MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Millington police are investigating another
possible case of elder abuse at a health care facility, after WREG
reported on another allegation there in February.
Bernadette Gross wants her mother remembered with a smile, but she
can't forget the horrific images etched in her mind of her 87-year-old
mother with a severely bruised neck and a cracked jaw.
Dorthy Appleton, who had been a patient Millington Healthcare Center, was taken to the hospital in December 2018.
Staff from the center said she had been hit by a Hoyer lift, which moves a patient from a bed to a wheelchair.
"It's very sad. I just don't believe that's what happened," Gross
said. "She was a sweetheart, very caring, very giving. She was a
wonderful mom."
A social worker and Millington Police took a report, she said.
Millington Police confirmed they are investigating but did not elaborate
on any details.
Appleton suffered a stroke several years ago so she was immobile and had an extremely difficult time speaking.
Gross said her mother had been at the Millington facility for eight
or nine years and never had any problems until November, when there was
another report of her being hit with a Hoyer lift. Gross said she
believed it was an accident then.
We took her complaints to Millington Healthcare to get their side of the story.
The front door was locked but we spoke with an employee through the glass door. They had no comment.
After Appleton was hospitalized in December, she was eventually moved
to another facility then hospitalized again. She passed away from
several health issues last month.
Now Gross is gathering paperwork for police as they look into her case.
"I don't want to see anyone else have to go through this," she said.
Rita Pompano, 76, sitting inside her living room in West Haven. Pompano
endured seven months of physical abuse from her husband. (Carl Jordan
Castro)
State
investigations of elder abuse, ranging from neglect to emotional abuse
to physical abuse, more than doubled in Connecticut between 2011 and
2017, from 3,529 to 7,196.
Some
of the recent cases investigated by the state Department of Social
Service’s Protective Services for the Elderly are chilling. A
74-year-old man who was frail, thin and prone to falling was living
alone in a home infested with cockroaches and mice. The in-home care of a
woman over 90 was stopped for nonpayment because her niece had spent
her aunt’s money on her own household. An 87-year-old man confused about
his finances had his utilities shut off after his son had spent his
money instead of paying the bills. The 68 social workers at DSS helped
all the seniors find in-home care, a new conservator or better
housing—whatever they needed to escape the neglect or abuse.
In
2017 alone, the DSS received 11,123 reports of elder abuse and decided
that 7,196 warranted an investigation. That year, self-neglect—when
adults are unable to provide for their own basic care—was the most
common type of elder abuse reported to DSS, at 30 percent, followed by
neglect by others, financial exploitation, emotional abuse, physical
abuse, sexual abuse and abandonment.
“It’s all trending up,” Dorian Long, DSS director of social work services, said.
Sexual
abuse of the elderly is also on the rise, Long said. In the past, DSS
would investigate three or four cases a year, working with police, and
now it typically handles 40 cases a year. Scams targeting the elderly
are also increasing, she said. Seniors can avoid becoming victims by
staying involved in their communities. “The more you are isolated, the
more vulnerable you are,” Long said.
The
Justice Department estimates that 1 in 10 American seniors are abused,
and state officials say the problem is likely to grow as the population
in Connecticut—already the sixth oldest state -- continues to age.
Complaints
about abuse in Connecticut nursing homes, residential care homes and
assisted living facilities rose by nearly 15 percent between 2015 and
2017, said Mairead Painter, the state Long Term Care Ombudsman.
Experts
say the numbers of elder abuse complaints may be rising due, in part,
to greater awareness, but still, many cases are never reported.
“Sometimes
individuals are too embarrassed to report it,” Painter said. “Sometimes
people are fearful that if they report abuse, they may have to stay
longer at a nursing home.”
From physical abuse to scammers
This
past January, a Rockville couple in their 70s had several thousand
dollars in cash and jewelry stolen when they let in their home men
posing as utility workers.
Criminals use other scams as well, such as befriending seniors or showing a romantic interest and then asking for money.
Betty
Bajek, 66, of Prospect, volunteered to educate seniors about fraud for
AARP after someone stole her credit card number and charged $1,200.
“These con artists prey on lonely people,” Bajek said.
Nationally,
financial exploitation and neglect are the most common types of elder
abuse. Some states, including Connecticut, count self-neglect as abuse.
Julie Schoen, deputy director of the National Center on Elder Abuse,
said that is appropriate so those seniors get help.
Sometimes
the abuse is physical. When she was 69 and living in Meriden, Rita
Pompano said, she endured seven months of physical abuse from her
husband, Ralph Pompano.
Each day when he told his wife to grab a pillow, the pain would soon follow.
“I knew that was time for my daily beating,” said Pompano, now 76 and
living in West Haven. “He’d have me put my face into the pillow so
nobody would hear me screaming.”
She
escaped with her son Anthony’s help in 2011, only to have her husband
threaten him three months later to find out where she was hiding. Ralph
Pompano, 74, pulled a gun and fired a shot at Anthony that day before
fleeing to Virginia. Two years later, he died in prison.
“The
abuser may decide their life is being cut short and will become
threatening,” Brandl said. “It’s the ultimate act of power and control.”
Help is available
State
Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, and four state representatives have
proposed legislation to create an elder abuse registry. Similar to the
state sex offender registry, it could keep people convicted of such
crimes from doing it again, he said.
“We
need to be sure our seniors are protected,’’ he said. The bill has been
approved by the state legislature’s Committee on Aging and referred to
the Senate.
The AARP Connecticut
holds workshops across the state to alert seniors about scams, ranging
from IRS and sweepstakes scams to fake Nigerian princes, said Erica
Michalowski, the organization’s associate state director for community
outreach.
Scammers succeed by "keeping the senior off-balance in a heightened emotional state,'' Michalowski said.
Unlike
children who are abused, seniors can decline help. Long said DSS social
workers do encounter some elderly people living in squalor who refuse
their services.
“We
put on the charm and try to convince them, but as an adult, you have a
right to make choices—even bad choices,” Long said. The caseworkers may
go back a few weeks later to try again. If the person says no, they have
to close the case.
One
of several agencies in Connecticut assisting elders is the CHERISH
program in Ansonia, which counseled Rita Pompano after she left her
husband. It provides a hotline, court advocacy, safe housing and
counseling for victims of domestic violence who are over 60 statewide.
Its
coordinator, Mary Jane Liddel, stayed close by as Pompano recounted her
story of her husband’s violence. Tearing up briefly, Rita said CHERISH
helped her heal. Now, she enjoys freelance writing, cooking for friends
and taking road trips with friends.
“I’m just happy that I’m free,” she said.
To report cases of suspected elder abuse, neglect or exploitation in
Connecticut, call the toll-free referral line at 1-888-385-4225; after
business hours, or weekends, or state holidays, call 211.
Attorney General Focuses on Threats Posed by Technical-Support Fraud
Attorney
General William P. Barr and multiple law enforcement partners today
announced the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history,
surpassing last year’s nationwide sweep.
The cases during this sweep involved more than 260 defendants from
around the globe who victimized more than two million Americans, most of
them elderly. The Department took action in every federal district
across the country, through the filing of criminal or civil cases or
through consumer education efforts. In each case, offenders allegedly
engaged in financial schemes that targeted or largely affected seniors.
In total, the charged elder fraud schemes caused alleged losses of
millions of more dollars than last year, putting the total alleged
losses at this year’s sweep at over three fourths of one billion
dollars.
Attorney General Barr was joined in the announcement by FBI Deputy
Director David L. Bowdich; Executive Associate Director Derek Benner for
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI); Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph
Simons; Louisiana Attorney General and President of the National
Association of Attorneys General Jeff Landry; Director Randolph Alles of
the Secret Service; Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale; Barbara
Stewart CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service; and
former FBI director and CIA director Judge Webster and Lynda Webster.
The charges are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a
court of law.
“Crimes against the elderly target some of the most vulnerable people
in our society,” Attorney General William P. Barr said. “But thanks to
the hard work of our agents and prosecutors, as well as our state and
local partners, the Department of Justice is protecting our seniors from
fraud. The Trump administration has placed a renewed focus on
prosecuting those who prey on the elderly, and the results of today’s
sweep make that clear. Today we are announcing the largest single law
enforcement action against elder fraud in American history. This year’s
sweep involves 13 percent more criminal defendants, 28 percent more in
losses, and twice the number of fraud victims as last year’s sweep. I
want to thank the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, which led
this effort, together with the Department’s Criminal Division, the more
than 50 U.S. Attorneys’ offices, and the state and local partners who
helped to make these results possible. Together, we are bringing justice
and peace of mind to America's seniors.”
A list of Elder Fraud cases by the Department of Justice is provided on this interactive map.
Since President Trump signed the bipartisan Elder Abuse Prevention
and Prosecution Act (EAPPA) into law, the Department of Justice has
participated in hundreds of enforcement actions in criminal and civil
cases that targeted or disproportionately affected seniors. The Justice
Department has likewise conducted hundreds of trainings and outreach
sessions across the country since the passage of the Act. In February
2018, the Attorney General announced the largest elder fraud enforcement
action in American history at the time, charging more than 200
defendants in a nationwide elder fraud sweep. In November 2018,
Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture hosted the first Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summitin
Des Moines, Iowa.The Summit focused on supporting the efforts of elder
justice professionals to combat elder abuse and financial exploitation
in rural and tribal communities.
Technical-Support Takedown 2019
As part of the sweep, the Department of Justice and its law
enforcement partners announced a tech-support fraud takedown, designed
to combat an increasingly common form of elder fraud in which criminals
trick victims into giving remote access to their computers under the
guise of providing technical support. In 2018, technical-support schemes
generated over 142,000 consumer complaints to the FTC’s Consumer
Sentinel Network. Consumers 60 and over filed more loss reports on
tech-support scams from 2015 to 2018 than on any other fraud category
reported to the Consumer Sentinel Network.
The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Criminal
Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, and 10
U.S. Attorney’s Offices brought cases against perpetrators of
technical-support fraud. The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and
HSI partnered with the Justice Department in investigating these cases,
and the FTC, several state Attorneys General and the U.K.’s City of
London Police joined the effort by initiating their own cases. A
fact-sheet with technical-support fraud case information can be found here.
“We’re committed to investigating financial fraud schemes against the
elderly,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We’ve dedicated
additional resources to address a wide range of elder fraud threats,
including technical-support fraud. Victims of these schemes often lose
thousands of dollars or more apiece, which can cause significant harm to
elderly victims and their caretakers. If anyone suspects that they – or
a senior they know – may be a victim of fraud, we encourage them to
report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.”
“The sweep announced today brings the Postal Inspection Service to a
landmark point in its battle against transnational criminal
organizations committing mass mailing elder fraud,” said Chief Postal
Inspector Barksdale. “In a recently unsealed case, two Canadians pled
guilty and, thanks to the Spanish National Police, another was arrested
in Spain for an alleged mail fraud scheme involving $180 million in
losses to over one million victims. The Inspection Service has been at
the forefront of protecting customers from fraud schemes for many years
and we will continue to investigate and stop those who exploit older
Americans for their own illegal gains.”
A fact-sheet with cases on mass mailing fraud can be found here.
Many of the cases brought as part of the elder fraud sweep announced
today – including many of the technical-support fraud cases – allegedly
involved transnational criminal organizations. The Department of
Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with numerous countries
to secure evidence and capture defendants. During the sweep period,
defendants in elder fraud cases were extradited from Canada, The Cayman
Islands, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Poland. A fact-sheet with examples of a
few elder fraud cases involving extradition in which the Office of
International Affairs played a substantial role can be found here.
Money Mule Initiative
In addition, in a novel approach, the Department of Justice and its
law enforcement partners took comprehensive action against the money
mule network that facilitates foreign-based elder fraud. Generally, a
money mule is someone who transfers money acquired illegally in person,
through the mails, or electronically, on behalf of others. Across the
country, money mules receive fraud proceeds directly from victims and
forward proceeds to perpetrators and ringleaders of fraud
schemes—individuals who often reside in other countries. As part of the
sweep, the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service took action against
over 600 alleged money mules nationwide by conducting interviews,
issuing warning letters, and bringing civil and criminal cases. Secret
Service agents aided these efforts by seizing and forfeiting elder fraud
proceeds in transit from victims to perpetrators.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to the fight against
elder fraud in conjunction with the Justice Department, and our other
law enforcement partners,” said Executive Associate Director Derek
Benner. “HSI Special Agents across the country have worked to address
illegal fund transfers, fraudsters operating technical-support schemes,
and elder fraud of all varieties. We will continue to use creative
solutions to protect our nation’s seniors from fraud; financial security
is critical to homeland security.”
“The Secret Service is committed to aggressively investigating and
disrupting organized criminal groups who prey on our most vulnerable
citizens,” said Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles.“The
results of the elder fraud sweep announced today demonstrate what can be
achieved though incredible partnerships between federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies.”
Public Education
The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners focused
the sweep’s public education campaign on technical-support fraud, given
the widespread harm such schemes are causing. The FTC and State
Attorneys General had an important role in designing and disseminating
messaging material intended to warn consumers and businesses.
Public education outreach is being conducted by various state and
federal agencies, including Senior Corps, a national service program
administered by the federal agency the Corporation for National and
Community Service, to educate seniors and prevent further victimization.
The Senior Corps program engages more than 245,000 older adults in
intensive service each year, who in turn, serve more than 840,000
additional seniors, including 332,000 veterans. Information on Senior
Corps’ efforts to reduce elder fraud can be found here.
Global Efforts
Exceptional assistance from foreign law enforcement partners
amplified the effectiveness of the Department’s initiative. The sweep
announced today benefited greatly from the work of the International
Mass-Marketing Fraud Working Group (IMMFWG), a network of civil and
criminal law enforcement agencies from Belgium, Canada, Europol, the
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The IMMFWG is co-chaired by the Department of Justice and the FTC, and
law enforcement in the United Kingdom, and serves as a model for
international cooperation against specific threats that endanger the
financial well-being of each member country’s residents. Due to the
IMMFWG’s network of law enforcement, simultaneous technical-support
fraud consumer education campaigns are being released in Canada, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Elder Fraud Complaints
Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or
at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of
resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office of
Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
Thieves and forgers are taking houses from the deceased in ‘hot’ neighborhoods — as the city stands by.
by Craig R. McCoy
They
are all dead. Yet if city records are to be believed, they all walked
into the office of a notary public and signed away their homes, which
just happened to be in gentrifying neighborhoods with soaring property
values.
Gail
Harrison lived alone in the house where she grew up on Seybert Street
in North Philadelphia. She had her quirks, but neighbors looked out for
her. “She was a nice, friendly, Christian-hearted woman,” one said.
Harriet
Dunn and Dorcas Moone lived quietly in a North 27th Street rowhouse in
Brewerytown that they bought in 1950 after leaving the Army.
Alex
Krasheninnikow survived a Nazi concentration camp. He later handed out
the Communist Party paper on the streets of Philadelphia. His home on
Agate Street in Port Richmond was overflowing with books.
Their
properties all ended up in the hands of a stranger, a 43-year-old man
named William Ernest Johnson III, who wrapped up some of the deals while
still on parole from a long prison term for a string of violent crimes.
Handout
William Ernest Johnson III has acquired a string of properties in sales
involving people who were dead or whose family members have disavowed
the acquisitions. Johnson says he is a legitimate businessman victimized
by impostors.
In
all, an Inquirer investigation has linked Johnson to at least six
suspicious home transfers over the last 2½ years. In case after case, he
acquired vacant houses with longtime owners who were dead or so aged
that their grown children would later say they never participated in the
transactions.
Johnson
insists that he is a victim too — that he was misled by a series of
impostors posing as the dead owners and by other “sellers” who
misrepresented the provenance of the deeds they were offering. "I
assumed the seller of the home was legitimate, straight up,” he said.
He has resold three of the properties, two for $50,000 each, city records show.
"Fact
of the matter is, I’m in the business of providing people with
shelter,” he said. “I’m just a person trying to earn an honest living,
but at the same time trying to be of help to my community, my neighbors.
It’s as simple as that.”
Besides, he said: “What’s the deal here? If these people are dead, what are we talking about?"
Johnson’s
nonchalance aside, the transactions have upset neighbors, spawned
lawsuits from the families of aggrieved “sellers,” and sparked
inquiries, but no charges, from the FBI and the District Attorney’s
Office.
They have also drawn attention to the notaries whose stamps appear on the bogus transfers, a crucial aspect of verifying sales.
One
is Johnson’s former sister-in-law, Rovella Johnson, who said her name
and stamp were forged on documents transferring Harrison’s home. “I’m
feeling that somebody fudged some paperwork," she said.
Another
is April Marie Scott-Street, the wife of Philadelphia State Sen. Sharif
Street, the son of former Mayor John F. Street. She said thieves used a
counterfeit notarial seal with her name to complete a series of
fraudulent transfers.
I come to you as your elected Perry
County Common Pleas Court Probate and Juvenile Division Judge where it
is my privilege to present the 2018 Progress Report for your review.
The
Perry County Probate Court serves citizens in many different ways; and
although one might often think the Court is the place to go to file a
will or get a marriage license, in actuality, the Court is involved in
many other aspects of an individual’s life.
As
the Probate Judge, I am aware that when the good people of this county
and families from all over come to the Probate Court, they have suffered
a loss or are facing a problem with care of a family member, my staff
and I are there to assist them.
The Probate Court has jurisdiction over
guardianships. A guardianship is filed by someone seeking to obtain
guardianship over an individual who may be suffering from a physical or
mental impairment. If granted, the guardian will seek to make good
decision on the behalf of the individual and or handle their finances.
When
a person is granted a guardianship, they must make annual reports to
the Court as to their contact with the ward (person they are caring for)
and the distribution of the funds of the ward. They must at all times
make decisions in the best interest of the ward.
In
2018, we had 47 guardianships filed with the Court. The new laws we
were required to implement pertaining to guardianships of incompetent
individuals has required even more diligence on the part of the Court as
well as the appointed guardians. The 47 new filings in 2018 are in
addition to the 149 the Court already manages, bringing the total to
guardianships on file at the end of 2018 to 196.
In
2018, there were 179 estates opened in the Probate Court. Five of those
filings were re-opened estates that were closed previously. Re-opens
are usually done to report and administer a newly discovered asset. We
have Full Administrations, Release from Administrations and Summary
Releases.
What is filed in
regards to an estate depends on the value of the assets and the
relationship of the applicant to the deceased. Although we are finding
more and more people are interested in doing estate planning to insure
proper transfer and to protect loved ones to whom they wish to leave
their assets.
Adoptions
are by far are the most rewarding cases filed in the Probate Court. In
2018, there were 15 adoptions filed with the Probate Court. These cases
come from Children Service, step-parents, grandparents as well as other
relative and non-relative filings.
It
is always rewarding to see a child receive a permanent stable family,
no matter the circumstances. This year the Court participated in
National Adoption Week celebration in conjunction with Perry County
Children Services with cake and balloons.
The
Probate Court also receives several different kinds of cases. In 2018,
there were 26 guardianships, four civils, 15 name changes, seven minor
settlement, two structured settlement purchases, five
registration/corrections of births, as well as two other miscellaneous
case filings.
Marriage licenses
are a daily part of the Probate Court business. There were 219 marriage
licenses issued by the Probate Court in 2018, and in 31 of those issued
by the Court, Judge Luann Cooperrider performed the wedding ceremonies.
With
the epidemic of drug addiction the court would like the public to be
aware that there is a process that allows a family to file in the
Probate Court, seeking to have an adult family member committed for
court-ordered treatment for drugs and alcohol.
My
concern, as the Probate Judge, is community awareness. I am not sure
that this law has been publicized enough to alert families of the
opportunity available to them. While it is quite a cumbersome process of
paperwork, it is still something the court is more than happy to assist
a family with.
In total the
Perry County Probate Court accepted 494 newly filed cases in 2018 and
brought in revenue of $53,030.99; approximately $2,500.00 more than was
collected the year prior.
Another
requirement of the Probate Court is to form a Park Board. Several years
ago I held a public hearing and we determined Perry County would
benefit from having a Park Board. We established the board, which is
still in existence today; members include Steve Glade, Scott Moore,
Theressa Snyder, Jenny Larue and Matt Reed.
A
county that has a valid Park Board may seek grants or receive funds as a
benefactor in a charitable contribution through wills or other
bequests. It has always been my desire and that of the Park Board to
promote parks and recreation in and around Perry County.
If
you would like to be involved in this process or have other ideas or
suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the Park
Board members. The Park Board meets the second Tuesday of every month at
the Perry Behavioral Health Activity Center and is currently working on
opportunities to promote the beautiful parks and recreation of Perry
County.
The Probate Court also assists the
public with genealogical research. Some researchers come to the office,
some mail requests, some call in for information but most are now
received via e-mail. Through this service the Probate Court is able to
serve people from all over the United States and some foreign countries.
The e-mail for those interested is: pcpro@perrycountycourt.com.
Ohio
has enacted a form called Advanced Directives. This form contains
Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney for Healthcare. The Court
has been providing this service to the public by making available forms
to create Living Wills and Health Care Power of Attorneys for a nominal
fee. As with all other filings in Probate Court, our office can only
provide the necessary forms but cannot provide any legal advice.
Under
my direction, the Probate Court staff, Linda Young and Debbie Bender,
process all paperwork as dictated by Ohio Law and the Local Rules of the
Court. The clerks attend a yearly conference to stay current with
proper procedures, laws and any changes. It is their job to track all
cases to insure filings are done properly and in a timely manner. All
case activity then must be reported quarterly to the Ohio Supreme Court.
This
past year was again a busy year for the Perry County Probate Court
serving the needs of the people of Perry County. My staff and I are
honored to serve the public and consider it a privilege. My staff and I
are here to offer any assistance the law permits and are available if
you have any questions or concerns.
The Probate Court can be reached by calling 740-342-1493, by e-mail at pcpro@perrycountycourt.com or by writing to: P. O. Box 167, New Lexington, Ohio 43764.
KEVIN HARVISON | Staff photoState AARP
President Joe Ann Vermillion, of McAlester, prepares to answer a
question regarding her role in serving on state legislative committees
looking to improve Oklahoma's laws regarding longterm care and
court-assigned guardianships.
By James Beaty
A local woman is working at the state level to help develop options regarding long-term care for older Oklahomans.
She's also working with another group searching for ways to strengthen Oklahoma's guardianship laws.
Oklahoma
AARP President Joe Ann Vermillion has been traveling to the state
Capitol twice a month to serve on separate legislative committees
examining the two issues and serves on a subcommittee that spreads
information regarding different types of long-term care. Citing the
expense of longterm nursing home care, Vermillion said less-costly
options are available.
"It's
less expensive to stay at home," Vermillion said. Some aging
individuals who pursue that option may still need some assistance,
through home health care, with transportation, or in other areas.
Even staying in an assisted living center is cheaper than staying in a nursing home, said Vermillion.
Pursuing
those options doesn't mean that everyone will be able to stay at their
residence as he or she ages, but it's likely more could do so,
Vermillion noted.
Vermillion is also a member of a larger
guardianship committee that's looking at revamping the state's laws in
that area. Among the other members are several attorneys and Jari
Askins, the chief administrative officer of Oklahoma's court system
system. Askins is also a former lieutenant governor and a former
Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Guardianship refers to the
legal relationship when someone is assigned by the court to be in charge
of the personal, monetary or property interests of another individual. A
guardianship could be to take care of the interests of a minor child;
an adult who's become incapacitated due to infirmity, old age, illness,
injuries or other issues, or a mentally vulnerable adult.
While
many guardians have been known to do an outstanding job of handling
their responsibilities, others try to take advantage of the situation.
"Everyone agrees that guardianship is a problem," Vermillion said.
"Part of the problem is a guardianship is assigned to someone and no
one gets to monitor them that much," said Vermillion. "That's how money
gets taken from people; there's not a lot of oversight," she said,
referring to instances where guardians have drained accounts or
otherwise have taken advantage of the very people whose interests they
are supposed to be protecting.
Typically, a guardian could be a
family member, an attorney or someone else who is supposed to be looking
out for a subject's best interest.
Vermillion said it's difficult
for judges to monitor all the guardianships which might be active in a
given county or judicial district.
Pittsburg County Court Clerk
Cindy Ledford said there were 92 guardianships filed in Pittsburg County
in 2018 and another 101 cases were filed in 2017.
Normally, the guardianships cover three areas: a person who is incapacitated, a vulnerable adult, or minor children, she said.
Guardianships are not typically reviewed in a courtroom setting unless there's a reason to do so.
"Once
the judge grants it, that's it, unless it's brought back into court and
dismissed," Ledford said. Guardianships could be dismissed for a number
of reasons. They include a child who reaches the age to be legally
identified as an adult, or the recovery of a previously-incapacitated
individual.
At the Pittsburg County Courthouse, Associate District
Judge Tim Mills handles guardianships for adults and Special Judge
Mindy Beare handles guardianships for children, Ledford said. Files on
the guardianships are sealed, she said.
"The guardian is supposed
to file an annual report to the courts," Ledford said. It costs the
person filing the report an annual filing fee of $56.64.
What happens to the guardianship report after it's delivered to the court clerk's office and the $56.64 filing fee is paid?
"The report normally goes into the file," Ledford said.
If local residents have any ideas or insights about how the state's
guardianship laws could be strengthened, Vermillion said she would like
to hear from them as she continues her work with the legislative
committees. She said she can be contacted by phone or text at
918-429-8328. Those calling should leave a message and she will get back
to them, said Vermillion.
Tonight we will expose the rampant abuse of the judicial system operating out of Montgomery County courthouse in Pennsylvania. Targeted victims and their families speak out about the collusion and ongoing conspiracy to target, imprison and defraud elderly family members, facilitated by the court of Judge Stanley Ott. Judge Ott and his gaggle of predators-for-profit are commonly known as the “Ottholes”.
Having exercised every available legal avenue in an attempt to hold Judge Ott and his merry band of predators accountable, it has become apparent that blowing the whistle on this Judge is of no interest to Pennsylvania State government nor the Judiciary. Join Coz Whitten-Skaife and myself as we expose the criminal racketeering taking place in Montgomery County via just this one court. Numerous individuals kidnapped, isolated and robbed while being forcibly medicated in many instances…..all so some predator working under the protection of Judge Stanley Ott can enrich themselves by seizing the assets of those they hold hostage.
Proposals to create teams to review
deaths of the elderly when abuse or neglect is suspected and to prevent
future deaths are moving forward with little pushback in the Florida
Legislature.
Elder advocates say
establishing elder death review teams in Florida could help cut down on
the number of cases of nursing home neglect and mistreatment like those
identified in a recent USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA investigation.
The
proposal, included in Senate Bill 452 by state Sen. Audrey Gibson,
D-Jacksonville, has unanimously passed three committees since
mid-February with little discussion. Most recently, the Senate’s
Governmental Oversight and Accountability committee approved it March
26.
The
bill would allow, but not mandate, the creation of elder death review
teams in each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits. The teams would review
cases in their judicial circuit where abuse or neglect has been found to
be related to or the cause of an elderly person’s death.
“I believe this task force and the team is critically important to the
state,” Gibson said when explaining her bill to the Senate’s Children,
Families and Elder Affairs committee in February.
As part of its investigation, the USA TODAY NETWORK -
FLORIDA reviewed 54 nursing home deaths where state inspectors
cited neglect and mistreatment as factors from 2013 through 2017. The
network investigation found Florida’s Agency for Health Care
Administration rarely took action and often didn’t investigate the
deaths at all.
The network’s nursing homes series
also showed that AHCA rarely takes serious action against
poor-performing nursing homes, and it has allowed dozens of Florida
nursing homes to limp along for years providing substandard care, and
abusing, neglecting and even killing patients with little consequence.
Gibson’s bill would limit reviews to closed cases and
to deaths where abuse or neglect has been verified by a state attorney, a
potential roadblock that could prevent probing of many nursing home
deaths in Florida. State attorneys didn’t prosecute any of the 54
nursing home deaths reviewed in the network's investigation.
The
goal of the elder death review teams would be to identify problems or
gaps in service, to recommend solutions, and to author annual summaries
of their findings, according to the bill.
The teams would be comprised of volunteers from a variety of vocations,
including attorneys, police officers, medical examiners, nurses and
members of the state’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. The teams would
be housed, administratively, in the Department of Elder Affairs, but
would be initiated by states attorneys in the judicial circuits.
The only expected expenses of the program would be
administrative costs incurred by the Department of Elder Affairs,
according to a Florida Senate analysis of the bill.
The Alzheimer’s Association supported Gibson’s proposal during a Judiciary Committee hearing in mid-March.
“Anything
we can do to support our most vulnerable population is going to be
good. And I think this is a good way to support them,” Michelle Branham,
the association’s vice president of public policy in Florida, said in
an interview.
This is the third year in a row
Gibson has sponsored elder death review team legislation. Her efforts
failed during the last two legislative sessions.
A companion bill by Rep. Barbara Watson, D-Miami Gardens, unanimously passed its first House committee Monday, March 25. Watson stressed that the purpose of the bill is to learn from closed cases, not to re-investigate them.
“We’re
just looking at the ability to find the best practices, and how we can
learn from what has transpired in the past,” she told the House
Children, Families and Seniors subcommittee.
The
Florida Legislature established the Child Abuse Death Review Committee
in 1999, with the goal of reducing child deaths in the state. Ten years
later the state established domestic violence death review teams in
response to an increase in domestic violence-related homicides in
Florida.
But there is no comparable review when an elderly or vulnerable adult dies in Florida, even under suspicious circumstances.
The same year Florida created its committee to review
child deaths, the U.S. Department of Justice recommended the development
of death review teams for the elderly. But unlike child death review
teams, which exist in every state, only 13 states have established elder
death review teams, according to The National Center for Fatality
Review and Prevention in Washington, D.C.
Florida is not among them.
The
Women's Center in Jacksonville is in the planning stages of an elder
fatality review team pilot project examining closed criminal cases
involving elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. But the team would not
look at a nursing home case where there was no criminal prosecution,
even if there was a finding of neglect by Florida's Department of
Children and Families or another state agency.
Former Tampa attorney David Land Whigham’s mugshot.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Nash handed down a 15-year
prison sentence to former Tampa defense lawyer David Land Whigham, who
pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $2 million from clients.
Whigham, 51, will also have to pay restitution. He once specialized
in wills, trusts and estate planning, often representing charities and
disabled litigants through his firm, the Whigham Law Group. Many of his
clients had sought help paying for medical care or making arrangements
to have savings go to charities after they died.
But court documents show the Florida Bar discovered he’d overstepped
his bounds in 2016, when the Bank of Tampa flagged strange activity in
his trust accounts.
According to the bar’s petition for disciplinary revocation, Whigham
failed to distribute more than $900,000 to the Shriner’s Hospital for
Children and a schizophrenia research foundation in Massachusetts, as a
client had requested before his death in 2011.
Whigham was suspended, then disbarred and charged with 22 counts of grand theft and organized fraud.
An investigation ensued,
led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which found at least
nine victims had lost money to Whigham — which news outlets report he
spent on his mortgage, vacations, shooting and hunting trips, restaurant
meals, fishing and his family’s personal expenses. In November 2017, he
pleaded guilty to nine counts of grand theft.
Whigham’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Joseph Larrinaga Jr.,
had asked for less than the 11 years recommended by state guidelines,
highlighting that his client had been diagnosed with major depression
and alcoholism. Larrinaga did not respond to requests for comment before
deadline.
The man’s daughter says that Diamond has agreed to forgive about half of the purchase
Photo (c) ShutterWorx - Getty Images
Millennials have miraculously managed to not kill timeshares, possibly because the business model relies on preying on the elderly.
In late December, Diane Burkhart sent a complaint to the FBI describing how her 88-year-old father agreed to purchase $250,000 worth of timeshare points over the course of 18 months, from 2016 until late 2017. In 2018, he was diagnosed with dementia. He is now 89 and living in a nursing home, Burkhart says. His wife passed away last May.
The couple purchased the points from Diamond Resorts International, a $2.2 billion timeshare corporation that claims to hold about 400 properties worldwide.
As Burkhart detailed in her FBI complaint, her father was 87 at the time, enjoying a day trip to the beach with his wife at a town about thirty miles from their house in central California, when they came across a charming hotel. Unbeknownst to them, the property had been purchased by Diamond. Salespeople standing outside by the property lured the interested couple into a timeshare sales pitch, Burkhart says.
She writes that they immediately regretted the purchase.
“A month after purchasing the first contract, my dad tried to end the agreement due to his wife's declining health and included a letter from one of her doctors,” she told the FBI. “Diamond turned him down, so he paid off the promissory note in full, believing that would be the end of it.”
It was only the beginning. “Shortly thereafter, Diamond told them they needed to go to a meeting to learn how to use their points,” Burkhart wrote. The meeting turned out to be another lengthy sales pitch.
Elder abuse
It’s not the first time that consumers have described possible elder abuse in the timeshare industry, which has reinvented its business model in recent years. Timeshares used to be tied to a specific property, where people who owned partial deeds had the right to vacation for a set amount of days each year. But in recent years, the industry has instead switched over to “points,” or the concept of being part of a vacation club at any hotel of your choosing.
While the industry claims that “points” are no different than a deed, simply with more flexibility, consumers have noted that points appear to have no intrinsic value because they can’t be resold, making memberships that were purchased for hundreds of thousands of dollars essentially worthless on the resale market. Some consumers also claim that the concept of “points” may be intentionally confusing to the elderly.
“Their value comes from using it,” the timeshare industry’s top lobbyist told ConsumerAffairs in January, admitting that points have no resale value, while claiming that consumers don’t mind this because the value comes from the experience.
Which makes the sale of timeshare points to people who are running out of time all the more questionable.
In 2016, an 81-year-old in Ventura filed a class-action lawsuit against Diamond, one of several lawsuits that have cropped up in recent years, saying that he was sold $50,000 worth of timeshare points that he did not want. The man said that he was lured into the pitch after Diamond sent a bus to his assisted-living home in California. Diamond then subjected the seniors to an aggressive timeshare pitch in Nevada, he alleged, a tactic that his attorney told Courthouse News was common in the industry.
Class actions and addressing issues
In addition the class-action consumer lawsuits, the state government in Arizona has also piled on. In 2017, Arizona’s Attorney General announced that an investigation revealed “that Diamond used deceptive sales practices and made numerous oral misrepresentations and false statements during timeshare sales presentations.” Diamond agreed to pay $800,000 to settle the manner.
Such accusations are at odds with the image portrayed by Stephen Cloobeck, a vocal critic of Trump and a successful investor who founded Diamond in 2007 with a group of other Wall Street investors. Cloobeck was crowned as the world's most generous boss for his likeable stints on the show Undercover Boss. Though he is no longer the CEO of Diamond, he recently wrote a book about the ins and outs of providing good hospitality service based on his experience at Diamond.
On Twitter, Cloobeck is the rare ex-CEO who champions relatively progressive policies such as raising the minimum wage, preserving the Affordable Care Act, and banning bump-stocks. Asked on the social media platform if he considers it appropriate to sell $250,000 worth of timeshare points to an 88-year-old, Cloobeck replied, “Absolutely no way! Never !”
In January, when ConsumerAffairs first reported on Burkhart’s story, Diamond’s press team said that they hoped to resolve the matter shortly.
“We appreciate ConsumerAffairs’ inquiry into this matter and, we had, in fact, already been working with Diane Burkhart directly,” the statement said at the time. “While we do not disclose member details publicly, we expect the issue to be resolved imminently.”
Catering to consumers’ “best interests”
The timeshare industry has claimed that unsatisfied owners can easily return points that they don’t want, and in that regard, Diamond has said that its own special Diamond Clarity program offers exactly that.
“We encourage all members with any questions to contact us directly so we can work together and identify solutions that are built with their best interests in mind,” Diamond’s press team added.
ConsumerAffairs recently contacted Burkhart again to find out if her complaint did, in fact, result in a solution “built with [her] best interests in mind.” Burkhart replied that Diamond offered to forgive the loan on her father’s most recent and especially questionable Diamond purchase -- a points contract that he bought in late 2017 for $116,000. The purchase was made possible with a loan issued by Diamond and Barclays credit card, also issued by Diamond.
Before she signed the forgiveness agreement, Burkhart told ConsumerAffairs that Diamond agreed to forgive the $116,000 loan on the condition that the family agree to a “non-disparagement” clause. The family must also waive their right to pursue the other timeshare contracts.
Burkhart asked Diamond to modify the agreement so that she could possibly get the other timeshare loans cancelled. She also requested that the $116,000 loan be completely rescinded and cancelled, rather than forgiven. Otherwise, she fears that her father will still owe taxes on it.
“The big issue is the 1099 in my mind,” Bukrhart wrote.
In an email, Diamond responded to Burkhart that it would not accommodate any of her requests on the loan agreement, with a representative simply referring the decision back to Diamond's legal team. Burkhart said that as a result, she would probably just accept Diamond's offer as is.
After all, consumers unhappy with their timeshare purchases tend to have little recourse. The timeshare exit industry, which promises to help people cancel their timeshare contracts, is also notorious for fraud.
In a more recent statement, a public relations agency working on behalf of Diamond tells ConsumerAffairs that “we learned that they had already been working directly with Diane and had resolved this matter.”
The agency did not respond to follow-up questions about whether Diamond is reevaluating its sales tactics.
Booming industry
Diamond is not the only timeshare company to face accusations of deceptive sales tactics and elder abuse, though, according to a 2016 New York Times article, they have the reputation of being particularly aggressive. Still, the hours-long hard-sell has long been known to be the industry's bread and butter.
Despite the seemingly outdated business model and questionable tactics, the industry is apparently doing better than ever. The industry's lobbying group bragged last year that timeshares made $9.6 billion worth of sales in 2017. Wyndham Vacation Ownership, another major United States timeshare company, said in a press release late last year that millennials are “raving” about timeshares.
However, a Wyndham employee won a $20 million judgement in 2016 after she alleged that the firm actually made its money by pouncing on the elderly.
Charlie Thrash, 81, who is
legally mentally disabled is shown in a December 2018 photograph from
FaceBook. Thrash's girlfriend Laura Martinez has been accused of undue
influence and also spending the wealthy man's money. The case is in
court. Photo: Courtesy
by John MacCormack, San Antonio Express-News
An impassioned attempt to remove Bexar Probate Judge
Oscar Kazen from a controversial guardianship case involving millionaire
Charlie Thrash came up short Tuesday.
In
his motion for recusal, attorney Phil Ross had accused Kazen of various
improprieties including “extra-judicial acts,” political association
with other parties in the case and “retaliatory and discriminatory
conduct and rulings.”
Taken together, Ross said, they tended to show an appearance of bias and impropriety.
Lawyers for Thrash’s two guardians argued that Ross’s recusal motion was no more than a delaying tactic.
After
hearing five hours of testimony and argument, regional Presiding Judge
Sid Harle summarily rejected the recusal motion, saying the evidence for
it was unconvincing.
Harle
also denied a request by the five lawyers in the courtroom,
representing the two guardians in the case, that he punish Ross by
ordering him to pay their $17,265 legal bill.
“Now
we can get back to the merits of the case. We respect the court’s
ruling,” said Barrett Shipp, who represents Mary Werner, Thrash’s
personal guardian.
Despite falling to oust Kazen, Ross did not complain about the not unexpected outcome.
“I
thought the judge gave a fair and impartial ruling. I think it’s
unfortunate for Charlie Thrash that we did not prevail,” he said.
Thrash,
81, the longtime owner of CT Thrash Differentials & Axle on West
Avenue, was found in 2017 to be mentally incapacitated.
He
became a ward of a guardianship after Adult Protective Services
investigated a complaint about him being exploited and manipulated by
Laura Martinez, 54, his longtime girlfriend.
Her
March 4 marriage to Thrash was quickly annulled by Kazen, on the
grounds that he did not have the mental capacity for such an important
decision.
Separately,
a state district judge ruled that Thrash’s March 5 adoption of her two
adult children had also been improper for the same reason.
On
March 6, Thrash was removed from the home in Shavano Park he shared
with Martinez and various of her family members. Werner said she took
the dramatic action, backed by police, because she was fearful of his
safety. Thrash is now staying with a relative in Bexar County.
A nephew, Michael Thrash, 56, recently visited with him for several days and said he is doing very well.
“He seems to be very happy. He is getting his health back and his diabetes under control,” said Michael Thrash.
“His world is upside down now. He just wants it back the way it was before all this started, before Laura Martinez,” he added.
Martinez
insists she loves Thrash and has always acted in his best interests.
Ross, who claims that Thrash has regained his mental capacity, is
seeking to end the guardianships of his person and estate.
And very soon, the half-dozen lawyers involved will again be arguing in court in front of Kazen.
A critical hearing on the case, originally set for March 26, was canceled when Ross filed an 11th-hour motion to recuse Kazen.
It has been reset for April 9, and as Kazen recently described it in court, it will be “for all the marbles.”
At
the hearing, Kazen will decide on a permanent injunction sought by the
guardians that, if granted, would effectively impose a legal barrier
between Thrash and Laura Martinez and her family.
BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) - Easthampton attorney Phillip R. Williams has
been arrested and charged for various financial fraud offenses and lying
to federal agents.
Williams, 49, was indicted on three counts of
wire fraud, two counts of engaging in financial transactions greater
than $10,000 of proceeds derived from criminal activity, two counts of
money laundering, two counts of tax fraud, and one count of false
statements to a federal official. Williams appeared in federal court in
Springfield Monday and was detained pending a hearing scheduled for
April 4, 2019.
According to the indictment, Williams was an
attorney licensed to practice law in Massachusetts. Williams maintained
an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account at a bank in Massachusetts and was
required to hold funds with the care required of a professional
fiduciary, for the exclusive benefit of his clients. Between
approximately Jan. 29, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2014, Williams allegedly
devised a scheme to defraud two individuals who transferred $950,000
into the Williams Lawyers’ Trust Account. As part of that scheme,
Williams stole $453,695 of these funds for his own benefit, his family
members, and two associates.
It
is further alleged that when Williams electronically filed his
self-prepared 2014 Individual Tax Return Form 1040 with the IRS, he
failed to report the full amount of the $453,695 that he misappropriated
from the Williams Lawyer’s Trust Account. In September 2015, Williams
filed an amended 2014 Individual Tax Return, Form 1040x, with the IRS
and increased his adjusted gross income from $44,439 to $282,000.
In
addition, in July 2015, Williams allegedly told agents that he reported
an estimated $300,000 of the stolen funds on his 2014 income tax
return.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations.
The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond
a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CLERMONT, Fla. (AP) — A Florida caregiver is accused of abusing a 94-year-old amputee at an assisted living home.
The
Orlando Sentinel reports 64-year-old Soebhagwatie Changoer was arrested
last week after the woman's son placed a camera inside her room at the
facility in Clermont.
An arrest report says the woman told her son
the caregiver was being too "rough with her." The son viewed the video
footage and "discovered his mother was being abused by her caregiver."
He reported what he saw to management at Crane's View Lodge Assisted
Living and Memory Care.
Changoer was suspended and the facility
reported the incident to the Department of Children and Families and
police. She's charged with abuse of an elderly person.
A lawyer wasn't listed for Changoer on arrest records.
The abuse continues without end for Elizabeth “Betty” Winstanley and her children fighting for her at the Lancaster, County Court of Common Pleas.
Winstanley has been in guardianship since 2014, with most of
her rights removed, forced to live in a home in Pennsylvania, rather than in
Maryland near her children.
She was not given a hearing aid and so couldn’t hear at all
at the hearing which determined if she was “incapacitated”, the term used by
the court to determine if someone needs to be placed into guardianship.
She has been isolated, abused, and had her money misspent by the courts and court actors appointed by the courts; many of these
same court actors charge her up to $400 per hour for their services.
This is not the first-time media has looked at the tragic
guardianship case of Elizabeth Winstanley.
“Would you hire someone to manage your personal affairs and
finances who charged $50,599.18 in just three months?
“What if they charged $1560.00 to make two phone calls to
your son to discuss, ‘Dates for (a) Christmas’ visit with you. Or if you got a
bill for more than $1,000 from this person explaining, it was because their, ‘Computer
emails appear(ed) to be breached …(and) extensive work (was) done on my phone
and computer as a result.’ They charged you for calls to their IT department
and to an attorney they consulted.
“And what if this same person refused to communicate with
two of your three children even when you were rushed to the hospital? And when
they placed a couple of phone calls 3 days later to see how you were doing you
were charged another $990.00?”
Dimond continued later: “Widow
Betty Winstanley, 94, who is under a disputed court-ordered guardianship and
lives in theMasonic
Village Retirement Home in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. She is forced to pay her court-appointed guardian for the expenses I
just described (and many more) because Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court Judge
Jay J. Hoberg says she must.”
Sharyl Attkisson’s Take
In 2017, Sharyl Attkisson featured Winstanley’s story on her
program, Full Measure.
Attkisson found that 1.5 million people in the US were under
guardianship, which controlled $273 billion.
“Betty’s court appointed guardian from a for profit company
controlled nearly every aspect of Betty’s life at Betty’s own expense.”
Attkisson said.
Attkisson, like Dimond, found the guardians charged in an
exorbitant manner.
They charged $180 for an email regarding Mother’s Day, $426
for a conversation about the ownership of a French horn, and $2,070 to discuss
Christmas visits.
Attkisson found that guardian bills came to $93,908 in one
five-month period.
The guardian would not let Betty speak to Attkisson, but she
did broadcast a video tape made previously of Betty.
“Why are you trying to damage all my life by taking me away
from all family and my friends?” Betty said in the video.
Back to the Present
Despite the media attention, the abuse by the court and
others of Betty Winstanley continues.
Her family provided photos of Betty with a bruise on her
hand; the photo was taken at her assisted living facility, Masonic Village.
In a letter to the Pennsylvania authorities, they listed
other immediate concerns.
1)How pale, gaunt and the lack of moons on her
fingers a sign of being anemic
2)The extended stomach - if it is diet
3)Her heart monitor and a follow up as she stated
her chest felt tight
4)The infection in / on her leg since around
November of 2018
5)THE LACK OF HEARING AIDS and the pattern of
taking them from her since 2014
6)The emotional abuse by Candice Beckett in trying
to silence her of what has happened to her and is happening to her.
7)The emotional abuse by Masonic Village by all
appearance “ORDERS” from above to the local staff as to what Mrs. Winstanley is
able to do.
8)The Lack of activities for Mrs. Winstanley to
participate in such as exercise classes et al
The Convoluted Court Process
Betty’s son David has been attempting to keep the
pressure on and this includes a March 7, 2019, hearing.
Namely, on June 12, 2015, Judge Jay Hoberg to the Lancaster County Court of Common PleasinPennsylvania issued an
order. Hoberg is the long-time judge on this case. In that order, he purportedly honored Betty’s wish to move to Maryland, where David lives.
This was even supported by the current
guardian Candace Beckett, who on February 3, 2017 filed a petition for the
court to move Winstanley to Maryland, “It is the intention of this Plenary
Guardian of the Person that, following to Mrs. Winstanley’s stated preferences
that she permanently be relocated from Lancaster, County, Pennsylvania where
she has no relatives to Anne Arundul County, Maryland where two of her children
reside.” Beckett said.
She continued in the same affidavit, “The
transfer to Maryland would be in the best interest of Mrs. Winstanley.”
When reached by phone, Beckett, who remains the
guardian, said, “the problem is there’s no money left.”
Beckett insisted she has not even been paid since
coming on board herself in 2017 but that Winstanley’s estate was estimated at
between $1.4-$1.8 million when things began in 2014.
She estimates that it is down to
$250,000-$500,000, most of which is not liquid now.
She said some of the money went to caring for
Mrs. Winstanley at Masonic Village, but the rest went to the other guardians
like Stump.
Betty Winstanley remains in Pennsylvania more
than two years after Beckett’s petition was filed.
Furthermore, David told me, the judge has been
resistant to ordering a forensic audit of the expenses made by the guardians.
Judge Hoberg, David told me, has previously
claimed that the audit was too expensive, but as much as $2 million has been
squandered from Betty Winstanley’s estate without proper records being kept,
David told me.
I left an email for Stacey Witalec, the press and communications manager for the Pennsylvania Judicial System, but it was not returned.
Also still unsettled is the issue of alleged
malfeasance by the former guardian, Robert Stump.
“Guardian Stump had a CONVICTED FELON WORKING
WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS GUARDIAN OF MY MOTHER.GLORIA BYARS , THE CONVICTED FELON
AT RES, ODDLY LEFT RES AT THE END OF 2015 ...STUMPS LAST DAY AS GUARDIAN WAS
DEC.10,2015.....SINCE STUMP WAS REMOVE AND HER SUDDEN DEPARTURE ; DOES THIS
MEAN THE EASY STEALING IN HIS BUSINESS WAS OVER?” Winstanley said in an email
to his lawyer.
His attorney, Douglas Earl, did not respond to an
email from me.
Stump had hired Gloria Byars to work as a
guardian for his company, RES Consulting, and she worked on Betty’s case as
well.
“Byars had been
convicted multiple times of financial theft.
“Her most recent arrest came in 2005. She pleaded guilty to
felony fraud and was sentenced to 37 months in a federal prison after cashing
$20,000 in blank checks found rummaging through trash cans at a Virginia post
office.
“Federal dockets show Byars was paroled on supervised
release in 2008, the same year - according to her LinkedIn account - she began
working in Philadelphia with RES Consulting, which provides guardian services.”
I sent an email to RES Consulting but that was also not
returned.
The guardian who took over stated previously that the judge,
Hoberg, approved payments of $18,500 per month to Stump, but now refuses to
revisit those payments.
David Winstanley asked his attorney to demand for several
things at the March 7, 2019, hearing. Those include.
We demand a forensic investigation Because with both guardians STUMP &
MAISANO WE FIND FRAUDLENT BILLING ,FOR PAY COMPENSATION, (WE DONT TO THIS DAY
KNOW WHAT MAISANO OR GONICK ( TRUSTEE) ARE CHARGING.
STUMP WAS SUPPOSEDLY RECEIVING $130/HR. YET IN
TESTIMONY UNDER OATH PATRICIA MAISANO HAD NO IDEA WHAT HER IKOR GUARDIAN
BUSINESS WAS BILLING MY MOTHERS ESTATE YET SHE KNEW THAT JUDGE HOBERG PAID
STUMP ,RES , $18,500/MO.
3) HOBERG SAID IN COURT
HE "WAS NOT GOING BACK TO REVISIT THAT!
4) OVER CHARGING FOR
UNNESSARY VISITS ( MY MOTHER IS IN PERSONAL CARE) ATTYS FOR STUMP SPENDING TIME
FIGURING OUT HOW TO BREAK THE FAMILY TRUST WHEN MONEY AT THE TIME WAS NOT
LACKING (AND THE INTENTION TO BREAK AND RAID THE TRUST OF ALL ITS ASSETS WAS
ALWAYS THE INTENTION OF JUDGE HOBERG FROM 2015 ON....HE SPOKE ABOUT IT OFTEN
OPENLY IN COURT)
PADDING TIME SHEETS IS FRAUD.
Winstanley told
me this is not the first time these things have been demanded and he does not
expect this time to be any different, but that he hopes renewed pressure from
the media will finally end the never-ending nightmare.
