According to prosecutors, Mark Simmons acted as private, professional guardian April Parks' right-hand man.
A former employee describes Simmons as the "Air Traffic Controller" in
Parks's guardianship office that was allegedly run as a criminal
syndicate. Parks is charged with more than 200 felony counts while
Simmons faces more than 100 counts including racketeering and perjury.
The man who pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars when he
supposed to protect the elderly told a judge Wednesday he couldn't
afford an attorney.
According to court
documents, Parks and Simmons told people Simmons was qualified to
evaluate the elderly to determine if they suffered from dementia or
Alzheimer's. But investigators say he was not a qualified social worker
or medical professional.
Despite that, they
found several cases where the so-called mental evaluation by Simmons
"was used as the sole evidence, or as supporting evidence, to the court
for determination if an elderly person needed guardianship."
Court records also show evidence of Simmons hand-calculating how many
hours of service to bill a client to "zero out her last remaining
dollars."
Simmons will be arraigned next week after the Public Defender's Office considers whether to appoint him an attorney.
Editor’s note: This article contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
A
Eureka law firm has filed two wrongful death complaints against two
Eureka nursing homes alleging that neglect and a lack of nursing staff
led to the deaths of two patients in 2016.
Janssen Malloy LLP
attorney W. Timothy Needham is representing the families of the two
deceased patients Ralph Sorensen and Randy Kruger. He said both men died
after developing severe pressure ulcers that became infected while they
were patients at the Eureka and Seaview rehabilitation and wellness
centers.
“Although our investigation is not yet complete, it appears to us
from our investigation to date that these facilities are being
consciously understaffed,” Needham said.
Needham said pressure
ulcers are entirely avoidable and can form when patients are not moved
regularly by nursing stuff. Wheelchair- or bed-bound patients can have
circulation cut at pressure points if they are not moved, causing
underlying tissue to become damaged and form an ulcer.
The two
nursing homes as well as their owning company Brius Healthcare Services,
their administrative company Rockport Healthcare Services and Brius CEO
Shlomo Rechnitz have been named as defendants in the complaints.
Attempts to contact Rockport and Brius as well as their representing
attorney James Yee were not returned Wednesday.
The latest lawsuit filed March 10 alleges that the Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center failed to check on Kruger’s skin.
According
to the complaint, Kruger was admitted to the nursing home in July 2015
after being treated for a neurological condition at hospitals in Eureka
and San Francisco two months earlier.
Needham states in his complaint that the nursing home became
aware that Kruger had developed ulcers on his tailbone in August 2016.
By November, the ulcer had dramatically worsened.
“You have to
realize what (the facilities) have literally done is they’ve allowed
this person to rot to the point that they’ve got a hole in their back so
large you can put your fist in it all the way to their backbone,”
Needham said Wednesday.
Complaining of chest pain, fever and pain
to his tailbone, Kruger was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka where
he died of bone infection and pneumonia on Nov. 9, 2016. He was 64.
About eight months earlier, the 76-year-old Sorensen died at the
same hospital from an infected ulcer on his tailbone, according to the
complaint.
Sorensen was admitted to Seaview Rehabilitation and
Wellness Center in Humboldt Hill in November 2015 after being treated
for an aortic valve replacement, according to the complaint. He did not
have an ulcer when he was admitted, the complaint states, but was known
to be at risk for ulcer formation in his resident care plan.
In
December 2015, a nursing assistant noticed a pressure ulcer on
Sorensen’s right buttock, “but neither Mr. Sorensen’s family nor his
physician was told about the ulcer,” the complaint states.
Another nurse noticed the ulcer three days later but did not
document the wound or inform Sorensen’s family or physician, the
complaint alleges. Sorensen then began running a fever of up to 102
degrees and was found to have an abscess on his hip bone, which was
later determined to be the ulcer at St. Joseph Hospital.
The
complaint alleges that Seaview did not have the required nursing staff
under state law to ensure Sorensen received the care identified in his
care plan.
“During his stay at Seaview, Ralph Sorensen never once
received a shower or a bath,” the complaint alleges. “Nor was his weight
monitored regularly, his nutrition intake was not recorded, and regular
assessments of Ralph Sorensen’s skin were not made as required of his
care plan.”
Needham said the California Department of Public Health issued
two state enforcement actions against Seaview in August 2016 for failing
to report Sorensen’s health status changes and failing to provide
treatment for or prevent a pressure sore from forming. The facility was
fined $40,000 for these violations, but the nursing home has appealed
the fines, according to the department website.
According to the Medicare nursing home comparison website,
Seaview nursing staff provide an average of 18 minutes of time per
resident each day compared to the state average of one hour and 57
minutes. Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has one hour and 29
minutes of nursing care time per patient per day.
This does not include certified nursing assistant time that
patients receive, which is two hours or more at the two facilities,
according to the Medicare website.
Brius is based in Los Angeles
and has acquired more than 80 nursing homes throughout the state since
2006. The company acquired five nursing homes in Humboldt County —
Eureka, Seaview, Fortuna, Granada and Pacific rehabilitation and
wellness centers — from Skilled Healthcare Group in 2011.
Needham said these staffing issues are not isolated incidents, but are pervasive to Brius Healthcare Services’ nursing homes.
Last year, the Department of Public Health denied Brius
Healthcare’s applications to acquire five nursing homes because of the
company’s history of health care violations. Former California Attorney
General Kamala Harris issued an emergency motion to block Brius from
acquiring 19 nursing homes in 2014, referring to the company as a
“serial violator” of state health care laws.
Brius Healthcare
sought to close three of its Humboldt County nursing homes last year due
to nursing staff recruitment issues. The closure would have resulted in
more than 100 patients having to be transferred out of the county,
prompting an outcry from local officials and the community. Brius
announced last year that it would only be closing Pacific Rehabilitation
and Wellness Center in Eureka, which occurred in January.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Davidson County Judge Casey Moreland was
arrested and formally charged Tuesday morning by federal authorities in
an ongoing investigation into his conduct.
While cuffed at the arms and legs, Moreland appeared in front of a
federal magistrate for an arraignment on charges of obstruction of
criminal investigations, tampering with a witness, victim, or an
informant and retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant in
Nashville.
During his initial appearance, the Davidson County judge replied
“Yes, sir” when asked if he understood the obstruction of justice
charges against him and the potential penalties.
Moreland, whose hands and feet were both cuffed Tuesday, will remain
in federal custody at a Grayson County, Kentucky, jail pending another
hearing on Friday.
News 2 spoke with his attorney, Peter Strianse, late Tuesday
afternoon who said, “He is obviously in a bit of a state of shock. You
know he certainly did not expect to be awoken by the FBI at 6 o’clock
this morning with a search warrant. So I think he is still reeling a bit
from all of that.”
He added, “He is like any person. He did not expect to be here today.
He certainly understood that he was under investigation, but he thought
that investigation would be like a lot of investigations – they would
look at it and look at it and made a determination if they have enough
to charge somebody.
This was really an abrupt way to start the day.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating Moreland and
others on January 25 after allegations they violated federal
anti-corruption statutes by soliciting, accepting and extorting things
of value including sexual favors, from people he had close relationships
with in return for performing official acts that benefited those people
and their associates.
Moreland reportedly became aware of the investigation in early February when FBI agents attempted to interview him.
Federal documents also allege that earlier this month, Moreland took
steps to “obstruct and interfere with the federal investigation” by
attempting to pay a woman to recant her prior statements about him. (Click to Continue)
SHARON, Mass. - A hidden camera captured a
93-year-old great-grandmother being tossed around and her hair pulled in
a Sharon nursing home and rehab last week.
The video, set up by her family in her room at Wingate at Sharon,
shows two women toss the elderly resident into her wheelchair. The
resident, whose family, has identified her only as Dorothy, then
struggles to maintain her balance.
“Get the hell away
from me,” Dorothy says. “You think you’re pretty smart,” as one aide
shows Dorothy her fist. Seconds later, the other aide grabs her hair
from behind and yanks her head around.
The video from March 5
begins with Dorothy, who has dementia, swearing at and exchanging
swipes with the pair. She threatens to break one certified nursing
assistant (CNA)’s nose and says she will call police. Her granddaughter
Kristen says Dorothy was defending herself.
“She can’t really hurt
you. She’s 98 pounds. They were picking her up and whipping her
around,” Kristen said. “It’s awful. We haven’t even slept nights with
the images in our head of what was taken place, and we weren’t there to
help her.”
Sharon police
investigating the case filed a court summons for Domingas Teixeira, 61,
and Leonide Jean Paul Bien-Aime, 49, both of Brockton, on charges of
assault and battery on a person over 60.
Teixeira denied physically assaulting Dorothy but declined to comment further without an attorney.
FOX25 tried to reach Bien-Aime at home but could not make contact with her.
Wingate confirmed to FOX25 both aides had been fired. The company sent the following statement to FOX25.
“Upon hearing this
deeply upsetting news, we moved swiftly to terminate the two employees
involved, conduct a full investigation and work with the authorities.
We have brought in a counselor to support the resident and family and
are re-educating all of our staff on appropriate and compassionate
patient care. We are confident that this is an isolated incident,
because we know our dedicated staff members who work hard every day to
ensure the safety and dignity of the residents for whom they care.
Nonetheless, it is heartbreaking.”
A spokesperson for
Wingate also provided a letter that was sent to residents’ families,
informing them of the incident, promising it was isolated and pledging,
“nothing is more important to us than the safety and dignity of our
residents.”
Dorothy, sick with
pneumonia and a urinary tract infection, has been transferred to
Massachusetts General Hospital. There, Kristen said, she is happier. She
will never return to Wingate, the family said.
“I’m disgusted. I’m sickened by it. She’s defenseless,” Kristen said.
“We trusted this place to take care of her, and this is what was
taking place in their facility.”
In an effort to
protect her own grandparent and others, Kristen has been sending letters
to lawmakers urging them to reconsider an electronic monitoring bill
that was never passed but was proposed more than 15 years ago to allow
residents of nursing homes to keep a camera rolling in their room.
FLORENCE, Ala. - A woman faces more than 100 felonies in Florence for
taking advantage of a family member. Investigators say the charges
range from credit card fraud to selling the victim's car.
Investigators call financial exploitation of the elderly a disturbing
crime, and one they are seeing an increased number of cases in. The
latest case in Florence had been going on for months before being
discovered.
Jennifer Hipps, 38, is the latest to be arrested. Florence Police
say they have worked countless hours tracking down financial records in
the case.
"At this time we are able to prove approximately $15,000 based on
credit card statements, but there is potentially more," said Florence
Police Detective Justin Wright.
Detective Wright says Hipps was entrusted to take care of an elderly family member.
"She had extended credit cards; she had renewed credit cards that had
since been closed. She opened various credit cards and loans in her
name," said Wright. "A few weeks ago she was arrested, she had sold her car and forged the bill of sale as well."
Wright says Hipps left the family member almost penniless. He says prosecutors take this type of crime very seriously.
"Fortunately the state has taken a stand on financial crimes and also
physical crimes against the elderly," said Wright. "We have drafted
new laws for financial exploitation and also physical abuse. And the
state will aggressively pursue any of the crimes against the elderly."
In all, Hipps faces 136 felony charges related to the financial
exploitation of her elderly family member. She remains in the
Lauderdale County Detention Center on bail totaling $143,000.
Investigators say more charges could be filed against Hipps as the
investigation continues.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Davidson County General Sessions Judge Casey
Moreland was arrested Tuesday morning by FBI agents, accused of
attempting to obstruct a federal investigation.
A criminal
complaint filed in U.S. District Court accuses the 59-year-old Moreland
of attempting to bribe a witness in an on-going FBI investigation into
his conduct and suggesting that drugs be planted on that witness in an
attempt to discredit her.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith said the allegations amount to "egregious abuses of power by a judge sitting in Nashville."
"Such
an abuse of power," Smith added, "undermines the credibility of and
destroys the public's trust in the court system and strikes at the very
essence of our judicial branch of government."
The FBI investigation began January 25.
Moreland's
conduct had been the focus of a NewsChannel 5 investigation after a
police review of a young woman's suicide exposed his illicit affair with
one young woman and allegations that he had intervened in a criminal
case involving another woman who later committed suicide
Thousands of text messages obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates
reveal Moreland intervened in the traffic stop last June involving his
mistress, Natalie Amos. He also interceded in a criminal case involving
Amos to help her get out of fines that had been imposed against her.
Amos appears to have been the target of the bribery attempt, as well as the scheme to plant drugs in her vehicle.
The
Metro Police investigation into the suicide last May of the second
woman, Leigh Terry, brought up several disturbing allegations. One is
that Moreland had sex with a woman in his chambers in exchange for
favorable treatment in her DUI case.
"She told me right then that
she had sex with Casey Moreland in the chambers and that's what kept her
out of jail," Terry's friend, Roy Matlock, said during an interview
with Metro Police.
Prosecutors say the plan to ask that Moreland be held without bond.
Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Megan Barry released the following statement:
"Nashville
deserves to have absolute trust in our judiciary, and Casey Moreland,
based upon the allegations in the federal complaint, seems to have
clearly violated that trust. Like all Americans, Judge Moreland deserves
the chance to defend himself in court. However, resigning his position
now would seem to be in the best interest of the Nashvillians who depend
upon the integrity of our General Sessions Court judges to rule in a
fair and unbiased manner.”
The state's top Probate Court administrator said Monday that
new reforms are needed to protect the elderly and mentally ill from
abuse.
Probate Court Administrator Paul J. Knierim and lawmakers
said more needs to be done to prevent fraud and deception by corrupt
court-appointed conservators. At a press conference and hearing Monday
they spoke in support of a reform bill moving through the legislature.
"We need to root out as many of those bad apples ... as we can,"
said Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, vice-chair of the
legislature's judiciary committee.
Conservators appointed by state probate courts are
handling financial matters for an estimated 20,000 elderly, disabled
and mentally ill Connecticut residents with assets of more than $350
million, probate officials said Monday.
Preventing
abuse by these court-appointed conservators — some of whom have stolen
tens of thousands of dollars from the elderly and mentally ill people
they swore to protect — is the goal of the probate reform bill.
"There
is no more important responsibility ... than the duties of a
conservator," Knierim said Monday.
He said that the vast majority of
Connecticut conservators are honest and dedicated to providing their
charges with everything from housing, to medical care and nutrition, in
addition to handling financial matters.
Proposed reforms include random state audits of conservator accounts and tougher ethical standards.
Knierim
said in the past five years, the probate system has seen a 58 percent
increase in the number of mental health cases requiring conservators.
This
isn't the first effort to reform the probate system. Knierim said
legislation was passed in 2007 to give probate judges authority to order
audits of questionable conservator accounts.
The new legislation
has been triggered in part by recent high-profile cases of conservators
stealing money from the people they were appointed to help.
Last August, a 67-year-old disabled man from Wethersfield named John Fritz received
a $10,000 settlement of a lawsuit against a court-appointed
conservator. Michael Schless, a retired lawyer from Newington now living
in Florida, pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny for stealing money
from Fritz. Schless, 78, received a 10-year-suspended sentence and had
to surrender his law license.
Fritz, whose family began noticing
in 2012 that his finances were being drained away, has recovered $60,000
of the money taken by Schless. The judge in the case said when
sentencing Schless that the scandal showed "the court system is not
perfect and this is a dishonorable day for the court system."
At
Monday's hearing, one harsh critic of Connecticut's probate courts
testified against the proposed reform. Jeryl Gray, who claims her mother
has been financially abused by the conservator system, argued that a
failure to enforce existing laws has led to "extreme atrocities" against
people like her mother. Gray said passing a new "sham bill" wouldn't
change a corrupt system.
If passed by the General Assembly, the
new legislation would take effect Jan. 1, 2018. Knierim said the 15-20
random audits each year are expected to cost $30,000.
"The
risk of abuse is too high," Tong said, "and we must take steps to make
sure that conservators … are held to the highest ethical and fiduciary
standards."
Doyle said the closing in recent years of
institutions caring for the mentally ill has resulted in a dramatic
increase in the number of people with mental health issues needing the
help of conservators.
While people often dream of
retirement and enjoying their golden years, many elderly citizens are
living the nightmare of being a victim of financial and exploitation
crimes.
These crimes can
involve the illegal or improper use of a senior citizen’s funds,
property or assets, as well as fraud or identity theft perpetrated
against older adults. However , the number of times financial crimes
against the elderly occur is hard to establish because it is a crime
that tends to go unreported.
“In
the first two months of 2017, we had approximately six cases regarding
exploitation of the elderly lead to arrests,” Dothan Police Lt. Will
Glover said . “Additional cases were investigated, but no arrests were
made. Over the years, we’ve had several cases involve family members
taking advantage of elderly family members, or caregivers taking
advantage of the one they are suppose to be taking care of. We also have
cases where it was just someone that was hired to do a job for an
elderly resident and , in the end, the individual was charged an
extremely higher amount then originally agreed. This is a crime that ,
over the years, we will continue to see increase.”
According
to Glover, it is a good idea to have multiple individuals listed on
accounts. By listing more than one individual on the account, the
account records are accessible to more than person, m eaning additional
eyes are overseeing accounts.
“One
major piece of advice I can give family members who have a parent or
sibling being looked after by a friend or family member is always make a
point to stop and visit your family member,” Glover said. “If you are
familiar with your family member’s habits, make a point to check on
them. If that family member looks unclean , file a complaint. If you
notice past due notices lying around and this is something out of the
ordinary, check your family member’s financial records. If that family
member does not have the necessary items needed for personal hygiene,
food or needed medications, file a complaint. To file a complaint, call
your local Department of Human Resources. Once a complaint is filed,
someone will be sent over to check on the welfare of the family member.
If wrong doing seems to play a factor, the police department is
notified, and we start an investigation.”
Some cases have been reported of financial fraud involving a chosen financial power of attorney.
“There
is a lot of power in being named financial power of attorney,” said
Alabama Department of Human Resources Adult Protective Services worker
Summers Hall. “It is very important to make sure the individual who
serves as a power of attorney is someone who can be trusted. It is
always a good idea to establish an oversight. Individuals may want to
include a statement of your power of attorney fiduciary duty in your
legal document and require your agent to sign the document which
acknowledges his or her acceptance of the fiduciary duty. It also never
hurts to require your power of attorney to send regular accounting to
additional trusted family members for looking over. Most importantly,
remember, you can change your mind regarding who you selected to serve
as your power of attorney.”
Bell also reminds family members to discuss with the dangers of having cash lying around in their home.
“Cash
puts the elderly in danger,” Bell said. “The elderly need to be very
careful who they let in their home. They also need to be very careful
who they entrust their debit or credit cards to. Giving a debit card to
someone gives them complete access to your bank account. Releasing
credit card information also allows someone to write down the
information off the card allowing them to purchase items online, not to
mention purchasing items for themselves while they are supposed to be
purchasing items for who they are looking after. That is what we are
seeing an increase in.”
Bell also stated many financial crimes and exploitation of the elderly cases go unreported due to embarrassment.
“In
some cases, we have seen older males not want to report a case of being
a victim,” Bell said.
“They are embarrassed, and they should not be.
However, they look at it as all the years they worked hard and here
comes someone they believed they could trust and they fall victim to
this crime. They should not be embarrassed. They should report it. The
more reports that are made against this crime, the better off our
elderly will be.”
According to Houston County Probate Judge Patrick Davenport, financial and exploitation crimes are increasing everywhere.
It was General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland who entered a courtroom
in handcuffs on Tuesday, the chains binding his ankles clanking on the
tile floor of Nashville’s federal courthouse.
"Do you understand what you're charged with and the possible punishment?" federal Magistrate Judge Joe Brown asked him.
"Yes sir," 59-year-old Moreland replied, seated in a button-down
shirt and khakis next to his lawyer, Peter Strianse of Nashville. Asked
for comment as he was leaving the courtroom, Moreland did not respond.
An
FBI investigation of Moreland came to a head Tuesday, when federal
officials announced the judge had been charged. That prompted Mayor
Megan Barry to suggest the judge should resign, and Metro Council
members took an initial step to call for his departure.
Moreland
stands accused by the FBI of trying to bribe a woman to recant
allegations against him by offering her $6,100, and conspiring with a
confidential source to plant drugs on her in an apparent attempt to
smear her credibility.
"The allegations set forth in the
indictment set forth egregious abuses of power by a judge sitting here
in Nashville," acting U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee Jack Smith
announced in a Tuesday morning news conference.
Court documents
say Moreland was charged with attempting to obstruct justice through
bribery, witness tampering and retaliating against a witness. The
charges carry an up to 20-year prison sentence.
Strianse argued in
court Tuesday that federal law did not allow for the government to hold
Moreland in custody, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecil VanDevender
asked. Brown said Moreland would remain in custody at least until a
hearing set for Friday afternoon.
“He’s obviously in a bit of a
state of shock,” Strianse said of Moreland. “He certainly didn’t expect
to be awoken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this morning at 6
a.m. with a search warrant. They went to his sister’s home where he’s
been living.”
The FBI investigation into Moreland,
a judge since 1998, related to allegations that he helped people he
knew in exchange for benefits including sexual favors, travel and
lodging. Among the allegations documented in police reports and accounts
were that he intervened in a traffic stop for a woman he had a personal
relationship with and waived jail time for his future son-in-law.
In its “Summary of Public Policy Positions,” the League of Women
Voters states the importance of providing essential support services for
all. At the March Lunch With the League presentation, we learned about
an extraordinary program right here in Montgomery County that clearly
supports this goal. It is known as the Montgomery Adult Guardianship
Services program and is an innovative volunteer limited guardian
initiative designed to address the critical health care, social service
and legal representation needs of the growing population of ill and
at-risk incapacitated adults in the county.
The program recruits,
trains and supervises volunteers to serve as limited guardians appointed
by the Montgomery County Superior Court. MAGS volunteers undergo
criminal history and social service background checks and personal
interviews, provide references and complete an initial 30-hour training
program. They are sworn-in by the court as officers and, as MAGS
volunteers, serve as the guardian of the person.
MAGS is the first
organized effort addressing the guardianship needs of this group of
at-risk adults in the county. It is designed to safeguard the health
care, social service and legal representation needs of this segment of
our community by using trained volunteers to serve as court appointed
limited guardians.
The role of the volunteer limited guardian is to investigate and
assess the incapacitated person’s life situation, including locating
relatives when possible, facilitate health care, social service and
legal representation decision-making, plan for appropriate post-release
placement and services and provides the court with recommendations for
long-term planning for the individual.
These patients are people
who frequently have been socially isolated much of their lives. They
might include many frail elders in nursing homes and hospitals who often
have multiple chronic conditions and are unable to make immediate
decisions when problems becomes exacerbated or acute. They might also
include those who never had capacity, including persons with mental
retardation or developmental disabilities.
As a volunteer
guardian/advocate, one is able to contribute significantly to their
client’s needs under his or her court appointment as a limited guardian.
Among other things, they are able to investigate and gather all
requisite information regarding the health, welfare and financial
circumstances of the incapacitated person. They can authorize the
provision of health, social welfare and residential placement services
as needed by the incapacitated person as well as advocate for the rights
of the incapacitated person as a patient and facilitate legal
representation when appropriate.
In
order to qualify for help, one must be older than age of 18 and
determined by a physician to be incapacitated and incapable of
representing his/her own best interests or managing his/her own personal
affairs. They can have no willing, able or suitable relative to serve
as a guardian and are in need of the appointment of a limited guardian
by the Montgomery County Superior Court.
The results of the
volunteer’s work can literally be life-saving. The program’s
significance is attested to by the fact that it is financially
supported, in part, by the Indiana State Supreme Court. The training of
volunteers is serious, as it should be. At the same time, the rewards of
volunteer participation more than make up for the training schedule.
It’s a rare opportunity to make a truly significant contribution to the
lives of others who are truly alone and in need of help.
In order
to get more information, contact Sharon White, program coordinator,
Montgomery Adult Guardianship Services, 201 E. Jefferson St., Suite 202,
Crawfordsville 47933. Phone 765-586-1396. You can also discover all
Wabash Center has to offer by going to www.wabashcenter.com.
BOSTON (WHDH) - They’ve attacked before, and could do so again. So
why aren’t your loved ones told when a sex offender moves into their
nursing home?
7NEWS uncovered convicted rapists and child abusers living in our state’s nursing homes and a system that keeps them secret.
Their convictions range from gross lewdness to aggravated rape to
child rape. One of them has racked up a total of 24 sexual convictions.
And all of them are living nearly invisibly among vulnerable senior
citizens.
“The people in that nursing home that have a registered sex offender
within their community don’t know it,” said David Hoey, a Massachusetts
attorney who handles headline-grabbing elder abuse cases.
7NEWS took the addresses of nursing and rest homes in Massachusetts
and compared them to the addresses for sex offenders on our state’s
registry. Two Level 2 and 10 Level 3 sex offenders – the most dangerous
kind – came up matches.
“Twelve is a lot. I think it’s more,” Hoey said.
“I found out accidentally when I wanted to join the neighborhood
watch,” said Penny Shaw, a longtime Massachusetts nursing home resident
and advocate for other residents. One registered sex offender lives in
Shaw’s nursing home.
“Nobody but me in the building knows,” said Shaw.
Staff has assured her that he’s in poor health and far from a threat.
“In my building, I had no fear. I had 100 percent confidence in my facility’s ability to manage it,” said Shaw.
But worst fears have been realized before.
“The mental harm is the harm that can’t be erased or fixed,” said Hoey.
More than a decade ago, Hoey sued both a nursing home in Norwood and John Enos, a Level 3 sex offender who had lived there.
“His sex offense crimes were to children. So the nursing home did not
believe that he would act out on elderly people,” said Hoey. Yet Enos
was arrested for raping his 90-year-old roommate.
“He (the roommate) was a World War Two vet. There’s a level of honor there that can’t be replaced,” said Hoey.
Prosecutors dropped the case after Enos died the next year, and the
civil case was later settled. Hoey insisted many other cases never
begin.
“There are a number of families, because of that mental harm, who just will not come forward,” Hoey said.
“So you think there are other cases like this out there over the past
decade, and we just don’t know about them?” a 7NEWS reporter asked
Hoey.
“I know for a fact there are,” said Hoey. “The families realize that
the litigation is not going to help them erase the mental harm.”
The year after Enos was arrested, Massachusetts banned Level 3 sex
offenders from living in nursing homes. But the Supreme Judicial Court
ruled that law unconstitutional when one offender challenged it. Since
then, offenders have moved in, while other residents are left in the
dark.
“There’s no way they would know. And sometimes the nursing homes
themselves don’t know because there’s no requirement for them to ask
that question,” said Pam Nadash, an associate professor in the
Department of Gerontology at UMass Boston who has studied the issue. In
addition, even if a nursing home knows of an offender living in its
facility, management is not required to tell anyone.
“There’s a really strong argument that you have a right to know,”
said Nadash, while also cautioning against overreaction. “These people
are really sick and frail. They’re not necessarily going to be up to
doing anything harmful.”
“The real issue is not notification. The real issue is whether the
management knows what they’re doing and takes someone who is not a
risk,” Shaw said. “The onus still falls on the building to protect
people.”
Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care
Association, which represents many nursing homes, provided the following
statement to 7NEWS:
“While there are no specific regulatory requirements or restrictions
relative to sex offenders living in nursing facilities, our facilities
screen every application carefully, and work diligently to ensure the
safety of every patient. Along with quality of care, patient safety is a
top priority. The Massachusetts Senior Care Association and its members
continue to welcome any guidance from the state Department of Public
Health that balances resident safety and privacy.”
Still, Hoey insisted nursing homes can do more.
“If you have a sex offender registered, living in your nursing home, you post it. Residents have a right to know,” said Hoey.
Federal law does require nursing homes to identify any residents who
may abuse others and come up with a plan to prevent it, without
specifically addressing sex offenders. In Massachusetts, background
checks are required for nursing home staff, but not residents.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz deliberated on whether to show
before-and-after photos of Ruth Murray as part of his press conference
for a new measures to protect nursing home residents. In the end, he
decided he could show the "before" photo -- taken one day before she was
attacked -- but not the "after."
"Truthfully, they're too shocking to show in public," Poloncarz said.
Murray's family was initially kept in the dark about the attack and
later told she suffered "minor cuts, lacerations and bruises."
The attack proved fatal.
Now, Poloncarz is pushing for a county law to require nursing homes
to inform a designated loved one or guardian within an hour when a
nursing home resident suffers an injury requiring hospital treatment.
The proposed local law would also give the county's commissioner of
senior services the ability to subpoena and review nursing home injury
reports to ensure compliance.
County
Executive Mark Poloncarz displays "before" image of
nursing home victim
Ruth Murray, right, and her daughter, taken
the day before Murray was
beaten by a fellow resident.
The law would also give the senior services commissioner data on the
frequency of altercations between patients, or between patients and
staff, that result in injury. Data regarding serious injuries or deaths
would also have to be provided.
The county executive called his family notification measure "Ruthie's
Law" in memory of Ruth Murray, a nursing home resident who was killed
last year. It will be submitted to the Erie County Legislature next
week.
"No one should ever be deceived about a loved one's condition," Poloncarz said.
An 84-year-old man last August fatally injured Murray, an 82-year-old
fellow nursing home resident, in a brutal beating after she wandered
into his room in the dementia unit. Both were residents of Emerald South
Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1175 Delaware Ave. near West Ferry
Street, in Buffalo. (Click to Continue)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) --
A home health care provider is off the job after she was charged with
exploitation of an adult, forgery, theft, identity theft and a computer
offense.
According to court documents, Christine Bethann Maples of Tazewell City used an 87-year-old woman's bank card to pamper herself.
The victim reportedly suffered a stroke and had
difficulty completing daily activities. Maples was brought in to assist
the victim in daily activities during the month of February.
The Knoxville Police Department was alerted of financial exploitation when the victim's son contacted them.
Court documents revealed Maples used the woman's
card approximately 15 different times. She allegedly made purchases at
Victoria's Secret, Pilot, Nail Design, Hobby Lobby and other Knoxville
stores.
Local 8 News reached out to the detective working
this case. He said there are at least four people who have been
victimized by Maples.
Local 8 News Reporter Dave Detling tracked
another victim down. She claimed Maples stole two envelopes from her
purse containing $2,000.
At the time, Maples was working as a home health care provider through Home Instead Senior Care.
In a statement, businesses owner Amy Hull said:
"Prior to placing a caregiver in a client’s home,
we conduct rigorous third-party background checks, as well as personal
and professional reference checks. These were all completed in this
instance, and we did not find any history of inappropriate behavior.
Upon learning of these allegations, the employee was suspended
immediately and has since been fired. We have cooperated fully with the
authorities and will to continue to do so throughout this
investigation.”
When our kupuna are duped out of their savings by their own caregivers, it’s called financial abuse.
The question is, should that be seen as a separate, heinous crime?
According to a study by the National Adult Protective Services
Association, 90 percent of the abusers are family members or someone
known to the victim. But the penalties for caregivers who abuse them
could be getting tougher.
State lawmakers are looking overHB432 that
defines a caregiver as any person who has temporary or permanent care,
custody or supervision or who has legal duty to care for the health of
an elder.
Lawmakers are still considering the total amount of money taken before the crime is considered a felony.
Financial abuse against the elderly can include misusing ATM cards,
stealing checks or overcharging for in-home care provider services.
AARP Hawaii state director Barbara Kim Stanton says elder abuse from
caregivers can have lasting impacts on the victims. “You are talking
about a group who are pretty much as vulnerable as you can get,” she
said. “They are dependent on their caregivers and the fact that it
hasn’t stopped or even slowed down at all shows you have to put an
appropriate penalty in order to make the behavior change.”
According to statistics from the Hawaii Department of Human Services,
there were 214 documented cases of abuse, neglect or financial
exploitation last year.
One of the bill’s sponsors, State Rep. Dee Morikawa, says financial
abuse should be made a felony “because there has to be a substantial
penalty to deter this from happening. Because when you do exploit the
elderly, you actually leave them in a place in their life where they
have nothing. They become depressed and it’s almost making them very,
very ill.”
The Honolulu Police Department has expressed its support for the
bill, saying it “provides an additional mechanism to protect the
elderly.”
Through written testimony– The Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting
Attorney suggested a threshold of $50,000 to classify the offense as
nothing less than a Class A felony.
Advocate for the elderly Jamie Rodrigues, however, is critical of the
bill and says lawmakers should focus on programs that help the victims
instead.
“It’s a non-violent crime,” Rodrigues said. “Our judiciary system is
already inundated, our prison systems are already overfull of prisoners,
and if we could, implement a system of consequences that would be
better for the abused adult.”
The local AARP has two free events scheduled for next month on
various islands to educate people about preventing older Americans from
becoming victims of financial scams: A fraud watch network
“shred-a-thon” to help dispose of documents on Saturday, April 22, and a
“scam jam” to fight cyber threats and identity fraud on Thursday, April
27.
Senate
lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday clarifying that the Judicial
Standards Commission has the sole power to discipline judges and
justices of the court — not the North Carolina State Bar.
Senate Bill 250 states that sitting judges cannot be disciplined by the State Bar for conduct occurring while in office.
“The Council shall have the jurisdiction, authority, and
procedure for discipline of any conduct that occurred prior to the
judge’s election or appointment to office.”
The bill appears to stem from a recent North Carolina Supreme Court ruling
reversing the State Bar’s disciplinary proceedings involving a Dare
County superior court judge. The court ruled that only it or
the Judicial Standards Commission may impose discipline for sitting
judges.
Jerry Tillett was reprimanded by the Judicial Standards Commission
in 2013 for violating principles of personal conduct after he launched
his own investigation into the Kill Devil Hills Police Department, the
town’s district attorney and other officials.
His feud with officials occurred after his son was detained by police in 2010. You can read more about it here.
Two years after Tillett was reprimanded, the State Bar initiated its
own disciplinary proceedings, which could have ultimately resulted in
the suspension of the judge’s license to practice law (which would have
forced him to leave the bench).
Tillett asked the Supreme Court to step in. The Criminal Law Blog, from the UNC School of Government, sums up the high court’s response well with commentary about what the ruling means.
It held that “while a judge remains in office, only this
Court or the [Judicial Standards Commission] may impose discipline for
his or her conduct as a judge.” The lead opinion notes that the Judicial
Standards Commission was created in the early 1970s based on the
understanding that the State Bar’s disciplinary procedures did not apply
to judges. There was, therefore, a lack of an appropriate formals means
to discipline judges short of removal, and the Judicial Standards
Commission was “intended to fill that void” and to be the exclusive
means of disciplining judges while in office for conduct that occurs
during their judicial service.
Chief Justice [Mark] Martin’s concurring opinion supports “the wisdom
of the overall scheme that the General Assembly has prescribed.” The
Chief Justice argues that precluding the State Bar from disciplining
sitting judges “preserves judicial independence” and avoids putting
judges at the mercy of the lawyers who appear before them.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Local police agencies are
reporting a rise in scams involving senior citizens, and most of the
scammers are those who were supposed to care for them.
One of those incidents involves an 89-year-old Ann Arbor woman who fell victim to her greedy caretaker.
According to police, Cheryl Elaine Smith of Lakeland is accused of stealing over $100,000 from the victim.
Smith was helping the victim with in-home care at the time of the embezzlement.
During
this period, Smith allegedly opened bank accounts in the victim’s name,
including credit cards that Smith would use for her own personal
purchases.
The family of the victim took notice when the bank accounts showed significant and unexplained withdrawals.
This is not the first time Smith has been in trouble involving an elderly person and stolen funds.
In
2015, Smith's family petitioned the Livingston County Court for the
removal of her name on her mother’s estate after allegations of her
taking Florida trips and putting her own name on her mother’s property
and pocketing $100,000 from her mother’s account.
Smith has been charged with embezzlement of a vulnerable adult between $50,000 and $100,000, and larceny of more than $20,000.
In February 2017, during testimony before the Clark County Grand Jury in the April Parks/Noel Simpson case, appointed Clark County Family Court "Hearing Master" Jon Norheim was accused of committing perjury by misrepresenting his legal responsibilities as a jurist under Nevada Revised Statutes.
As a Hearing Master, Norheim was accused of ignoring NRS hundreds of times in guardianship rulings he rendered that illegally passed benefits to select private guardians and their attorneys.
In May 2015, Norheim and Charles Hoskin, the elected Family Court Judge who appointed him, were permanently barred from hearing further guardianship cases based on numerous complaints of judicial misconduct, but by that time, the damage was done.
Hearing Masters are not elected and serve at the pleasure of an elected judge. Jon Norheim is a former mob attorney who in the early 2000's represented the Crazy Horse Too.
NEW FAIRFIELD — The grit and the grace that animate Lou Russo’s
face belies the desperate place the World War II veteran was in a few
seasons ago at the hands of a court-appointed conservator.
“I will never forget it, because I was treated like a bag of dirt in
the street,” the 98-year-old bachelor says of the 17 months he spent
against his will in a nursing home while his conservator drained his
bank account, scrapped his construction trucks and rented out his house.
“Sometimes I dream about it at night and think, ‘What the hell happened
to me?’”
Russo’s story ended with a hero’s welcome home because two
young friends stepped in to fight for him, bringing the conservator’s
misconduct to the attention of the press, police and politicians. But
there’s a sentiment among those who know his story that Russo never
should have been mistreated.
Lawmakers in Hartford concur.
State politicians and the probate court itself are pushing for
legislation to encourage more effective guardianship of the elderly and
incapacitated. The legislation would create formal standards for
conservators and provide for random audits to prevent exploitation.
“We are joining a nationwide effort to strengthen oversight in conservatorships,” said Paul Knierim,
Connecticut’s probate court administrator. “We are working with groups
nationwide to improve preventative measures so that conservators get the
support they need to act with the utmost integrity.”
Although Russo’s
mistreatment is not thought to be typical of the thousands of cases
across Connecticut, in which people incapable of managing their own
affairs are appointed guardians by probate court, cases like his are
clearly part of the push in Hartford for reform.
“This is about Lou Russo, no doubt,” said state Sen. Michael McLachlan, a co-author of the bill and a vice chair of the state legislature’s joint Judiciary Committee, which is reviewing it. “Unfortunately there are other cases similar to Lou’s, but he is the local face of this problem.”
The legislation’s intent is intended to support thousands of family
members appointed by the court to manage the health and finances of
loved ones incapacitated by age or mental affliction, but also to
discourage misconduct by auditing conservators’ accounts for fraud.
“Anything that increases oversight is always welcome,” said Dan Gaita,
a former Marine who at one point was the only person advocating for
Russo’s rights. “There are still unresolved issues with Lou’s case, but
we are trying to let him enjoy his life.”
The legislation comes at the same time that the probate court is
rolling out a statewide training program to help conservators navigate
increasingly complex systems of health care, property management and
public assistance programs.
“The world is getting more complicated, and we have heard a
consistent drumbeat from conservators and judges telling us a formal
training program is warranted,” Knierim said. “No single person can
reasonably be expected to master all this stuff.”
The accountability legislation also comes at a time when the population is aging in Connecticut and across the country,
Nationwide, the number of people 65 and older is expected to jump
from the current 46 million to 88 million by 2050, according to federal Government Accounting Office. In Connecticut, the AARP estimates that 600,000 people are 50 or older.
“The bill ... would put Connecticut at the forefront in effective court monitoring,” said Claudio Gualtieri,
advocacy director of the AARP Connecticut in testimony during a public
hearing on the legislation last week. “These improvements will help
protect older adults and give support to family caregivers.”
The aging trend is complicated by the prevalence of mental afflictions, the legislation’s supporters said.
For example, 75,000 people in Connecticut have Alzheimer’s disease,
and thousands more have other forms of dementia, the Alzheimer’s
Association says.
“Due to the progressive nature of the disease, and its profound
impact on the victim’s ability to make even the most basic decisions
regarding their health care and other financial matters, many people
with dementia end up being conserved,” said Ian MacDonald, public policy director for the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in testimony.
Lou’s law
Those who know Russo’s story might immediately think of his quick wit
or his gracious spirit, which was on display during a recent Veterans
Day celebration, when volunteers built a stage in the back yard of his
New Fairfield home to hold all the VIPs who came to honor him with
speeches and plaques.
It might be hard for those who know him now to remember how
brokenhearted and powerless the combat veteran was in 2013, when he was
admitted against his will at a Danbury nursing home while his
court-appointed conservator disposed of everything he owned.
A social worker had reported the partly collapsed roof and poor general condition of Russo’s home, and Probate Court Judge Martin Landgrebe ruled that Russo needed a conservator.
Had Russo had able-bodied family members nearby, the judge might have
appointed one of them to manage Russo’s return to health and oversee
home repairs. As it was, Russo was single and alone, so the judge
appointed a businessman named Mark Broadmeyer to manage his affairs.
Instead, Broadmeyer sold Russo’s possessions and rented his home to another family.
After persistent objections by Gaita, Landgrebe eventually reviewed
the conservator’s records and ordered Broadmeyer to repay Russo $34,000.
But at that point, Russo’s nursing home bill had accumulated to
$100,000.
When the nursing home offered to settle with Russo for a mere
$10,000, Russo’s response was “That’s how much they should pay me.”
In the end, the nursing home dropped all claims, saying Russo had suffered enough.
Today, Russo is living in the home he built himself under the conservatorship of Joseph Schirmer
of Danbury, one of the leading volunteers in Lou’s life, who not only
accompanied him to court with Gaita, but helped organize the corps of
volunteers who remodeled Russo’s home.
Schirmer said he was pleased about news of the legislation in Hartford.
“We know how bad the system is,” Schirmer said. “People have to be held accountable.”
Knierim said the legislation was not drafted in response to any one
case but agreed that egregious cases of abuse such as Russo’s were
alarming.
“Most definitely this legislation is a recognition that seniors and
individuals with disabilities can be vulnerable to neglect, abuse and
financial exploitation, and that is a very high priority for us in the
probate court system,” he said. “We try to learn from every case that
doesn’t go the way it should.”
McLachlan said there was no opposition to the legislation.
The next step is for the Judiciary Committee to vote on the
legislation, and determine whether it can be voted on in the Senate and
the House of Representatives, he said.
“The sad thing about this is Lou had to serve as an example of why we need this legislation,” McLachlan said.
An attorney who was disbarred in New Jersey for misappropriating client funds has received a lighter sanction—three years' suspension—in New York, where he is also licensed to practice, for the same incident of misconduct.
At
the heart of the disciplinary case against Feng Li, who was licensed to
practice in both states in 2004, is a disagreement between him and a
group of clients over legal fees that has touched off litigation in
state and federal courts on both sides of the Hudson River.
In
2005, Li was retained by a group of clients who were bilked in an
investment scheme who had been fighting for 15 years in Queens Supreme
Court to recover damages for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty,
according to a decision by a panel of the Brooklyn-based Appellate
Division, Second Department, which was handed down on Wednesday.
But
while the case was being litigated in New York, Li presented to his
clients a retainer agreement—which he downloaded from the internet—that
was intended for use in New Jersey.
New
York law entitles attorneys to collect one-third of any settlement as
attorney fees, while Li used a sliding-scale fee structure in which he
received a smaller percentage for each $500,000 recovered.
In New
Jersey, the structure Li used is mandatory in personal injury matters
but not fraud cases, said Paul DePetris, a solo attorney in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey.
In 2008, Li won a total of $4 million for his clients
in two disbursements. While meeting with the clients to discuss how the
funds would be divvied up, a disagreement ensued over Li's contingency
fee.
Li argued that his fee should be determined by New York
rules, which would entitle him to about $1.1 million. His clients wanted
to follow the agreement, which entitled Li to about $325,000.
The
parties never reached an agreement on the fee, and Li gave his clients
$2.8 million and transferred the rest of the money to trust funds set up
for the benefit of his children.
Willard Shih of Wilentz, Goldman
& Spitzer in Woodbridge, New Jersey, who now represents Li's former
clients, sent letters to Li telling him not to spend the money,
according to a 2014 decision by a federal judge in New Jersey. But Li
used the funds to pay off debts held by creditors in China.
Shih declined to comment for this article.
The
clients sued Li in New Jersey Superior Court in Middlesex County, New
Jersey, and Judge Travis Francis ordered Li to account for the money he
obtained from the judgment. After a failed attempt to get a New York
judge in Westchester County to enjoin the suit, in January 2010, Li
filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
During the bankruptcy proceedings, disciplinary proceedings against Li were commenced in both states.
The
New Jersey Supreme Court's Disciplinary Review Board voted 4-3 to
disbar Li, with the majority finding that Li knowingly misappropriated
the funds. (Click to Continue)
After David Cassidy revealed to PEOPLE in February that he is battling dementia, the star says he’s been moved by the outpouring of support he’s received.
The 66-year-old actor and singer, best known for his role as Keith Partridge on the 1970s series The Partridge Family, tells PEOPLE: “I was particularly touched by the lovely personal notes from Harry Connick Jr. and Katie Couric, who are two of my favorite people.”
He said that he also heard from his Partridge costar Danny Bonaduce, who he says “reached out privately and publicly to offer kind words, encouragement and support.
Added Cassidy, “He’s always been like my little brother.”
Cassidy added he has also received some “wonderful recommendations”
and outreach from various medical facilities, doctors and the Alzheimer’s Association.
The singer, who has plans to record a studio album, performed his final concert on March 4 and says the past weeks have “been an amazing time filled with ups and downs.”
He wrote on his website on March 8: “I have my good days and very occasionally a bad day.”
As a Hearing Master, Norheim was accused of ignoring NRS hundreds of times in guardianship rulings he rendered that illegally passed benefits to select private guardians and their attorneys.
