The realities of elder abuse and how you can help put a stop

It could happen to your mother, father, or grandparents – there is no discrimination with elder abuse and sadly the number of cases are piling up as the years go on.

Irrespective of financial, social or religious backgrounds, elder abuse is becoming increasingly common and according to Bennett & Philp Elder Abuse Law and Litigation expert Charlie Young, the abuse is often at the hands of someone close to home.

Speaking to Starts at 60, the lawyer said that as the Baby Boomer generation ages, the “elderly” bracket of the population expands – meaning more people are at risk of falling victim to abuse. Shockingly, the threat could also be closer to home than many realise.

“Unfortunately, it is common for perpetrators of elder abuse to be close to the victim, or worse it can be caused by a trusted person,” he explained.

“I also believe the elderly have planned for their retirement better than previous generations so across the board the elderly have a higher net worth, which can make them more susceptible to exploitation.”

While there is a lack of evidence correlating the prevalence in Australia alone, the Australian Institute of Family Studies estimate between two and 5 per cent of older Australians experience elder abuse each year.

On top of the obvious physical and mental effects it causes, there are also many legal problems that can be quite overwhelming. 

“Often the elderly person does not have the mental faculties to recognise, or give evidence, as to what abuse is occurring, so it can be more difficult in those situations to address the abuse,” Young explained. “Sometimes it’s unclear as to whether an elderly person has the mental faculties to be making their financial decisions, which can create an issue when others believe the person is being exploited.”

Thankfully though, Young said almost anyone, whether it be an elderly person’s relative, friend, neighbour, carer or even an old acquaintance, can take steps to stop an instance of elder abuse with proper legal guidance.

“The types of elder abuse are far and wide. As to what can be done about it, time limits can apply so it is important to obtain professional legal advice at the earliest opportunity,” he explained.

“In times where it might feel like there is no one who can help you or the person you know is suffering, it’s important to remember that there are qualified professionals ready to help you get through the situation, no matter how small or big it might be.”

The lawyer first advised people to contact the police if the elderly person has been, or may be, physically harmed. And as all cases are different, it’s important to speak to the elderly person and find out the extent of the abuse and if any of their assets have been stolen.

While it may seem a bit extreme to some, Young added that seeking assistance from a court or tribunal is always worthwhile.

“In some circumstances, proceedings need to be initiated in a court or tribunal depending on what the abuse is. For example, those proceedings may be to freeze someone’s bank account, to recover the elderly person’s stolen money or property, to have a contract reversed if an elderly person has unduly influenced,” he said.

And lastly, Young urged people to not make the mistake and think it’s too late when their loved one is gone.

“What many people don’t realise is that steps can even be taken to rectify instances of elder abuse discovered after the elderly person passes away,” he said. “For example, it is not uncommon for family members of a deceased to find that an attorney had previously been siphoning funds from the elderly person’s bank account, or that the elderly person was unduly influenced in preparing their last Will.”

Full Article & Source:
The realities of elder abuse and how you can help put a stop

Man Accused Of Stealing From, Abusing Elderly Woman

CLARK COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18)– A Winchester man is in jail, accused of taking more than $40,000 from an elderly woman, and knocking her over.

According to his arrest citation, 42-year-old Jonathon Bostic starting using the woman’s debit card, her car, and taking her medications without her permission about 6 months ago.

The victim told officers Bostic shoved her over three weeks ago, hurting her hip.
Documents state she also said he held her in her apartment against her will and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

Bostic was arrested Friday and charged with adult exploitation and neglect charges.



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Man Accused Of Stealing From, Abusing Elderly Woman

Man who pleaded guilty in deadly shooting now accused with wife, daughter of elderly exploitation

Bail has been set at $30,000 each for two women accused of taking more than $50,000 from an elderly relative — and prosecutors have filed a similar charge against a man serving 49 years in prison for a deadly 2015 shooting that brought the reported exploitation to light.

Although the charges are not directly related to the shooting, police said the investigation into that case spurred them to look into the financial dealings of the man charged in Andrew Maul’s death, as well as his wife and daughter.

Robert H. Gill, 64, was arrested in the Sept. 11, 2015, shooting and subsequently pleaded guilty. He now is charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person involving a relative.

“Gill was the guardian for the [relative] and it looks like he was removing money and putting it into his account,” Police Lt. Doug Thompson told the State Journal-Register.

After Gill’s arrest, a family member raised questions about unusual transactions involving the purported victim’s finances.

Authorities maintain Gill’s daughter, Jewell Maul, 38 — the ex-wife of Andrew Maul — and Gill’s wife, Joyce Gill, 63, knew what was going on with the account and used it for withdrawals and deposits, according to WLDS News.

Both were charged Monday with Class 1 felonious financial exploitation of an elderly person. They were being held Tuesday in the Morgan County jail.

Financial exploitation of an elderly person or a person with a disability becomes a Class 1 charge if “the value of the property is $50,000 or more or if the elderly person is over 70 years of age and the value of the property is $15,000 or more or if the elderly person is 80 years of age or older and the value of the property is $5,000 or more.”

Robert Gill pleaded guilty in November to one count of intentional murder in Andrew Maul’s shooting death and was sentenced to 45 years. He was given another four years for one count of aggravated residential arson after setting fire to the home of Andrew Maul’s mother, Debbie Bartz, soon after the shooting.

As a part of the deal, three counts of murder and one count of residential arson were dismissed.

Special prosecutor Ed Parkinson is handling the exploitation case. He also prosecuted the murder and arson charges.

Full Article & Source:
Man who pleaded guilty in deadly shooting now accused with wife, daughter of elderly exploitation

How Criminals Steal $37 Billion a Year from America’s Elderly

Marjorie Jones trusted the man who called to tell her she’d won a sweepstakes prize, saying she could collect the winnings once she paid the taxes and fees. After she wired the first payment, he and other callers kept adding conditions to convince her to send more money.

As the scheme progressed, Jones, who was legally blind and lived alone in a two-story house in Moss Bluff, Louisiana, depleted her savings, took out a reverse mortgage and cashed in a life insurance policy. She didn’t tell her family, not even the sister who lived next door. Scammers often push victims to keep promised winnings a secret, says an investigator who helped unravel this sinister effort to exploit an 82-year-old woman.

Marjorie Jones.

Source: Courtesy Angela Stancik

Her family didn’t realize something was wrong until she started asking to borrow money, a first for a woman they admired for her financial independence. But by then it was too late, says Angela Stancik, one of Jones’s granddaughters. Jones had lost all of her life savings—hundreds of thousands of dollars.

About one week after calling Stancik at the family business in Ganado, Texas, to borrow $6,000, Jones committed suicide.

That was May 4, 2010. When family members went to her home, they found a caller-ID filled with numbers they didn’t recognize and three bags of wire transfer receipts in her closet. Jones had $69 left in her bank account.

Some 5 million older Americans are financially exploited every year by scammers like the ones who targeted Jones. The elderly are also suffering at the hands of greedy, desperate or drug addicted relatives and friends, among others. The total number of victims is increasing as baby boomers retire and their ability to manage trillions of dollars in personal assets diminishes. One financial services firm estimates seniors lose as much as $36.5 billion a year. But assessments like that are “grossly underestimated,” according to a 2016 study by New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services. For every case reported to authorities, as many as 44 are not. The study found losses in New York alone could be as high as $1.5 billion.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drew attention to elder exploitation as a public health problem in a 2016 report, citing groundbreaking research two decades earlier by Mark Lachs. Now co-chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Lachs says elder abuse victims—including those who suffer financial exploitation—die at a rate three times faster than those who haven’t been abused. It’s a “public health crisis,” he warns.

“I knew these crimes were killing people,” says Elizabeth Loewy, who directed the elder abuse unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. As her exploitation cases steadily rose to hundreds per year, she says, “so many family members told me, ‘I can’t prove it, but this killed him.’”

“How could you do that to older people who could not protect themselves?” 

Bente Kongsore, a retired accountant in Creswell, Oregon, says her parents’ mental and physical decline accelerated after an assistant manager at a local bank, Susan Paiz, befriended the octogenarians and subsequently stole $100,000 from them in 2014. To hide the theft, Paiz pretended Kongsore’s father, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 85, gave her the money. The lie soured the last two years the couple had together, as Kongsore’s father questioned himself and his wife questioned him. “It was a total violation of the type of feelings we would want to share with each other at the end of their lives,” Kongsore says.

Illustration: Rebekka Dunlap

By 2016, her mother had become bedridden, eventually dying in June of that year. Kongsore’s father died in December 2017, just weeks before Paiz was sentenced to 10 months in jail. Paiz was caught and convicted thanks to a dogged detective in Bellevue and the King County prosecutor’s office in Seattle, which had established an elder abuse unit in 2001. When Kongsore saw Paiz in the courtroom, she says she thought to herself, “How could you do that to older people who could not protect themselves?”

Adding insult to injury, the bank where Paiz worked, Union Bank in Bellevue, didn’t return the money until Kongsore scanned and emailed a bank investigator an incriminating letter Paiz wrote her parents, Kongsore says. She adds that the bank still hasn’t formally apologized. Union Bank didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Paiz couldn’t be immediately reached.

Financial exploitation is “a huge problem in the sense that it’s so profoundly destructive,” says Page Ulrey, a senior deputy prosecutor who became the Seattle unit’s first member. The bulk of her cases are financial, involving victims who rarely get their money back. “They’re usually emotionally devastated as a result of having been betrayed,” she says.

In many cases, it may appear the victim gave consent, but it’s often based on manipulation or deception. Like Kongsore’s father, victims often “have some level of cognitive impairment, which makes it really difficult for them to figure out the truth of what’s going on,” Ulrey says.

As a result, many of her cases hinge on showing incapacity. “Obviously, you have the right to give your money to who you want, even if your family disapproves,” Ulrey says. But when you suffer from dementia, you may no longer have the ability to judge whether another person has your best interests at heart, or to understand the consequences of your decisions.

If an evaluation shows a victim lacks capacity to make financial decisions, “we potentially have a stronger criminal case,” she says.

But capacity assessment by adult protective services investigators and police is uneven across the country. “Law enforcement doesn’t have good tools to assess capacity,” Ulrey says, adding that most jurisdictions lack people who can conduct thorough evaluations.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
How Criminals Steal $37 Billion a Year from America’s Elderly

Stop Hiding - Guardianship Abuse

Source:
Stop Hiding - Guardianship Abuse

Family says 84-year-old was raped, sodomized at Missouri nursing home

The children of Delores Green claim their mother was repeatedly sexually assaulted while being a resident at Christian Care Home. (Credit: KMOV)

NORTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV.com)-- The family of an 84-year-old great-grandmother has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Christian Care Home in Ferguson, Mo.

The children of Delores Green claim their mother was repeatedly sexually assaulted while being a resident at the facility located at the 800 block of Chambers Road.

Kyle Green, a son, told News 4, "When I found out what happened to my mother I was shocked and I was traumatized.”

"They failed her, they failed my mother, they failed her totally," said daughter, Colette Green.

According to the family, Green had been a patient at the nursing home for eight years, but recently Colette noticed bruising around the rectum and vaginal areas while giving her mother a bath.

Colette Green said management at the nursing home turned a deaf ear when she raised concern, so she took her mother to the hospital where doctors determined the 84-year old had been repeatedly sexually assaulted.

"Raped, sodomized. And no telling when it started or how long it's been going on. But we know one thing, it has to stop," said attorney Willie Gary.

Delores Green suffers from a condition that causes her arms and legs to draw up. According to the family, she also suffers from Alzheimer’s and would have been unable to defend herself or tell anyone what happened to her.

The Ferguson Police Department confirms it’s conducting a criminal investigation over the allegations. Attorneys for the family hope the size of the lawsuit serves as a wake-up call to any nursing home that’s guilty of abuse or neglect.

"Unfortunately the system has failed and it's not just in Miss Green's case. The system's failed a number of times across the country, and these are the people, the voiceless,” said attorney Richard Banks.

News 4 reached out to Christian Care Home for a response to the lawsuit but were told the staff wasn’t permitted to comment.

Full Article & Source: 
Family says 84-year-old was raped, sodomized at Missouri nursing home

ARE FAMILIES RESPONSIBLE FOR 90% OF ALL ELDER ABUSE?

Marcia Southwick ©9/19/18

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“The false impression out there blaming families and relatives for 90% of elder abuse means that guardians can protect their own paychecks by maligning families in court, which they often do. It also means that the public is distracted away from looking at the larger entities abusing the elderly right under our noses.”

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Most people believe that elder abuse is all about Granny surrounded by family predators who just want to grab her money and throw her to the wolves. You’ll hear plenty of rumblings claiming that families and people closest to elders are responsible for 90 % of all elder abuse.

The National Care Planning Council is one of many who quote this figure. The article is titled “ Perpetrators of Elder Abuse are Usually Family Members:” . Even AARP claims that “ You’d like to think that elder financial abuse is committed mostly by strangers. You’d be wrong. In reality, it’s more likely to come at the hands of family members and caregivers”

Why does everyone blame families?

The latest 2011 study done by MetLife shows that in terms of dollars stolen from elders, families are not the most likely to steal the most dollars: After examining three months of national news feeds, plus other data, researchers determined that businesses stole $205,243,400; Family members and friends stole $11,515,737, Strangers stole $7,612,513, and Medicaid/Medicare fraud caused the most damage–$306,105,093.)

NAPSA (National Adult Protective Services Association) is another organization that blames families for most of the elder abuse that takes place today. Their figure again is 90%. Adult Protective Services investigates domestic settings. Since most of us don’t have lawyers or financial advisors living with us at home, my guess is that these culprits have been left out of the equation.

Families obviously do financially abuse elders, often by way of Power of Attorney, but few experts really talk about financial abuse by the larger “protection” industries that surround elders. Those systems sometimes exert more leverage against elders than you’d think. How about your state? There are hidden ways in which elders are abused for profit in this country, and you won’t see these described in any MetLife study.

Consider that just in the state of Maryland alone there’s a 6% bed tax that applies to nursing homes. The healthcare provider applies for and is reimbursed by Medicaid for that tax. You’d think those funds would then be matched by the state and used to support the elderly who are IN those beds. Not so. At least 35% of all federal Medicaid funds received in Maryland for the purpose of supporting nursing homes can be diverted for other purposes by using a process called IGTs, or “intergovernmental transfers” which enable this practice. Many states use the same tactics as Maryland, and some states don’t properly match federal Medicaid dollars with state funds. This problem slips by, unnoticed due to the underhanded tactics using Intergovernmental Transfers. California raised 3 billion in hospital bed taxes in 2013, and only 40 million went to hospitals. (Daniel L. Hatcher, The Poverty Industry, p. 140-142, New York University Press, 2016} The sad part is that one of the richest states, Maryland, receives the same score as one of the poorest states—Mississippi–when it comes to Nursing Home Quality of care. That score is a big fat D! (Ibid. p. 140} The strategy used by state IGTs to fill the general state coffers basically steals money from the infirm and elderly, leaving them to suffer, drugged to ease the pain caused by deadly bedsores, broken bones, lack of care, and financial fleecing. This, I’m sure also applies to fleecing the mentally ill, disabled, children in the foster care system, and prisoners.

What’s happening in U.S. nursing homes due to funds not been used as they should be–to increase staffing –is FAR more egregious than kids fleecing Granny, as awful as that situation is. Think BILLIONS of federal dollars being siphoned away from care of the elderly. Yet a Granny at home being fleeced for a few thousand dollars might command far more attention by AARP who targets elders as customers for insurance. I’m not saying family abuse doesn’t exist. Of course it does and it’s a horrific problem.

Families, though, are often considered the enemy by those who are in the protection industry, yet in many of the financial abuse cases involving family, the state courts and the people who systematically work in those courts use family financial abuse cases to “save” elders by deeming them incapacitated, and changing their lives forever—

This process can take place in 15 minutes behind the closed doors without the victim being present.

The elder, declared to be in an “emergency” situation (hearsay is acceptable—there are no high standards for evidence) is officially stripped of fundamental rights then put under the care of a professional for-profit individual guardian or company who then charges outrageous unaudited fees to the elder’s estate. Victims can’t do a thing about it because now have no rights. (If you would like to read how this system works, here are 450 documented cases. ) Without fundamental rights to make decisions (Granny has lost the right to hire an attorney, and her family has “lost legal standing”) she can be held in place like a bug pinned to a wall. She is usually drugged in a nursing facility after the guardian sells her home and belongings to ensure a nice paycheck for “services.” The family is completely shut out in many cases.

For decades, families of victims have complained about this removal of rights for profit. I receive hundreds of complaints on my facebook page, www.facebook.com/boomersbeware. State and county courts are using gag orders to keep families of victims quiet. Meanwhile, guardians and/or conservators with complete control over these elders, fleece their estates without accountability or monitoring. If you still find all of this unbelievable, please read the New Yorker article about it:

The false impression out there blaming families and relatives for 90% of elder abuse means that guardians can protect their own paychecks by maligning families in court, which they often do. It also means that the public is distracted away from looking at the larger entities abusing the elderly right under our noses.

The Government Accountability Office published a shocking report by the “Director of Health Care—Medicaid and Private Health Insurance Issues,” Kathryn Allen, who had this to say about the breadth of state schemes that abuse the elderly:

“For many years states have used varied financing schemes, sometimes involving IGTs (intergovernmental transfers) to inappropriately increase federal Medicaid matching payments. Some states, for example, receive federal matching funds on the basis of large Medicaid payments to certain providers, such as nursing homes operated by local governments, which greatly exceed established Medicaid rates. In reality, the large payments are often temporary, since states can require the local-government providers to return all or most of the money to the states. States can use these funds—which essentially make a round-trip from the states to providers and back to the states—at their own discretion.”

We’re accusing families, friends and neighbors of causing problems for the aging population when there’s a humungous plot out there to use the elderly as cash cows, and it isn’t caused by family dysfunction. In fact, the intention of a lot of these organizations seems to be to separate elders from their families in order to make money.

Full Article & Source:

ARE FAMILIES RESPONSIBLE FOR 90% OF ALL ELDER ABUSE?

Power of attorney accused of bilking elderly couple out of $900K

HIGHLAND BEACH, Fla. — A man who gained the trust of an elderly couple, the wife later found murdered, is accused of exploiting them after nearly $900,000 was withdrawn from their accounts, according to a probable cause affidavit.

William and Elizabeth Cabral retired to Palm Beach County, Florida and were befriended by David Del Rio, 35, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, at the bank where they transferred their funds, the affidavit said.

William Cabral was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and died in April 2017.

Elizabeth Cabral, 85, was killed in her Penthouse Highlands condo on April 30, 2018, deputies said.

While examining her banking records, it was discovered that a large amount of cash had been removed from the Cabral’s accounts between 2014 and 2018, the affidavit said.

Investigators allege Del Rio, while acting under a power of attorney, breached his fiduciary duty by making financial transactions via check in the Cabral’s name into an account under his control.

They say approximately $893,673.08 was withdrawn from William and Elizabeth Cabral’s SunTrust account and their Bank of America account via 16 checks and deposited into an account set up by Del Rio.

The money was used to pay for more than 405 personal transactions including a 2017 Audi A sedan, utility payments, home improvements, firearms, suppressors, firearms equipment and payments to Royal Caribbean Cruise line, the affidavit states.

Del Rio was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and faces charges of exploitation of the elderly, money laundering, organized scheme to defraud fraudulent use of personal ID and grand theft.

Full Article & Source:
Power of attorney accused of bilking elderly couple out of $900K

From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: INSIDE THE BELLY OF THE BEAST: GUARDIANSHIP

By Marcia Southwick

A social worker employed by a professional guardianship company contacted me recently on my Facebook page, Boomers Against Elder Abuse. I was surprised because not many insiders are willing to open up when it comes to this secretive cottage industry. This legalized system of theft from elders and persons with disabilities is a secret world operating below the radar. The public is unaware of how this system works against the people it is supposed to protect because the courts involved in these proceedings do their best to keep guardianship matters secret. Records are sealed; gag orders and contempt-of-court charges are leveled against adult children of the victim if they choose to speak out.

The social worker said that at first she admired professional guardians because the guardian’s mission seemed purely to help those who could not care for themselves. Later, though, the social worker began to see gaping cracks in procedure. She didn’t go into details, but my guess is that she witnessed elders and others being snatched up into guardianships they didn’t need or want.

We hear nightmare stories every day at the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse. One of the top complaints is that courts choose professional guardians over family members who are perfectly able to care for their elderly parents. Attorneys and guardians argue to the court that children of wealthy elders, in particular, have a conflict of interest due to the money they will inherit.

What about the fact that everyone in the courtroom will soon be paid out of the elder’s estate if the elder is deemed incapacitated? Isn’t that a conflict of interest? Every single person working on a guardianship case has a motive to draw a wealthy elder into the system because everybody will be on the payroll, and they get to charge the estate for services with almost no monitoring. The people about to “make bank” include a court visitor, a doctor who makes an assessment of incapacity, the guardian ad litem (an attorney appointed as an arm of the court to decide what’s in the prospective ward’s “best interest”), and anybody the guardian wishes to hire off the elder’s dime.

Another social worker told me that she knew of a guardian who found elderly victims to put into guardianships by investigating property tax records to see if any elders were behind in their payments. If taxes hadn’t been paid, she would approach the elder or others close to them and suggest that the elder needed help with paying bills and care. Then, her attorney would petition for guardianship over the unsuspecting victim.

Guardians and conservators for the elderly control billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars. There is no central database for guardianship registry. Many states don’t have records of all guardianship cases; therefore, there’s no way to really know how many wards are out there with their money being controlled by total strangers who may or may not have their best interests at heart.

Full Article & Source:
From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: INSIDE THE BELLY OF THE BEAST: GUARDIANSHIP

Tonite on Marti Oakley's T. S. Radio Network: Monetized as Commodity’s ..Buying & Selling the Population w/ Brian Kinter and special guest David Jose

5:00pm PST...   6:00pm MST...   7:00pm CST...    8:00pm EST

Please join me with Brian Kinter of Judicial Accountability Movement, and David Jose who is one of the foremost experts on the system used to illegally steal children from their parents for profit. This show is important to all families out there who have been targeted by the human trafficking of children, the disabled and the elderly through these abusive and unconstitutional contract courts. You would know then better as tribunals. No crime, no wrongdoing, NO JURISDICTION! But lots of federal and state funding to make it a very lucrative business.

Child Protective Services and the abuse of these so-called courts will be front and center. Listen in as David explains what kind of "court" you are actually being subjected to. As he will explain ...it is NOT a court of record. Neither is probate! This will explain why they do not adhere to due process, rules of evidence or codes of civil procedure as they would be forced to in a court of LAW. and that so-called "judge"? He'she is being paid by, and works for, the same agencies targeting your family.

David will be discussing the use of Title 42 USC statutes used to deploy this system and other resources specifically created to facilitate this system of trafficking on all levels. All based on cash incentives to prey on the public and make money doing it.

Please be sure to tune in and have paper and pen handy to take notes. The show will be available in Archive also and can be downloaded as an MP3.

LISTEN to the show live or listen to the archive later

From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: A LETTER FROM THE EARN PROJECT

We are happy to report things have progressed very well since we released The Unforgivable Truth.

Thousands of DVDs, and the accompanying state-specific brochures, have been given to people who wanted to do gatherings to show the documentary and discuss elder abuse, politicians, and individuals who are involved in fighting elder abuse and involuntary guardianship.

Volunteer Marcia Southwick (in grey blouse) at conference of Village to Village.

Many wonderful shopkeepers across the country put the EARN Project posters in their windows to draw attention to Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15 (we published a few pictures of those in our last issue). They all gave out copies of the documentary—we received some heart-breaking correspondence in response.

We are beginning to get a good response from women’s political organizations and were honored when Mary Jenkins, Chair of the Missouri Federation of Women’s Democratic Clubs, invited us and NASGA to send a representative to their yearly convention. Molly Freebairn did us proud as our representative discussing elder abuse and involuntary guardianship with the attendees and providing the documentary. Mrs. Jenkins also proposed that a bill, created by Catherine Falk and Elaine Renoire, concerning persons in guardianship’s rights of association be included in their proposed projects for 2019.  Also, this winter the Uniform Law Commission begins the hard work of trying to get their new Uniform Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act, enacted in all states—it recently passed in Maine.  Those hard-working ladies of Missouri would be of great assistance to the Uniform Law Commission in getting it passed in their home state. 15.39% of Missouri’s population are seniors and they deserve protection.

Missouri Convention

The wonderful Marti Oakley (talk about people who work 24-7) moderated a panel and gave an extraordinary presentation at the Washington Whistleblower’s Summit. We are including the video here. Whistleblowers, especially where nursing home abuse is concerned, have been guardian angles for America’s seniors.

Marti Oakley with whistleblowers Brian Kinter and Randall Stone

Tanya Hathaway, Lisa Belanger, Marti Oakley, Marcia Southwick

Marti Oakley addressing Summit attendees

Sharon de Lobo represented The Elder Abuse Reform Now Project on Marti’s radio show in July. Despite some telephone difficulties, it went very well, and The EARN Project was honored by her invitation.

The only disappointing note so far is the lack of interest from religious organizations. The Billy Graham group told us they were too busy doing God’s work and that we should speak to our politicians. My goodness, it would never have occurred to us here at the EARN Project that defending seniors from abuse and educating them on how to be vigilant and take steps to make themselves less vulnerable, is something God would not consider to be part of doing his work. We think your Pastors and Rabbis would agree with our belief that it is. So,  we hope all of you will put a word in their ear to set aside an afternoon or evening to educate their flock.

Now it is off to more speaking engagements and Washington DC in October!

Full Article & Source:
From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: A LETTER FROM THE EARN PROJECT

Lakewood lawyer sentenced for stealing $1.4 million

Glenn William Gregory, a former lawyer in Lakewood, was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing $1.4 million from a trust fund account from his stepgrandmother.

Gregory, who is 56, was a trustee for the John B. Villano Trust, an account that was created by his grandfather, John B. Villano, to provide for 89-year-old Martha Violet Villano, the wife of John B. Villano and stepgrandmother of Gregory. He had power of attorney for Martha, and between 2008 and 2016, he transferred $1.4 million from the trust accounts to his personal bank accounts and his law firm’s bank accounts, according to prosecutors.

Gregory was already convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison in August 2017 for stealing $1.3 million from another trust fund that was also created to provide for his step grandmother. Between the two cases, he stole a total of $2.7 million.

Gregory used some of the money from the John B. Villano Trust as gifts for family members. He also used the funds for personal purchases like vacations, gambling and internet sex services.

The former Lakewood lawyer pleaded guilty to one count of theft of an at-risk person, over $500 on July 23.

Full Article & Source:
Lakewood lawyer sentenced for stealing $1.4 million

Letters: Court watchers see injustices regularly

Court watchers see
injustices regularly 
 
There is something very wrong with the judicial system in Palm Beach County. So much so, that the National Organization for Women (NOW) had to form a special committee many years ago that does court watching in both family and probate/guardianship court. This committee is called Families Against Court Travesties (FACTS).

For over 15 years we have been called on by family members to witness the bias and the collusion going on in both these courtrooms. We are all volunteers and, when notified, we go to hearings in which certain judges such as those mentioned in the investigative article by John Pacenti, preside. (“Report finds guardian ‘corruption’”)

In our court watch reports, we document these egregious decisions and use them as evidence when trying to right these wrongs.

Changing the practices in the family and probate/ guardianship courts is very hard to do.

Full Article & Source:
Letters: Court watchers see injustices regularly

Judge rules Hawaiian princess unfit to manage $215m trust

A Honolulu judge ruled this week that “Hawaii’s last princess” doesn’t have sufficient mental capacity to manage her $215m trust – the latest twist in a contentious legal battle surrounding 92-year-old Abigail Kawānanakoa and her fortune, and which has raised allegations of possible abuse.

Kawānanakoa is regarded by many Native Hawaiians as a princess because she is a descendent of the royal family that ruled the islands before the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. She’s also the great-granddaughter of sugar plantation owner James Campbell, a businessman who was one of Hawaii’s largest landowners and through whom Kawānanakoa has inherited her sizable estate, which includes ample real estate and cash assets.

Kawānanakoa has led a mostly private and luxurious life, donating to her favorite charities, and breeding American Quarter Horses, but also had a reputation for quietly paying people’s bills. For years, she paid the electricity bill at Honolulu’s Iolani Palace (the royal residence that’s since become a museum) and would chip in when people came to her with financial problems. In 2001, the heiress also established a $100m trust aimed at supporting Native Hawaiian language, culture, art, education health and housing.

“At the moment, she is a benefactor for the Hawaiian people,” said Lilikalā Kame’eleihiwa, director and professor at the University of Hawaii’s Center for Hawaiian Studies and a board member for Kawānanakoa’s trust. “I understand she paid some people’s student tuition or their medical bills – she even paid people’s mortgages to keep them from becoming homeless.”

But trouble began last year when Kawānanakoa had a stroke. Soon after, her longtime former attorney Jim Wright said she was no longer able to serve as trustee and stepped in. But then Kawānanakoa declared she was fine and took a series of hasty steps that seemed out of character. She fired Wright, married her girlfriend of two decades, Veronica Gail Worth, and hired another lawyer. Before a court hearing on Monday, her lawyer said she wanted to remove Wright and appoint new trustees, including her wife, Worth.

In a nod to Kawānanakoa’s wishes, the judge Monday removed Wright as trustee, but appointed First Hawaiian Bank in his place. He said that he believed Kawānanakoa was able to decide that she wanted a trustee replaced, but that it was more complicated to appoint someone new, and that he didn’t find her capable of managing her financial assets, according to Kawānanakoa’s attorney, Michael Lilly.

“I think it’s a great decision by the judge,” said Kame’eleihiwa. Kame’eleihiwa said that the bank now has the choice in keeping the existing board members, some of whom are prominent Native Hawaiians, or appointing new ones. But Kame’eleihiwa added that she still had concern for Kawānanakoa, who had seemed increasingly isolated after her stroke.

In court filings, Wright, the former attorney, alleged that Worth physically abused Kawānanakoa. Domestic workers who helped Kawānakoa supported the claims, alleging that they had seen abuse occur and witnessed Worth pressuring Kawānanakoa to add her name on her bank account, among other things. After the employees spoke with a court-appointed psychiatrist and judge appointee as part of the legal proceedings, they claimed that they’d been fired and told to leave the southwest Oahu home that Kawānanakoa owned and had let them live in. It was retaliation, they told Hawaii News Now.

Worth has denied the allegations of abuse, and blamed the princess’s bruises on accidental stumbles into furniture. But some board and community members are still concerned, said Kame’eleihiwa.
“The first thing we were worried about was the health of Abigail,” she said. “You should not have elders in a situation where they might be abused.”

Kawānanakoa’s attorney, Michael Lilly, told the Guardian that his client was considering whether to challenge Monday’s ruling, but happy that her former lawyer had been replaced.

“We’re pleased that Mr Wright is out (as trustee),” Lilly told the Guardian. “Abigail Kawānanakoa has a loving marriage and she has been in the news against her wishes. She needs and is entitled to be left alone.”

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Judge rules Hawaiian princess unfit to manage $215m trust

Lyle man pleads not guilty to financial exploitation; victim owes health care facility over $60,000

Robert Jay Martinsen, 59, of Lyle was charged on Thursday in Mower County District Court with felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult-fail to provide care, felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult-use/manage/take property for benefit of someone else, and felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult-deprive property or resources for benefit of someone else.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

According to the court complaint, an agent of Mower County Human Services (MCHS) began an investigation in May regarding exploitation of a vulnerable adult, an elderly woman who had been admitted to a health care facility in 2016.

She learned the victim’s financial assets had been transferred from her joint accounts to accounts held solely by Martinsen, a relative who has Power of Attorney.

She also learned the victim’s nursing home bill had not been paid in several months.

Further investigation showed the victim’s late husband had reported $237,935.19 in assets on a Medical Assistance application in 2012, the complaint states. However, a Medical Assistance application Martinsen filled out for the victim in May said the victim had no assets or bank account and had not disposed of any items or income in the past 60 months.

Records indicated that Martinsen had transferred funds from the victim’s two credit union accounts into an account with only his name on it in October and November 2016, and that the victim’s savings and checking accounts had been transferred to an account with Martinsen’s name on it in February 2017. She also found the victim had stopped receiving social security checks in February 2017 and pension checks in April 2017.

The complaint further states that records indicated $373,091.38 had been deposited in the victim’s account since October 2012 and that she had paid $109,050.54 to the health care facility since her admission. In addition, the victim paid $1,058 in Medicare premiums between March 2017 and February 2018.

The victim had an outstanding bill of $60,776.26 from the health care center, and the MCHS agent determined the victim should have $262,982.84 in available assets.

The agent tried to meet with Martinsen, but he was uncooperative with the investigation, the complaint states.

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Lyle man pleads not guilty to financial exploitation; victim owes health care facility over $60,000

Seniors advocates: Government approach to elder abuse 'too little, too late'

An advocate for senior citizens warns a slow approach to combatting elderly abuse will see more people slip through the cracks.

Advocare chief executive and an Alliance for the Prevention of Elder Abuse WA chairwoman Diedre Timms said the government was taking too long to reform legislation protecting older people from mistreatment after the first-ever WA elder abuse summit was held in June.

A new report into elderly abuse has revealed the shocking extent of the problem in Western Australia.
Photo: Supplied

"The summit, and report due next year, is a good start but we need action and funding right now," Ms Timms said.

"We are dealing with people who are in their 80s and 90s and do not have time for your data or statistics.

"They will slip through the cracks if they have to wait till next year to receive the help they need."

Earlier this year the summit brought more than 40 stakeholders together to help develop policy to prepare its submission to the National Plan to Combat Elder Abuse.

The results of the summit were included with a report of as parliamentary inquiry into elder abuse tabled in parliament on Friday.

The report is likely to be presented to federal parliament in the first half of 2019.

It found an estimated 75,000 Western Australians could be victims of elder abuse.

Financial and psychological abuse makes up the majority of reported cases in WA.

The report found many of the abused and abusers weren’t aware that the behaviour in questions could be an offence.

Seniors Minister Mick Murray said every piece of work undertaken in this area raised the community's awareness of this type of abuse, helping people to identify when someone needed help.

"The report will help shine further light on what is often a silent scourge, and help the wider community to understand what elder abuse is and how to identify, report and ultimately prevent it," he said.

Elder abuse is defined as any action in a relationship of trust that causes harm or distress to an older person.

It could be financial abuse or fraud, emotional or psychological torment, neglect, social isolation, or physical or other exploitation.

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Seniors advocates: Government approach to elder abuse 'too little, too late'

Preacher in ‘Basement of Horrors’ Case Gets 27 Years

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — A self-proclaimed Texas street preacher was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison Thursday after helping a woman kidnap, torture and enslave mentally disabled adults, all while stealing more than $200,000 of the captives’ government benefits.

Eddie Wright, 57, is the fourth of five conspirators to be sentenced for the scheme, which began in 2001 and ended a decade later in 2011 when four malnourished adults were rescued from a filthy basement boiler room in Philadelphia.

Wright pleaded guilty in 2015. A sentencing memorandum prepared by his attorney, Brendan T. McGuigan, acknowledged that Wright’s actions were “horrible.”

Linda Weston, who had been the scheme’s ringleader, previously pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison plus 80 years. Her daughter, Jean McIntosh, had helped prosecutors build the case and was sentenced to 40 years prison in August.

Details of the dirty conditions, physical abuse and forced prostitution of the victims began to come to light in charging documents as the case gained national attention.

In all, five defendants were charged with 196 counts. Another of the co-conspirators, Nicklaus Woodard, was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years. Federal charges remain pending against Greg Thomas, Weston’s former boyfriend.

Prosecutors said the five defendants coerced and pressured some of the mentally disabled captives into making Weston their designated payees for their benefits. They moved the captives between several states to avoid being caught, and often locked them in basements, closets and other confined spaces, feeding them minimal food often spiked with sedatives.

At least one of the captives testified she was forced to have children with another captive. She said Weston and her daughter took her child and told her he had died, and then claimed the baby was theirs to collect more benefits.

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Preacher in ‘Basement of Horrors’ Case Gets 27 Years

Raleigh County Commission on Aging sheds light on elderly abuse

Statistics show that elderly abuse is a growing problem in the United States.

According to the National Council on Aging, one in 10 Americans ages 60 and older experience some form of abuse.

To spread awareness about this problem, the Raleigh County Commission on Aging hosted its 13th annual elderly abuse conference.

Guest speakers at the conference say there have been more cases of elderly abuse now compared to years past.

“We probably make a referral every two or three months to Health and Human Resources of something that we suspicion,” Jack Tanner, Executive Director of Raleigh County Commission on Aging, said.

But cracking down on elderly abuse is difficult. Some cases go undocumented altogether.

“Certainly in a lot of cases it goes under-reported,” Crystal Foley, a social worker at Raleigh County Commission on Aging, said. “We have a lot of cases that are reported, but it gets so under-reported that, as this last speaker was talking, for fear of retaliation.”

But elderly abuse is not just physical abuse. It’s also financial, mental and emotional abuse.

“Financial exploitation in elderly is really easy to do,” Foley said. “They’re so trusting. They get to the point where they can’t write checks anymore, they can’t see to pay their bills any longer, so they ask somebody to help them.”

Tanner says combating the problem is about education and empathy, and it starts with younger generations.

“We need to recognize the need to educate all of our young folks,” he said. “The circumstances of our elderly and what could be going on that you never have an opportunity to see.”

Foley agrees with Tanner.

“You have to know what you’re looking for,” she said. “We need to know where to report it if you do see it. There’s just a lot of things that come together to create that puzzle, and we all want those pieces to fit for everybody.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of elder abuse, you can call the Health and Human Services hotline at 1-800-677-1116.

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Raleigh County Commission on Aging sheds light on elderly abuse

Cleveland woman charged with 16 counts of financial exploitation

A Cleveland woman was charged with 16 counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult after allegedly stealing almost $25,000. 38-year-old Karla Schmitz was charged on Thursday in Nicollet County court. According to the criminal complaint, Schmitz worked at an adult foster care center in St.Peter as a Representative Payee, her responsibilities included managing social security monies for vulnerable adults. After an investigation, it was found that Schmitz had been writing resident checks out to buy gift cards that she used for herself. According to the complaint, there were 13 victims, having anywhere from $150 to over $7,000 stolen from them. They found that Schmitz used these gift cards to buy herself groceries, go to the salon, and even on her honeymoon in Mexico.

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Cleveland woman charged with 16 counts of financial exploitation