight

Caregiver Faces 11 Criminal Charges

Birmingham woman who worked as a caregiver in Gardendale faces 11 criminal charges after authorities say she took advantage of those she was supposed to help.

Gardendale police say Vacena Mae Hall, 28, took credit cards from three different victims and used them to buy things for herself. She is not yet in custody for those charges by Gardendale police.

Lt. Bryan Lynch said Hall was hired as a care giver for various people in Gardendale. Police were notified of possible wrongdoing, and launched an investigation.
On Feb. 10, detectives took Hall into custody on an outstanding felony identity theft warrant from another case in Jefferson County. She was then booked into the Jefferson County Jail, but released on bond.

Two days later, on Feb. 12, Gardendale Detective Chris Clark was able to get 11 additional warrants against Hall. She is charged with three counts of identity theft, three counts of second-degree theft of property, four counts of fraudulent use of a credit/debit card and one count of second-degree elder abuse by financial exploitation.

Gov. Robert Bentley in May 2013 signed a new law, the Elder Abuse Act, which makes it easier to criminally charge people who abuse, neglect or financially exploit the elderly. The law went into effect Aug. 1.

Full Article and Source:
Caregiver for Elderly Stole From Those She Was Paid to Help, Glendale Police Say

Former Georgia Attorney, Joseph Nathaniel Harden, Indicted Again

The former Carrollton attorney accused of stealing from his clients was arrested again on new charges following an indictment from a Carroll County grand jury about an hour earlier.

The arrest came while Harden was in court Friday for a hearing regarding the previous charges. 

Joseph Nathaniel Harden, 42, was indicted on 45 counts, including those for racketeering, theft by taking and forgery. Harden had previously been accused only by the state in a formal accusation, rather than a grand jury indictment.

That changed Friday when the prosecution, led by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jeff Hunt, presented the case to a grand jury, which returned a true bill of indictment.

Included in the indictment are several new counts with new victims allegedly targeted by Harden, for which Hunt asked Judge Emory Palmer to have Harden arrested. Palmer signed an arrest order granting the state the right to have the defendant, who was a local attorney for a number of years before surrendering his license after his arrest in summer 2012, arrested again and taken to the Carroll County jail.

The judge awarded Harden a $100,000 bond, up from the $20,000 bond he made in May 2012 after his initial arrest. Palmer set Harden’s trial for May 12, a specially set date which he said “would not be continued” because of a lawyer issue.

Full Article and Source:
Former Attorney Indicted, Arrested Again

Hospice Companies Increase Profits by Taking in People Who Aren't Dying

A social movement for more compassionate end of life care is seeing its accomplishments tainted by health care companies seeking to make a profit off of sick, but not quite dying patients, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. Investigators reviewed more than 1 million patients’ records from California dated between 2002 through 2012, as well as various government reports, in reaching their conclusions.

For decades activists based at advocacy organizations and nonprofit health care institutions pushed for a fundamentally different approach to care for the dying called “hospice” that focuses on relieving pain and discomfort. Because hospice care contradicts the principle that health insurance will pay only for treatments that improve a patient’s health, until 1983 Medicare refused to cover hospice. When Medicare changed its rules, it did so in part on the theory that it might save money because palliative care is often cheaper than dramatic end of life treatment.

Although the hospice benefit has been around for thirty years, explosive growth in hospice care began around the turn of the century—just as for-profit corporations began to get into the business. Between 2000 and 2012, Medicare payments for hospice care increased fivefold, from $2.9 billion to $15.1 billion annually, even as the share of hospices run for a profit doubled from 30% to 60%, says the Post. Payments in 2013 are expected to exceed $17 billion.

It seems those for-profit hospice companies saw a lucrative opportunity in Medicare’s formula for hospice care. Once a patient has been certified by two doctors as having a life expectancy of six months or less, Medicare pays about $150 a day for routine palliative care, regardless of what care is actually delivered, meaning that healthier patients, who generally need less care and live longer, yield higher profits.

Given that financial incentive, it is not surprising that over the past decade the average stay in hospice has grown 60% longer, from 54 days in 2000 to 86 days in 2009. Between 2002 and 2012, California saw a 50% increase in the number of hospice patients who were discharged from hospice care alive, while profit per patient quintupled, from $353 to $1,975, and inflation-adjusted net profits soared more than tenfold, from $25 million to $265 million per year.

The trend toward longer hospice stays is likely costing Medicare billions of dollars a year. In 2011, nearly 60% of Medicare’s hospice spending of $13.8 billion went for patients who stayed longer than six months. Medicare makes about 85 to 90% of all payments to hospices.

How are they doing it? Whistleblower lawsuits brought by former employees alleging Medicare fraud against four of the ten largest American hospice companies contend that they intentionally admitted non-terminal patients to hospice care as a way of boosting profits. Although the companies insist the whistleblowers are motivated by greed, the fact that the  Justice Department has chosen to join several of the lawsuits greatly enhances the credibility of the allegations.

While the details of the allegations against the for-profit hospices vary, overall they paint a picture of an industry seeking to maximize profit by admitting non-terminal patients to hospice care.

Full Article and Source:
Hospice Companies Increase Profits by Taking in People Who Aren't Dying

Note: NASGA highly recommends Hospice Patients Alliance to anyone and everyone who is dealing with a hospice situation, preferably before hospice is brought in. 

9 Arrested at Long Island Nursing Home Following Patient's Death

Nine people have been arrested following an investigation of a Long Island nursing home by the state attorney general’s office.

As CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan reported, of the nine employees charged, seven of them were arrested in connection with the October 2012 death of 72-year-old patient Aurelia Rios.

Licensed professional Kethlie Joseph is charged with criminally negligent homicide and administrator David Fielding is accused of an alleged cover-up.
Rios, a retired dental assistant and mother of three, suffered from pneumonia and was sent to Medford Multicare Center for six weeks of temporary rehab, McLogan reported.

Authorities said during Rios’ stay, her ventilator became disconnected and workers at the facility ignored alarms for two hours, 1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera reported.

Rios died soon after, and her daughter said the family was told she died of a heart attack, Rivera reported.

“It didn’t sit right with us,” Rios’ daughter, Michelle Giamarino, said. “I cried a lot, but now I’m very angry. … How can you be that negligent? That’s a life.”

Meanwhile, a whistle-blower secretly contacted state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and an investigation into Rios’ death ensued, McLogan reported.

Full Article and Source:
9 Arrested in LI Nursing Home Following Patient's Death

Florida School Teacher Accused of Victimizing 85-Year-Old Woman

A North Lauderdale woman is accused of befriending an 85-year-old and illegally withdrawing money from her bank account to pay for a car, wedding dresses and more, authorities said.

Catherine Champon, 59, is facing charges of grand theft and exploitation of the elderly.

According to a Broward Sheriff's Office report, Champon is a teacher at Village Elementary School in Sunrise.

District officials said Champon, a first-grade teacher, became a full-time teacher in December 2001 after working as a substitute for about three years. Her employment status is pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

Champon befriended the elderly woman by driving her places and eventually obtained an ATM card and personal identification number linked to her bank account, the report said.

Full Article and Source:
"Friend" Accused of Victimizing North Lauderdale Woman,85

Repeat Offender Gets Prison Time for Scamming Elderly Woman

An Illinois man with a history of scamming elderly people has been sentenced in Scott County District Court to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to exploiting an elderly Prior Lake woman to the tune of nearly $16,000.

John Earl Mattenklodt, 27, of Granite City, Ill., was sentenced Jan. 15 in Scott County District Court after pleading guilty to financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. In addition to the prison time, Mattenklodt was ordered by Judge Christian S. Wilton to pay $15,800 in restitution to the victim and another $85 in fines and fees, and provide a DNA sample.

Mattenklodt, who spent time in prison in Oklahoma on eight separate counts of exploitation of an elderly person and one count of caretaker-abuse financial exploitation, convinced the Prior Lake woman to write him several checks totaling nearly $19,000 for work on her driveway, which was never done, according to court records.

Full Article and Source:
Man Gets Prison Time for Scamming Elderly Woman

"Nightmarish Situation" for Brain-Damaged Young Woman's Family

Brain-damaged soon after birth, Cristal Marie McBean has spent much of her life dependent on three things: a ventilator to keep her breathing, round-the-clock nursing care and her father.

But as the quadriplegic Lauderhill woman nears her 22nd birthday, both her future and her health have been cast into doubt because of a depleted guardianship account and the possibility that her father, Glenford McBean, could be deported to his native Jamaica.

"This has created a nightmarish situation for this family," said Gary Fox, an attorney representing the guardianship of Cristal McBean. "This is all very scary for all of us who care about this little girl."

Lawyers representing the nonprofit corporation that acts as McBean's guardian have filed a lawsuit accusing financial services giant Northern Trust Co. of negligence, alleging that over 15 years it failed to protect nearly $5 million of her assets.

Northern Trust said it plans to "vigorously defend" its actions, saying it did its duty to protect and preserve the assets of McBean's estate.

Meanwhile, Glenford McBean, a 53-year-old legal permanent resident, has been placed in removal proceedings after he applied for citizenship and immigration officials saw that he had pleaded no contest to a marijuana charge.

If deported, said McBean, his daughter likely would be sent to a nursing home. He said he fears she would die there.

His daughter has little cognitive ability. She does not speak, cannot walk and it is uncertain even to her father what she is able to see, hear and comprehend. Nurses feed her through a tube every six hours, stretch her limbs and keep her airway clear.

However, she is aware of her father's presence, McBean said. When she hears his voice in the next room, for example, she is able to stop her breathing long enough to set off the alarm in her ventilator, he said. "That is her way of calling me," he said.

Full Article and Source:
For Brain Damaged Lauderhill Woman, a "Nightmarish Situation"

Disbarred NY Lawyer, Robert Fontanelli, Indicted in $1 Mil Escrow Theft

A former attorney arrested last week by state police after an upstate traffic stop has been indicted for stealing the proceeds of a $1 million real estate transaction in Brooklyn from a client. Robert Fontanelli, 48, was charged by a grand jury with first-degree and second-degree grand larceny, both felonies, and faces up to 81/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

Fontanelli is accused of draining the funds from the escrow account in which he deposited the proceeds of the sale of the mixed residential and commercial property at 798 St. John's Place in Crown Heights.

Authorities in Brooklyn said Fontanelli's client, Jean Apolon, never received any money from the December 2012 transaction.

"A lawyer's escrow account represents a sacred trust between himself and his client," Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said in a statement. "Stealing from that account violates that trust and is a stain on the profession."

Financial crime investigators in the Brooklyn D.A.'s office said Fontanelli, who had been a solo practitioner, used the money from the escrow account to pay the rent on an office at 32 Court St. in Brooklyn and to operate his business.

Full Article and Source:
Disbarred Lawyer is Indicted in $1 Million Escrow Theft

Maine Banks and Credit Unions Launch Program to Stop Elder Financial Abuse

Banks and credit unions throughout Maine announced  that they are collaborating on a training and public education program designed to stop elder financial abuse where it most often starts: inside the financial institution or at the drive-up window.

Senior$afe, which members of the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention say is the first program of its kind in the country, will help bank and credit union workers identify irregular financial activity that could indicate abuse. The program also will train them how to intervene when necessary.

“Financial institutions can play a critical role in identifying and reporting suspected cases of elder financial exploitation,” said Gov. Paul LePage in a written statement. “Senior$afe will enhance the efforts of bank and credit union employees in assisting seniors who have been victimized and those who may be especially vulnerable.”

Elder financial abuse in Maine, which has the oldest per-capita average age in the country — with many of those older citizens living in rural areas — is as pronounced as it is anywhere. Experts estimate that there are at least 14,000 new reports of elder abuse every year, which could constitute as little as 15 percent of the actual instances of abuse. 

Full Article and Source:
Main Banks, Credit Unions Launch Program to Stop Elder Financial Abuse

Bill Targeting Elder Abuse in Iowa Advances

State lawmakers are being asked to revamp and toughen laws designed to combat abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of Iowans 60 years or older.

A bill that was the product of a two-year study on elder abuse prevention and intervention cleared a Senate Human Resources subcommittee Wednesday. Backers of Senate File 2117 said Iowa has laws dealing with dependent abuse, but there are gaps and bureaucratic hurdles when problems beset elder individuals who are living independently yet may be vulnerable.

“What we’re trying to do is make people aware that there is abuse out there and how we can go about educating people to prevent it from happening and then give them some recourse, too,” said Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm, D-Cresco, who led the three-member subcommittee. The legislation defines elderly Iowans as 60 years and older, which is consistent with the federal Older Americans Act, she added.

The 25-member Elder Abuse Prevention and Intervention Study Committee recommended the Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad develop an elder abuse law that focuses on the unique needs of older Iowans and creates definitions that protect those who do not meet the dependent adult abuse criteria.

They also said the current system and laws for protecting older Iowans are fragmented and do not meet older citizens' needs. The panel called for implementing a statewide elder abuse intervention system and strengthening safeguards from financial exploitation, noting that the current financial power of attorney and conservatorship laws do not adequately protect older residents and their assets from perpetrators or from persons in a position of trust.

Full Article and Source:
Bill Targeting Elder Abuse in Iowa Advances

Tonight on T.S. Radio: George Dahmer - "Chief White Owl" (WWF) Abuse and Neglect and Death

George Dahmer was better known to his fans as “Chief White Owl” one of the original wrestlers for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).  George began his career in the 50‘s and continued long into the 70‘s with the Federation, as one of their most popular and loved celebrity wrestlers.   He finished his career in the early 80‘s.

In later years George developed senile dementia and was eventually admitted to Columbia Hospital for evaluation.  George was 72 years old.  

At the time of admittance to Lake Worth Manor, George was fully able to walk, talk, feed himself and take care of other personal needs.  

After several weeks in the home, George’s upper denture was missing, along with his shoes, clothes and other belongings.  The staff responded by putting someone else’s shoes on George, two sizes too small, causing blistering on his feet.

George was chemically restrained with off-label drugs which are prohibited for use on the elderly.

George's stay in Lake Worth Manor was 63 days. George was severely neglected at Lake Worth Manor. Florida Department of Children and Families -Elder Abuse was notified and so was the Ombudsman. Lake Worth was charged with Negligence and fined $5,000.00.

George lost all residents rights as a result of the complaint and as a form of retaliation for the complaint.

On April 30, 2008 George was transferred by ambulance to Heartland of Boynton Beach, Florida. The Staff cleaned him up and then reported the horrific news- dehydration, malnutrition, lost 32 pounds in 8 weeks, decubitus ulcers on both heels of his feet and tailbone; stage 4. Both rotary caps turned in both shoulders.

George Dahmer passed away at 3:16 pm on May 23,2008.5:00 pm PST
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State of Ohio Closes Troubled Nursing Home

A long-troubled nursing home in southwestern Ohio — the one that was home to more registered sex offenders than any other in the state — has officially closed.

The last one of 131 residents at Carlton Manor in Washington Court House in Fayette County was moved yesterday.

Carlton Manor had become the state’s de facto nursing home for people who were difficult to place. In addition to 27 registered sex offenders living there, nearly all the other residents had some sort of behavioral, psychological or mental-health problem. Many had a history of violent or aggressive behavior, and some had criminal backgrounds.

The Ohio Department of Health, which licenses nursing homes, said in January it was revoking the home’s license because of a series of failed inspections and a history of trouble, which included not reporting suspected sexual abuse and improperly restraining residents. The government has pulled the home’s Medicaid and Medicare funding.

Of the 131 residents in the facility when the state ordered the closure, 99 moved to other nursing facilities; 21 went to developmental-disability centers; four were placed in mental-health group homes; three moved home; and four died of natural causes.

Full Article and Source:
State Closes Troubled Nursing Home

Stray Dog Finds Purpose as Nursing Home Pet

Six years ago, a nursing home opened its doors to a stray Chocolate lab named Rusty who was about to be put down at a nearby shelter. But little could anyone have guessed that by saving the dog's life, he then would go on to bring so much joy to theirs.

Sue VanDeRostyne, who runs the Toulon Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Illinois, first met Rusty after her sister found him wandering unattended in her backyard in 2008. The dog, thought to be around 2 years old, was wearing a collar with an out-of-state rabies tag, but it contained no information about who he belonged to.

“He was obviously someone’s pet,” says Sue. “We went everywhere trying to find the owner.”

Eventually, they decided to drop Rusty off at the local animal shelter in hopes that someone might come claim him there. But after a week without any luck, Sue got word that Rusty’s time was up.

“She called me on the seventh day, which was the day they would mostly likely be putting him down, saying nobody had claimed him," Sue says. "I actually left work, put blankets and sheets from the nursing home and went and picked him up in my car. And he's been here ever since.”

Back at the nursing home, which specializes in caring for seniors with Alzheimer's and dementia, the lost dog was given a place to live alongside its nearly 100 live-in residents as Sue continued to try to track down Rusty's owner, but to no avail. It became clear, however, that Sue's gesture of kindness not only gave the friendly dog a new home -- it gave him a purpose as well.

Rusty soon established himself as the nursing home's resident pet, bringing happiness and comfort to seniors who needed it the most.

“He has made a huge difference. Oftentimes, they don't get visitors. But with Rusty though, if he walks by them and someone holds out their hand, he will stop and go closer to them to get petted,” says Sue.

Full Article and Source:
Stray Dog Finds Purpose as Nursing Home Pet

Estate Planner and Ex-Employee to Pay $46.3 mil in Restitution for Scheme Exploiting the Terminally Ill

A federal judge ruled Monday that estate planner Joseph A. Caramadre and his former employee must pay $46.3 million in restitution related to an investment scheme exploiting the terminally ill.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith upheld Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan's recommendation that Caramadre and Raymour Radhakrishnan owe $46-plus million to insurance companies and bond issuers defrauded under the scheme.

Smith in December sentenced Caramadre, a once political donor and philanthropist, to six years in prison for his role as mastermind of the investment strategy that used the identities of dying people to purchase investments for his clients. Radhakrishnan received a year and a day in prison.

Smith held off, however, in determining the amount of restitution the two men owed.

In accepting Sullivan's recommendations, Smith found that Caramadre and Radhakrishan were not equally culpable for the $46 million in losses the companies sustained from the inception of the criminal conspiracy in 1995.

Radhakrishnan participated from 2007 through the scheme's end in 2010, he found. During that time, the companies suffered $33.2 million in losses, he said.

"Radhakrishnan served a vital role during this time period," Smith wrote. "Indeed, to the terminally ill people taken advantage of, he was the personification of the Caramadre enterprise."

"Caramadre may aptly be described as the mastermind of the conspiracy at issue in this case," Smith wrote.

Full Article and Source:
Federal Judge Orders Estate Planner Caramadre, Ex-Employee to Pay $46.3 Million

See Also:
Death Takes a Policy; How a Lawyer Exploited the Fine Print and Found Himself Facing Federal Charges

CO Supreme Court Judge Resigns After Investigation

A Larimer County Court judge announced his resignation after an investigation found he made inappropriate comments to his staff, attorneys and people who appeared in his courtroom.

The Colorado Supreme Court issued a public reprimand against Larimer County Court Judge Robert A. Rand on Monday. Rand was suspended with pay in July while the Commission on Judicial Discipline investigated numerous reports of inappropriate and unethical conduct by Rand.

The commission found that the judge violated the Colorado Judicial Code of Conduct. Rand, who was appointed to the Larimer County bench in September 2009, routinely joked and made comments about the appearance of staff and attorneys who appeared in his courtroom, according to the high court's ruling.

Full Article and Source:
Larimer County Judge Resigns After Discipline Investigation