Search warrants served as police investigate guardianship exploitation

By Darcy Spears
 
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Breaking news in an ongoing Contact 13 investigation as search warrants are served at multiple locations.

Contact 13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears has been shining a spotlight on guardianship exploitation for nearly a year. 

Now law enforcement is taking an unprecedented step.

"April, it's Darcy Spears from channel 13, would you please come out and talk to me?" Spears called through April Parks' front door.  After ringing the bell and knocking and waiting, Parks didn't answer.

"I know you're in there," said Spears through the door.  "Why are you avoiding us?"

As of this morning, private guardian April Parks can no longer avoid accountability over allegations of double dipping, misspent money and abuse of power.

Police served search warrants at Parks' home in Boulder City and also at her office on St. Rose Parkway near the 215.

The law enforcement activity spearheaded by the Attorney General's office comes about five months after Contact 13 first exposed allegations against Parks for exploiting her wards.

Rudy and Rennie North.

Mrs. Elizabeth Indig.

Phyllis Moscowitz-Crowe.

They're just a few of the more than 100 people who were made wards of the court with Parks as their guardian.

Now, police are looking at what Parks did with their money and assets.

Investigators from the Nevada Attorney General's office, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and Boulder City Police carted out boxes of documents from Parks' office and spoke to her at her home.

She spoke to us back in May to address concerns raised by wards and their families.

"When I get to that age and somebody tries to put me in a guardianship," Parks said, "I'm probably going to come out kicking and screaming too."

Ever since that interview, Parks has refused to talk.

"You can't hide forever," Spears called through Parks' door today.

The joint law enforcement investigation, which includes the Clark County District Attorney, is the first of its kind and, according to affected families, it's long overdue.

Law enforcement's focus on Parks began in June when Boulder City Police began investigating the disappearance of eight of Parks' wards.

She'd moved them without notice from Lakeview Terrace in Boulder City--leaving a trail of unpaid bills behind.

Contact 13 also caught Parks double dipping into the bank accounts of Rudy and Rennie North, which she spoke about in May.

Darcy Spears: As a responsible steward of their money, you're in charge of every dime these people have in this world.

April Parks: Yes Ma'am.

Darcy Spears: Is it acceptable to be consistently making those mistakes with someone else's money?

April Parks: No it's not.

Just last week, we told the story of Phyllis Moscowitz-Crowe who was left destitute and almost lost her home after Parks became her guardian.

"She's so evil and so vicious even the devil wouldn't have her in his zone," Moscowitz-Crowe said.
Elizabeth Indig's mother did lose her home after Parks let it slip into foreclosure.

It was sold for pennies on the dollar and then Parks sold most of Mrs. Indig's clothing and belongings.

"My mom is now sentenced to a life in a nursing home when we had a trust and we had made plans to keep her in her own home with all of her things until she died," Elizabeth said.

We've asked the court what will become of all the people April Parks has guardianship over--now that police have seized her files, paperwork and computer equipment.

We're still waiting on a response and we will stay on this story as it develops.

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Search warrants served as police investigate guardianship exploitation