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| by James Eli Shiffer |
On Aug. 10, Stephen Grisham will report to federal
prison to begin serving a 12-months-and-a-day term for stealing from
vulnerable veterans and others. The sentence, handed down Friday in
Minneapolis by Chief U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, is half of the
lower end of the presumptive sentence, of 24 to 36 months, that he faced
when he pleaded guilty to misappropriation by a fiduciary.
Grisham may end up serving only nine months, if he behaves himself in prison. Yet it's quite a comedown for the former conservator whose reputation for integrity made him a go-to guy when other appointed decision-makers bungled the job. When he entered his plea last July, he said he used the money to feed a gambling addiction.
"They trusted me. They came to me in trust," Grisham told the judge. "I violated that in every way possible."
The revelation of Grisham's thefts and subsequent collapse of his company, Alternate Decision Makers, resulted in a costly mess as lawyers and court officials probed the scope of the damage.
Grisham has pledged to pay restitution as quickly as he can to the still-unnamed victims, whose benefits he was hired to handle. That figure has climbed to $157,961, although the figure would decrease because of a $1,000 check that Grisham's lawyer said he brought to court.
The potential for making victims whole persuaded Tunheim that Grisham would not abuse his relatively brief loss of freedom. "I don't feel the need to protect the public from further criminal action by you," the judge said.
"I want to wish you the best. I appreciate the commitment to pay these people back," Tunheim told Grisham. "I hope you've learned a lesson from this."
Grisham may end up serving only nine months, if he behaves himself in prison. Yet it's quite a comedown for the former conservator whose reputation for integrity made him a go-to guy when other appointed decision-makers bungled the job. When he entered his plea last July, he said he used the money to feed a gambling addiction.
"They trusted me. They came to me in trust," Grisham told the judge. "I violated that in every way possible."
The revelation of Grisham's thefts and subsequent collapse of his company, Alternate Decision Makers, resulted in a costly mess as lawyers and court officials probed the scope of the damage.
Grisham has pledged to pay restitution as quickly as he can to the still-unnamed victims, whose benefits he was hired to handle. That figure has climbed to $157,961, although the figure would decrease because of a $1,000 check that Grisham's lawyer said he brought to court.
The potential for making victims whole persuaded Tunheim that Grisham would not abuse his relatively brief loss of freedom. "I don't feel the need to protect the public from further criminal action by you," the judge said.
"I want to wish you the best. I appreciate the commitment to pay these people back," Tunheim told Grisham. "I hope you've learned a lesson from this."
Full Article & Source:
1-year term for former conservator who stole from vulnerable veterans
See Also:
Former Minnesota Conservator Stephen Grisham Faces Federal Theft Charges
Lawyers Still Unraveling the Depth of MN Conservator Stephen Grisham's' Theft
5 comments:
A year is going to teach him a lesson? Really?
One year for such a betrayal of trust. Now, there's a strong statement of how the elderly don't matter.
Grisham's sentence may have been due to his cooperation and historical standing with federal and county courts and authorities. His professional associates presented multiple letters to the court supporting him. His lawyer claimed that he was taking a medication which is known to cause gambling addiction, however the medical procedure involved, according to a testimonial made by Grisham online, occurred after the thefts reportedly began. At least one of Grisham's victims was billed tens of thousands in legal fees by his defunct firm's lawyers, for the purpose of "investigating" the thefts, and now is in court with a new conservator and lawyer trying to get those fees back. It's a big old mess.
He was court appointed for my mother who had Alzheimer’s. I took care of her 24/7 and was her legal guardian. I had a legal contract with my salary I was to be paid. He got mad at me & abruptly discontinued paying me stating we had run out of money. I had to find a grant for salary & respite. That was his responsibility. I had to take a significant cut in pay & filed bankruptcy for my debts I could no longer pay. He started receiving my mother’s Social Security & didn’t get anything from him for 7 months. I had to get an attorney to be paid for groceries & living expenses. It cost me $1,100 to pay for the attorney before this was resolved. He wrote a letter with veiled threats & was totally unprofessional. It was like an addict had written it. I later found out he was an alcoholic. I went to his 5 year review with 2 pages of questions & met with him & his attorney in a room at the courthouse. He told me he hated me a considerable amount of times during that meeting. I wanted to meet him because I wanted a new conservator of my choosing. He once again acted as those he was on something or heavily drunk. His attorney was still getting paid $400 an hour which I questioned since we were entitled to free legal aid. He told me no one was going to tell him who he could have as an Attorney. At one point the attorney held his head in his hands covering his face. When we finally went into court I cried through the whole hearing & was emotionally so distraught that the judge asked if I was ok. I was too upset to speak & could only cry. I woukd like to point out that he could have an attorney my mother paid for & I couldn’t unless it was out of my own pocket. I did get a new conservator & didn’t have any money to rectify the theft from my mother. I saw in the paper the first time he was charged with stealing from a Veteran & lost his business. I don’t believe he spent any time incarcerated for that offense. The people that work there all know each other so I think when you are personally involved you are more lenient. You have to know if he stole from one person there are more. I don’t feel his prison sentence for a year was more than a slap on the hand. I was glad to see someone pursued this & found multiple other people he had stolen from & did a lot more time. The irony is that my 3 older siblings tried to get my mom’s money & I took them to court to be her legal Guardian, Power of Attorney and healthcare Directive. They never helped one second in all of the ten years, 24/7 care I gave her. They refused to give me her house I had lived at for 24 years. When my mother died in our dining room I was right by her side, rubbing her hair, kissing her cheek & telling her I loved her. I told her it was time to join my father & all the people that loved her in heaven. She took 2 more breaths & joined them. 😇 During her little over 2 weeks in hospice she was seeing angels & naming them. She saw my father in his uniform by the side of her bed. She told me she had to get her shoes on because her mother was coming to get her. I told her she wouldn't need shoes where she was going. She was my best friend. I told the hospice staff that she was a world traveler, a woman Libber, an artist (her paintings were on the wall) a wonderful friend mother & wife. She would smile & nod her head. I don’t believe in retaining negative energy but I do believe in Karma. What he did to all of these innocent, elderly, handicapped people was such a betrayal & made life harder on all of us. So I hope he gets what he deserves! HE WON’T BE GOING TO HEAVEN & will be paying for this for many lifetimes..
Thank you for your post about your Mother and all the unnecessary hassles and worries you had to navigate when doing your best to take care of your Mother. Talking care of a person with Alzheimer's is hard enough; there's nothing harder. Nothing. The conservator's job is to make your job easier and support everything you need to do for your Mother.
We have found when a family member is appointed as guardian and a "professional" is appointed as conservator, in far too many cases, the conservator controls most everything and makes those decisions. The system is backwards.
I don't know how you survived the constant stress. You are very strong.
You are also a good daughter and your Mother was best to have you.
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