Miles City woman sentenced in elderly exploitation case

Del Linda Frost ordered to pay $94K in restitution

GREAT FALLS — Del Linda Frost of Miles City, who recently pleaded guilty to exploitation of an older person, received a suspended sentence and was ordered to pay more than $94,000 in restitution to her victim’s estate.

Frost, 60 years old, was charged with theft of property by embezzlement and the exploitation of an older person, both felonies, on January 3, 2019. According to a news release from the Montana Department of Justice, at a change of plea hearing on October 28, Frost pleaded guilty to the exploitation charge involving the now-deceased victim, Arthur Yamada, in Custer County between March 10, 2014 and March 14, 2018.

At a sentencing hearing on December 16, Judge Michael Hayworth ordered Frost to pay $94,075 in restitution and sentenced her to 10 years in prison, with all time suspended.

The Justice Department press release says that Frost was appointed temporary full conservator of Yamada on March 10, 2014; she became his permanent co-conservator on January 22, 2016. On August 23, 2017, the business manager of the nursing home where Yamada lived informed Miles City police that an $8,400 check from Yamada written by Frost had bounced.

Frost wrote two more checks totaling $14,382 to the nursing home; those checks also failed to clear. Additionally, Frost wrote several checks from Yamada’s checking account for cash, which emptied the account and left Yamada unable to pay for his care.

Frost also closed two certificates of deposit totaling almost $40,000. To cover the loss, Frost transferred funds from Yamada’s other bank accounts. To explain the checks issued for cash, Frost claimed they were for Yamada’s monthly allowance and items for his personal use. Frost was unable to explain why nearly $94,000 was missing, and resigned as Yamada’s co-conservator on March 14, 2018.

Yamada died on August 2, 2018 at the age of 97.

The investigation by the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation began on October 17, 2017, when the Miles City Police Department requested assistance from DCI’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

“This case was especially troublesome, given that the defendant worked in a law office and should have had the best interests of Mr. Yamada in mind when she was appointed as his conservator,” Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said. “Instead of acting conscientiously, Ms. Frost viewed Mr. Yamada as a tempting target and began embezzling his life savings almost immediately. Financial exploitation of seniors is a serious crime; one we must all guard against. I commend the nursing home business manager who alerted authorities when she suspected something was wrong, as well as my Division of Criminal Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Custer County Attorney’s Office for their diligent work on this case.”

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Miles City woman sentenced in elderly exploitation case

Parenting Your Aging Parents When They Don’t Want Help

Relationships between adult children and their parents can fray with age. Experts offer help on how loved ones can preserve the love and negotiate those tension-filled final years. (iStock/Getty Images)

By Judith Graham

David Solie’s 89-year-old mother, Carol, was unyielding. “No, I will not move,” she told her son every time he suggested that she leave her home and relocate to a senior living residence.

And it didn’t stop there. Although Carol suffered from coronary artery disease, severe osteoporosis, spinal compression fractures and unsteady balance, she didn’t want assistance. When Solie brought in aides to help after a bad fall and subsequent surgery, his mother fired them in a matter of days.

“In her mind, she considered it a disgrace to have anybody in her home,”
Solie said. “This was her domain for over 50 years, a place where she did everything by herself and in her own way.”

Conflicts of this sort often threaten relationships between aging parents and their adult children just when understanding and support are needed the most. Instead of working together to solve problems, families find themselves feuding and riven by feelings of resentment and distress.

Solie got so worked up, he considered going to court and asking for a conservatorship ― a legal arrangement that would have given him control over his mother’s affairs. (The situation was complicated because Solie’s brother, who has Down syndrome, lived at the family home.) But Solie’s lawyer advised that this course of action would destroy his relationship with his mother.

Today, Solie, a health care consultant and writer with a well-regarded blog about aging, sounds the same theme when he consults with adult children caring for parents. Make preserving trust and keeping your relationship intact ― not winning arguments ― a priority, he suggests. What your parents most need is confidence that you’ll listen to them, take their concerns seriously and stay by their side no matter what happens, he says.

How adult children communicate with parents can go a long way toward easing tensions, Solie says. Instead of telling your parent what to do, ask how they’d prefer to solve problems. Elicit their priorities and recognize their values when making suggestions. Give them choices whenever possible. Be attuned to their unexpressed needs and fears.

When Dr. Lee Lindquist, chief of geriatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, asked 68 older adults in eight focus groups why they resisted help, the answers varied. They said they were afraid of losing their independence, becoming a burden on loved ones, being taken advantage of and relinquishing control over their lives.

Asked what might make a difference, the older adults said they liked the idea of “interdependence” ― acknowledging that people need one another from childhood to older age. And they found it helpful to think that “by accepting help, they were in turn helping the person providing the help,” according to Lindquist’s study, published last year in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Unfortunately, no amount of patience, compassion or forbearance will work in some conflict-ridden circumstances. But here’s some of what experts have learned:

Be patient. Give your parents time to adjust. At first, Jane Wolf Frances’ 87-year-old mother, Lillian Wolf, wouldn’t consider moving with Jane’s father from New York City to the Los Angeles area, where Frances, her only child, lived.

Although Lillian had Alzheimer’s disease and Frances had planned to give her one-story house to her parents, “I deferred to my mother’s fear that she was going to be losing something essential,” she said.

Jane Wolf Frances (center) with her parents, Jack and Lillian Wolf, in 1963(Courtesy of Jane Wolf Frances)

 

During three years of caregiving, Frances had learned to not rush her parents. She knew they had slowed down and needed time to process change.

So Frances waited until her parent’s home health aide called with concerns about their ability to live independently. After discussing the situation with their physician, Frances approached her mother again. A move to assisted living would be a fresh start, allowing the family to spend more time together, she said. After several conversations, her mother finally agreed.

Frances, a psychologist, is the author of a new book, “Parenting Our Parents: Transforming the Challenge Into a Journey of Love” and founder of  www.parentingourparents.org. Stay calm when disagreements arise with your elderly parents and tamp down your emotional reactions, she tells families. Listen carefully to your parents’ concerns and let them know you’re trying to help them accomplish their goals, not impose your agenda.

“It’s often helpful to say to your parents ‘I’m doing this for you; I’d like you to do something for me,’” Frances said. “People who are good parents perk up on that one and will ask, ‘OK, what can I do for you?’ Then, you can tell them, ‘You can let me help you more.’”

Let them know you’re on their side. Denise Brown was convinced her parents, Roger and Sally Loeffler, were making a terrible decision. In the previous year, Roger, 84, had been diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer and undergone extensive surgery. Sally, 81, had suffered three internal bleeds and had one-third of her stomach removed.

Denise Brown (center) with her siblings and parents, Sally and Roger Loeffler(Courtesy of Denise Brown)

 

Brown didn’t think they could live on their own anymore, and her parents had moved into a retirement community upon her recommendation. But then, at a family meeting, her mother stood up and said, “I’m not dying in this dump. I hate it here.” As Brown and her siblings turned to their father, he said, “I’ll do whatever your mom wants.”

When her parents decided to move to an apartment, Brown was confrontational. “I raised my voice and said, ‘This is not good, this is terrible,’” she said. “They were shocked, but they said ‘It doesn’t matter; this is what we’re going to do.’”

As Brown thought about her reaction, she realized she thought her parents would be safer and have a more “gentle” death in the retirement community: “Then it occurred to me ― this wasn’t what my parents wanted. They valued their independence. It’s their decision about how the end of life plays out.”

Brown let her parents know she’d respect their wishes but would need to set limits. Her work ― Brown is the founder of http://www.CareGiving.com ― had to be a priority, and her parents would need to arrange other assistance if she couldn’t be available. (Brown’s two brothers and sister help out.) And they’d have to be willing to talk openly about how their choices were affecting her.

What doesn’t work: trying to communicate when any one of them is tired or angry. “We never get anywhere,” Brown said. “Everybody gets defensive and shuts down.”

What does work: “asking them questions like how do you think we should try to solve this problem? It’s interesting to hear their answers, and it makes working together so much easier.”

Stop expecting your parents to be as they used to be. After her father’s death, Loi Eberle was distraught when her mother, Lucille Miller, became involved with a man she and her siblings didn’t like. With his encouragement, Miller invested in real estate and lost a great deal of money.

But nothing Eberle or her siblings said could convince her mother that this relationship was destructive.

Eberle struggled with resentment and anger as her mother’s needs escalated after a heart attack and a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, a severe neurological disease. “Mom and I had this love/hate relationship all my life, and there was a huge need for healing in this relationship,” she said.

Loi Eberle and her mother, Lucille Miller, in 2012(Courtesy of Loi Eberle)

 

In 2012, Eberle moved Miller, then 89, from her longtime home in Minneapolis to a nursing home in northern Idaho, near where Eberle lives. Gradually, she realized that her mother “had transitioned to being someone else” ― someone who was vulnerable and at her life’s end.

“I think for a long time I had this idea that I was going to help Mom come back to who she was, and I spent a lot of time trying to do that,” Eberle said. “I finally had to forgive myself for failure and understand that this is the life process.”

With this shift in perspective, emotional tension dissipated. “When I’d visit, my mother was always so happy to see me,” Eberle said. Miller died in March 2017 at age 94.

Letting go of unrealistic expectations can defuse conflicts. This is the final stage of your journey with your parents. Try to put angst to one side and help make this time meaningful for them and for you. Most of all, your parents want to feel emotionally connected and accepted, even in a diminished state.


Full Article & Source:
Parenting Your Aging Parents When They Don’t Want Help

Britney Spears Conservatorship Wins Court Battle ... In Free Britney Movement

Britney Spears and company mean business when anyone insinuates her conservatorship is secretly harming her ... because her people just nailed a hater with a big, fat injunction.

Britney's dad, Jamie, just got the order, prohibiting a guy named Anthony Elia from talking smack about the conservatorship. As we reported, Elia created the "Absolute Britney" blog suggesting Jamie and his team were manipulating Britney's Instagram account to make it look like she needs help when she did not ... in other words to make it look like she needs a conservatorship.

Elia went so far as to call the treatment of Britney "a human rights violation." What especially enraged Jamie ... that Elia says he came to the conclusion on a "gut feeling."

Jamie and his lawyer, Larry Stein, claimed this is defamation, pure and simple, and went to court to muzzle Elia.

The judge saw it Jamie's way and ordered Elia to immediately stop his claims ... especially those suggesting the conservatorship is harming Britney.

One of the reasons for the injunction ... the blog triggered a number of death threats against the folks involved in the conservatorship ... some of which cops took seriously.

Full Article & Source: 
Britney Spears Conservatorship Wins Court Battle ... In Free Britney Movement

Reversal: Court wrongly denied evidence alleging guardianship mismanagement

A Boone County trial court wrongly rejected a husband’s effort to show that the guardianship for his wife was being financially mismanaged and should be terminated, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, finding the judge overseeing the case failed to properly notify him of regular accountings.

A few years after Gwendolyn M. Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Spaw, was appointed as her sole guardian in September 2014. Reagan moved from Lebanon to live with Spaw in her home in Kendallville from November 2014-March 2015, at which time she returned to Lebanon to live with her husband, Thomas Meranda, who had retired and could care for her at home, according to the record.

“At that time, Reagan’s monthly allowance was increased to allow for eating out and hairdresser appointments, while Meranda was reimbursed for medical expenses he paid on behalf of Reagan after providing the receipts to Spaw. On September 16, 2016, Spaw filed her verified guardian’s second amended inventory, with notice to Reagan. Three days later, the trial court approved the filing without a notice or hearing,” Judge Patricia Riley wrote.

“On June 8, 2017, Spaw filed a petition for authority to clean-up and sell Reagan’s real estate … . In her petition, Spaw noted that the property had been empty for years and had deteriorated as a result.  The trial court granted the petition without notice, hearing, or service of the order.

“On June 21, 2018, Meranda filed a pro se letter with the trial court advising the court that because Spaw had not been paying Reagan’s medical bills, he had been forced to pay them and was falling in debt,” Riley continued. “Meranda requested that Spaw find Reagan another place to live due to the possibility of Meranda’s mortgage being foreclosed. A month later, on July 18, 2018, Spaw submitted a status report to the trial court, advising the court ‘that the medical bills are being paid by the Guardian herein.'”

Again, Boone Superior Judge Matthew Kincaid approved Spaw’s report and accounting without notice or hearing.

“On February 11, 2019, Meranda, represented by counsel, filed an emergency petition for termination of the guardianship and for succession of guardianship. In his petition, Meranda asserted that Spaw had mismanaged Reagan’s estate and failed to provide for Reagan’s physical and mental needs. In addition, he claimed to have incurred more than $40,000 of unreimbursed medical and personal expenses in his care for Reagan. On February 13, 2019, Spaw filed her response to Meranda’s emergency petition contending that the accountings ‘were approved [by the court] and none of which were appealed by Meranda’ and ‘no objections were raised at any time until the recent filing.’”

The trial court held a hearing on Meranda’s petition about a month later, finding it was “substantially a rehashing of issues previously decided.” The trial court denied Meranda’s petition and awarded Spaw attorney fees, finding his petition frivolous.

The COA reversed and remanded in Thomas Meranda v. Mary Elizabeth Spaw, 19A-GU-1218.

“Meranda’s main argument focuses on the trial court’s refusal to admit evidence of Spaw’s financial mismanagement of Reagan’s estate and the unreimbursed medical expenses incurred in his care for Reagan. The trial court denied their admission because the issues had been ‘previously decided’ and the trial court was ‘not going to revisit any of those.’ … (Meranda) now contends that because the trial court’s orders, accepting Spaw’s accountings and inventory, were decided ex parte, the issues are not definitely concluded and can still be challenged in the current proceedings,” Riley wrote.

“… Here, Spaw’s accounts of administration and inventories were not filed as part of a final settlement and discharge, but amounted to intermittent financial reports of the guardianship. The record is silent as to any evidence that the trial court notified Reagan, or in case of waiver, Meranda, of the filing and the subsequent court hearing.  As no notice was given — and according to the record, no hearings were held — the trial court’s orders were issued ex parte. While an ex parte order is permitted, it is not binding on Meranda and can still be challenged and reviewed ‘at any subsequent time.’ See I.C. § 29-3-9-6(f).

“… Accordingly, because the trial court issued ex parte orders on Spaw’s interim accountings, Meranda may still challenge these findings,” the panel concluded. “While we acknowledge the discretionary power of the trial court of its subsequent review of the ex parte orders, here, the trial court erred by declaring the ex parte orders to have been conclusively decided and by denying admission of evidence purporting to establish financial mismanagement of Reagan’s estate and unreimbursed medical invoices.  We reverse the trial court’s Order denying Meranda’s petition and remand for a new hearing.”

In a footnote, the panel also reversed the grant of attorney fees to Spaw.

Full Article & Source:
Reversal: Court wrongly denied evidence alleging guardianship mismanagement

Year in Review: Several attorneys’ lawlessness, recklessness gave lawyers a bad name in past year

Most Hoosier attorneys will never face a formal disciplinary complaint for misconduct. But in 2019, the bad behavior of a few lawyers resulted in professional sanctions or criminal charges. Here is a look back at some of the most egregious professional lowlights from the past year.

Schererville attorney Raymond Gupta was suspended in an emergency order in June, after which he was indicted in federal court for tax evasion and failing to file tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service alleges Gupta owes more than $2 million.

Gupta also is accused of paying personal expenses from his law firm’s bank accounts. The expenses include the purchase of vehicles, rent for a downtown Chicago apartment, furnishings for two homes, monthly mortgage payments, a $150,000 payment for an option to buy a personal residence and the purchase of a personal residence for nearly $1.1 million.

Gupta faces 22 disciplinary counts, including failing to maintain trust account records, commingling his funds with those of his clients, failing to promptly deliver client funds, charging and/or collecting unreasonable fees or expenses, and failing to explain to clients their options when an associate attorney left his firm.

Suspended South Bend attorney Sven Eric Marshall was arrested in Florida in January after the FBI launched a nationwide manhunt. Marshall was accused of defrauding elderly investors of more than $2.5 million.

Marshall abruptly closed his office – where he ran an enterprise called Trust & Advisory Services of Indiana – in 2017 and stopped communicating with clients. He was believed to be living in South Carolina.

After his return to federal district court in northern Indiana, Marshall pleaded guilty this spring to charges of mail fraud, securities fraud and bank fraud. He is still awaiting sentencing, according to online court records.

Suspended Indianapolis attorney Raymond Fairchild made news in recent years when he was disciplined for exposing himself while driving alongside a bus carrying members of a girls high school basketball team. After pleading guilty to public indecency in 2018, Fairchild was charged this year with Level 5 felony theft, accused of stealing more than $50,000 from the proceeds of a client’s settlement in a wrongful death case.

Fairchild resigned from the bar a little more than a month after his latest criminal charge. His trial on the felony theft charge is currently scheduled to begin in February.

Warsaw attorney Scott Joseph Lennox was suspended in November for noncooperation with an Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission investigation. While the contents of the four grievances against Lennox were not disclosed, the former partner in the Warsaw firm of Lennox, Sobek & Buehler LLC was charged in April with six counts of Level 6 felony theft and two counts of Level 5 felony fraud on a financial institution.

Lennox is accused of stealing thousands from his law firm’s trust and operating accounts. He is awaiting trial in neighboring Marshall County.

Suspended Greenwood attorney Kenneth Shane Service, who was initially charged three years ago in Lawrence County with stealing from his former special-needs trusts clients, is now charged in four counties, three of which have issued warrants for his arrest after he failed to appear for court hearings.

Service has yet to stand trial on felony theft charges he faces in Delaware, Franklin, Lawrence and Marion counties. He is criminally charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from disabled former clients around the state. Coupled with civil complaints on behalf of other former clients whose special-needs trusts he administered, Service is suspected of taking a total of more than $300,000.

Former Brownsburg attorney Scott C. Cole was sentenced in September to 2½ years in prison after he pleaded guilty to federal charges of income tax evasion.

The Internal Revenue Service charged Cole, who resigned from the Indiana bar in 2014, with failing to report more than $1.5 million in income for the 2001 and 2002 tax years. From 2012 through 2017, when the IRS sought to collect the money, he took extensive steps to evade paying, according to Cole’s plea agreement.

Indianapolis attorney Brent Welke was suspended from the practice of law for three years after he hired a convicted killer in 2010 to persuade a defendant charged with murder to ditch his public defender and instead hire Welke to represent him. The client’s family paid Welke $6,000, but the Indiana Supreme Court found that Welke was unprepared for trial and never provided an interpreter for his client, who had a language barrier.

The client eventually accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, but after his plea was vacated on post-conviction relief, he was convicted at retrial and sentenced to 55 years.

The Indiana Supreme Court concluded in a September disciplinary order that Welke had provided a “woefully inadequate” defense. Justice Steven David dissented from the three-year suspension and instead would have disbarred Welke.

Former Johnson County Prosecutor Bradley Cooper was suspended from the practice of law in August after he pleaded guilty in a domestic violence case and was sentenced in July. Cooper confessed at sentencing to allegations he struck his fiancee, confined her and pretended to be her in text messages. (More here.)•


Full Article & Source:
Year in Review: Several attorneys’ lawlessness, recklessness gave lawyers a bad name in past year

Miles City woman ordered to pay $94,000 restitution in elderly exploitation case

A Miles City woman who recently pleaded guilty to exploitation of an older person received a suspended sentence and was ordered to pay more than $94,000 in restitution to her victim’s estate.

Del Linda Frost, 60, of Miles City was charged with theft of property by embezzlement and the exploitation of an older person, both felonies, on Jan. 3, 2019. According to a press release from the Montana Department of Justice, at a change of plea hearing on Oct. 28 Frost pleaded guilty to the exploitation charge involving the now-deceased victim, Arthur Yamada, in Custer County between March 10, 2014 and March 14, 2018.

At a sentencing hearing on Dec. 16, Judge Michael Hayworth ordered Frost to pay $94,075 in restitution and sentenced her to 10 years in prison with all time suspended.

“This case was especially troublesome, given that the defendant worked in a law office and should have had the best interests of Mr. Yamada in mind when she was appointed as his conservator,” Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said. “Instead of acting conscientiously, Ms. Frost viewed Mr. Yamada as a tempting target and began embezzling his life savings almost immediately. Financial exploitation of seniors is a serious crime; one we must all guard against. I commend the nursing home business manager who alerted authorities when she suspected something was wrong, as well as my Division of Criminal Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Custer County Attorney’s Office for their diligent work on this case.”

The Justice Department press release states Frost was appointed temporary full conservator of Yamada on March 10, 2014; she became his permanent co-conservator on January 22, 2016. On August 23, 2017, the business manager of the nursing home where Yamada lived informed Miles City police that an $8,400 check from Yamada written by Frost had bounced.

Frost wrote two more checks totaling $14,382 to the nursing home; those checks also failed to clear. Additionally, Frost wrote several checks from Yamada’s checking account for cash, which emptied the account and left Yamada unable to pay for his care.

Frost also closed two certificates of deposit totaling almost $40,000. To cover the loss, Frost transferred funds from Yamada’s other bank accounts. To explain the checks issued for cash, Frost claimed they were for Yamada’s monthly allowance and items for his personal use. Frost was unable to explain why nearly $94,000 was missing, and resigned as Yamada’s co-conservator on March 14, 2018.

Yamada died on August 2, 2018 at the age of 97.

The investigation by the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation began on Oct. 17, 2017, when the Miles City Police Department requested assistance from DCI’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

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Miles City woman ordered to pay $94,000 restitution in elderly exploitation case

Power-of-attorney has the power to be abused in Florida.

There are no safeguards when the vulnerable sign over control of their affairs. Investigators say that’s how a Riverview woman took $500,000 from a 93-year-old Pinellas Park man she had never met before. 

By Kathryn Varn

Maurice Myers spent the last year of his life suffering from several ailments, with no close family to help the 93-year-old manage his affairs.

There’s an option for vulnerable adults like him. A court-appointed guardianship is designed to protect those who can no longer make their own legal and medical decisions. Every choice those caretakers make and dollar they spend must be approved by a judge.

Power-of-attorney has no such safeguards.

That is the legal mechanism that detectives say Traci Hudson used to swindle more than $500,000 from Myers — with no one keeping watch as it happened.

It is a powerful piece of paper, experts say, and if that power is abused, the onus is on the vulnerable person and those around them to report it.

Former guardian Traci Hudson, 51,
faces a charge of exploitation of
the elderly, according to the
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
[Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]

Hudson, 51, is a professional guardian from Riverview who was arrested last month on a charge of exploitation of the elderly. She has since resigned and been removed from the roughly 30 guardianship cases she oversaw in the Tampa Bay area.

Myers wasn’t one of them. Instead, his Pinellas Park nursing home called in Hudson — a stranger — to take over his affairs in 2017. He signed a document granting Hudson power-of-attorney over his financial decisions and a surrogacy agreement giving her autonomy over his healthcare decisions, even though Myers may not have had the capacity to sign anything.

Hudson has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Her defense attorney, Richard McKyton, said he’s “seen no proof that verifies” the allegations.

Investigators say Hudson drained Myers’ bank accounts over 11 months and used the money to buy herself everything from jewelry to property to Bucs’ tickets. He died in 2018.

Power-of-attorney is typically used by family or friends to take over a loved one’s life decisions without an expensive or lengthy court process, said Grayson McCouch, an estate law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

“It all depends on how trustworthy and reliable and competent that agent is,” McCouch said. Those who sign away a broad power-of-attorney "really are leaving themselves open to being ripped off on a big scale.”

• • •

Myers once worked for a telegraph company, his death certificate shows, and served in the military. He and his wife, Mary, lived in a home near Sarasota, then she died in 2007. His health started to decline in 2017, according to Hudson’s arrest warrant, which cites medical records and interviews with doctors and nurses.

In the 18 months before his death, Maurice Myers bounced from hospitals to rehabilitation facilities to nursing homes.

He had a series of renal problems and trouble performing daily activities. At Sarasota Memorial Hospital, doctors described him as “a very frail elderly gentleman, somewhat confused, but pleasant and cooperative.”

His daughter, Virginia Myers, lived in Pinellas Park. At her request, he moved to Grand Villa of Pinellas Park, a nursing home about 10 minutes from her home, on May 1, 2017.

While the daughter never held power-of-attorney for her father, she handled his financial affairs and was a co-signer on his bank accounts, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office investigation.

But Virginia Myers, 61, died that October. Her will mentioned a friend from Pinellas Park and two second cousins from California but no other relatives.

A former Grand Villa executive director told investigators that staffers knew Maurice Myers would need a new caretaker and reached out to a professional guardian who worked with other residents at the home: Traci Hudson.

On paper, all seemed well. Hudson had administered dozens of guardianships in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties. She also served as president of a local guardian association.

Hudson has since resigned from her job as a guardian and been removed from her cases.

• • •

Usually a family member or close, trusted friend would take on the power-of-attorney role, said Michelle Hollister, an elder law attorney in Boca Raton. But there are situations, especially in Florida with its high population of retirees, where that person just doesn’t exist.

Brian Lee, a former Florida long-term care ombudsman who advocated for elderly residents, credited Grand Villa staff for recognizing that Myers needed a new caretaker. But he said referring a vulnerable resident to a specific person is not best practice.

“It sounds to me like they were trying to do this out of convenience for themselves,” Lee said.

“But if you’re a nursing home operator, that’s not how it works.”

For example, Sarasota elder law attorney Slade Dukes said he provides his clients a list of care providers and has them do the research, recommending they consult their financial planners, banks and other professionals.

“These people all had an interest in him,” Dukes said of Myers’ case. “No one was unbiased or unaffiliated or un-benefitted. And that’s the problem.”

Grand Villa management didn’t return requests for comment from the Tampa Bay Times. Nor did Grand Villa’s director at the time, who now works at the chain’s Dunedin location.

The president of the nursing home’s corporate owner, Senior Management Advisors, also did not return requests for comment. A woman who answered the phone at the corporate owner said management had previously said they weren’t going to comment on Hudson’s case.

A spokesman for the Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees Florida’s nursing homes, said it is looking into the matter but declined to elaborate.

When asked what rules the agency has for finding caretakers for unaccompanied residents, spokesman Patrick Manderfield pointed to a state law with guidelines for a nursing home employee to work as a power-of-attorney agent on behalf of a resident.

The law doesn’t say anything about referrals, like what happened in Myers’ case. McKyton, Hudson’s attorney, said it’s his understanding that “facilities do that all the time.”

He added that his client had no role in drafting the power-of-attorney agreement, noting that would have been a conflict of interest. She wasn’t present when Myers signed it, either, McKyton said.

A copy of the document shows the four people who signed it: a notary, two witnesses who appear to be current or former nursing home employees, and Myers himself.

• • •

Another question that must be considered is whether a person has the mental capacity to sign away their legal rights.

To appoint a guardian voluntarily, a judge must first rule on a person’s capacity to make decisions for themselves. The process will only take place if the person is deemed incapacitated.

But there’s a limbo between when a professional or care provider questions a person’s capacity and when a petition for guardianship is actually filed, said Lori Stiegel, a senior attorney with the American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging.

That period “is really dangerous because that’s when exploiters can really step in and take advantage,” Stiegel said.

Hudson’s attorney said nursing home staff determined Myers was competent but needed a caretaker. Neither the nursing home nor the law firm that drew up the document suggested that Myers should have a guardian instead.

“It’s telling,” McKyton said, “that none of the people around him felt that a guardianship was needed.”

Detectives talked to people who knew Myers, said Pinellas sheriff’s spokesman Chuck Skipper, but they haven’t been able to determine his mental capacity when he signed the document. Their investigation began after his death, based on a complaint to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Caretakers and lawyers around an elderly person can help assess capacity and seek outside help if they have concerns. Dukes said he meets with his clients at least four times and prods them with questions before they sign a power-of-attorney document.

No one contacted an outside agency to intervene in Myers’ case, according to the Sheriff’s Office, even as medical professionals noted his deteriorating mental health. They said he showed possible signs of dementia and depression, a detective wrote in Hudson’s arrest report.

The Times found no record that Myers was represented by his own attorney through the process.

Florida Bar rules say a lawyer “may seek the appointment of a guardian or take other protective action with respect to a client only when the lawyer reasonably believes that the client cannot adequately act in the client’s own interest.”

Terry Deeb, whose firm drew up the power-of-attorney document, declined to say if he represented Myers, citing attorney-client confidentiality.

When a Times reporter pointed out that would imply Myers was his client, Deeb said that was wading “into matters here that are very complex” and declined to comment further.

The firm didn’t represent Hudson in Myers’ power-of-attorney, but court records show they’ve worked together on several guardianship cases as well as estate cases for both Maurice Myers and his daughter Virginia in which Hudson successfully petitioned to serve as personal representative. Both Hudson and Deeb withdrew from Maurice Myers’ estate case after Hudson’s arrest. Virginia Myers’ case concluded in April.

Another lawyer at the firm, Ha Thu Dao, said she met with Myers and determined that he shouldn’t sign the power-of-attorney because he was grieving the loss of his daughter. Dao said she left the paperwork with Myers at his request. But after that?

“I have no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his signing the document or when he signed it,” Dao said in an email. She didn’t respond to further questions.

• • •

All that is needed to grant someone power-of-attorney are the signatures of a notary, two witnesses and the person granting those powers. And in Florida, it becomes effective immediately upon signing.

Lee, the former ombudsman, doubted Myers knew what he was doing, wondering who in their right mind would sign over their life to a stranger.

“It just looks like it’s a little too close for comfort. That’s the best-case scenario,” Lee said. “The worst-case scenario is it’s ripe for impropriety — people collaborating … to exploit this resident.”

McKyton said Lee hasn’t seen the case file and doesn’t have his facts straight.

The sheriff’s investigation into the case and Hudson continues.

McCouch, the UF professor, offered this word of caution for vulnerable people and those around them:

“I’d be really skeptical of someone who had no family relationship, no oversight, no continuing contact with family members. I’d be really suspicious of someone who says, ‘I’ll manage your property for you. Trust me.’”

Tips to protect yourself and others

Here’s some advice from AARP Florida spokesman Dave Bruns and the Department of Elder Affairs website:

1. Stop the conversation with anyone who wants you to sign over power-of-attorney, then go tell your story to a trusted friend or family member. “It helps you regain your emotional balance and helps you understand wait a minute, I’ve sort of been led down a road here," Bruns said.

2. Seek legal advice, especially when deciding whether to grant someone your power of attorney. Bruns acknowledged it’s cost-prohibitive for some seniors, but sometimes power-of-attorney consultations can cost only a few hundred dollars, he said.

3. Do your own research. Bruns suggested the AARP's Fraud Watch Network. The Florida Department of Elder Affairs also has resources, including a list of local agencies on aging and an elder helpline at 1-800-963-5337. A list of local elder helplines can be found here.

4. Report suspected elder abuse to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-955-8771 or online through the Florida Department of Children of Families, myflfamilies.com.

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Power-of-attorney has the power to be abused in Florida.

A Mother Struggles To Care For Her Adult Son With Schizophrenia

Debbie Spruell is a caregiver for her 30-year-old son diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Allison V. Smith / For KERA News

By Syeda Hasan

When a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, parents can play a crucial role in their treatment, but what happens when those children become adults?

Debbie Spruell is caring for her adult son with schizophrenia — and the legal hurdles are tripping her up. 

It's a Sunday morning in November, and Debbie Spruell is wearing a black and white striped dress to match her fellow choir members at the Straightway Christian Church in Burleson. As the congregation files in, they join in song.

It's been a tough morning. Before Spruell left home, her son Jermaine Hayley wasn't in a good state of mind, and they had a disagreement. Spruell is a Fort Worth native and a caregiver to 30-year-old Hayley. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia about 10 years ago. Symptoms can be managed with treatment and can include hearing voices, having hallucinations and a lack of pleasure in everyday life.

"He is never compliant with his medication once he gets out of the hospital," Spruell said. "He goes in and out several times a year, and when he gets out he never takes his medicine again until he goes back."



Much of the past 10 years have looked like this for Spruell. Hayley has been committed to mental health facilities across North Texas, usually for 90-day stints. When he's released, he comes back to Spruell's house.

"When he first gets out of the hospital, he's primarily doing pretty good," she said, "but after that, as he starts to decline, he's not able to take care of himself or fix himself anything to eat."

Spruell works full-time to support the two of them — but she's getting older, and it's getting harder. At times, she says Hayley has torn things up around the house. Spruell has tried to get him into some group homes, but he never wants to stay. When she's home, Spruell spends a lot of time alone, reading or watching crime dramas on TV.

"I have to stay locked in my room most of the time depending on how he is," she said. "If he is having a pretty good day, then I'm able to come out, straighten up. But if he is not, then most of the time, I go and get he and I something to eat, and I stay back in my room and try to stay out of his way."

Debbie Spruell says singing in the church choir brings her comfort from the challenges of her life

 at home. Credit Allison V. Smith / For KERA News

 

Despite being his caregiver, Spruell can't force Hayley to take his medication or make any concrete decisions about his care. That's because he's a legal adult with his own rights.

"Debbie has a problem that's sadly typical to Texas law, which is that she's falling in this gap within the laws," says Matthew Bourque, an attorney with the Johnson Firm in Dallas.

He said Texas offers some legal remedies for people like Spruell and Hayley. Spruell could seek a medical power of attorney, but Hayley could revoke the agreement.

There's the option to seek a guardianship, a more permanent legal tool which could allow Spruell to decide where Hayley lives, who he sees and what type of treatment he receives. That would also mean stripping Hayley of basic rights, which is why the state's guide to adult guardianship says it should be the last and "best available choice." It can also be expensive, and applications have to be filed with a court. 

"In addition to the financial toll, the time toll, there's often a deep and harmful emotional toll on all the parties involved," Bourque said.

Four years ago, state lawmakers introduced a new tool called a supported decision-making agreement. It's meant to be a less extreme alternative, allowing adults to appoint someone to make certain choices for them, without going through the courts. But even if Hayley and Spruell signed off on an agreement, the concept is still pretty new.

"So when you hand one of those over to an institution like a hospital or a bank, they're probably going to look at it quizzically and not really know what to do with it," Bourque said.

For now, Spruell isn't certain of her next steps.

"Getting support from friends, family, loved ones, church members is very important," she said. 

Full Article & Source:
A Mother Struggles To Care For Her Adult Son With Schizophrenia

Woman accused of theft from elderly Boulder men takes plea deal

Diana Marie Hart

By Mitchell Byars

A woman accused of targeting and bilking two elderly Boulder men out of tens of thousands of dollars has taken a plea deal in both of her cases.

Diana Marie Hart on Monday pleaded guilty to theft between $20,000 and $100,000 and attempted third-degree assault in her 2019 case and pleaded guilty to theft between $20,000 and $100,000 in her 2018 case, according to online court records.

Hart, 65, is set for sentencing on both cases on Feb. 28.

Hart, who remains free on bond, was originally scheduled for two separate trials in March after pleading not guilty, but both of those court dates have now been cancelled with the plea deal.

According to an affidavit, Hart met the named victim in the first case in May 2016 at a concert in Central Park in downtown Boulder. The two struck up a romantic relationship, and the man told investigators that Hart quickly began asking for money to pay bills, to pay off debts and to give to her business partner in Florida. She told the man that the business partner was owed millions of dollars for a patent, and that Hart would eventually collect a portion of it, according to the affidavit.

The man told investigators that he felt uncomfortable giving Hart money, but she would have what he described as severe anxiety attacks and threatened suicide when he told her he wasn’t going to give her any more money. She told the man she was being threatened over her debts and had been kidnapped by the CIA on at least one occasion, according to the affidavit.

Prosecutors say that between cash, cashier’s checks and wire transfers, Hart had scammed the man out of about $141,000.

The assault charge stems from an incident in which the man told police he had dinner with Hart in downtown Boulder and she screamed at him for nearly 20 minutes in the parking lot before striking him in the face, according to the affidavit.

An arrest warrant affidavit in the second case states Hart befriended a different elderly man outside of a Boulder thrift store in June 2018 and convinced him to give her a table and chair set he was donating. The two got to talking and Hart allegedly told him that she was starting a company or nonprofit for women and needed $5 million.

The man told police that he wanted to help out women, so he took out a $100,000 home equity loan and wrote out $77,000 in checks to a woman in Florida who Hart claimed was her attorney.

Police said Hart is known for targeting elderly men with financial means. Hart has arrests in Boulder and Broomfield counties dating from 1984 and including convictions for disorderly conduct, assault, harassment, theft, domestic violence and trespassing. She has a 1999 conviction in Jefferson County for felony assault on an at-risk person. She also has at least one arrest for prostitution.


Full Article & Source: 
Woman accused of theft from elderly Boulder men takes plea deal

Merry Christmas!

Source:
Classic Christmas Music - Top Christmas Songs Of All Time

Volunteers Give Christmas Surprise to Nursing Home Residents Without Family

Holidays are often spent with family and loved ones, but for those without family -- a sadness comes at Christmastime.

A Jefferson County nursing home put out the call to find people willing to buy gifts for residents without any family and the response was more than they ever imagined.

Santa and his helpers are busy. Not just for the young, but the young at heart.

North Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Activity Director Bree Williams - is channeling her inner Saint Nick. “You have residents who may feel like - I'm not going to get anything or no one is here for me,” Williams said.

Full Article and Source:
Volunteers give Christmas surprise to nursing home residents without family

A Retirement Community That Comes to You

Carole Ann Basso had spent years tending to her ailing parents and disabled husband; at one point, all three were receiving hospice care in her northern New Jersey home.

 “It was so incredibly stressful,” recalled Ms. Basso, a retired high school history teacher. “I didn’t want to give my children that craziness.”

So when she relocated to the small bayside town of Lewes, Del., in 2012, after her parents’ and husband’s deaths, her own future weighed on her mind.

At 69, Ms. Basso had a long-term care insurance policy and a modest pension, but scant savings, which had prompted her move to a lower-cost region.

She wondered, “How am I going to take care of myself?” In Lewes, she heard about another option in long-term care offered by a few pioneering continuing care retirement communities: a C.C.R.C. without walls.

Typically, a C.C.R.C. operates a complex or campus where residents shift from independent living to assisted living, a memory-care unit or a nursing home if their health and mobility decline. But in continuing care at-home programs, members essentially spend the independent living years in their own houses.

 In 2015, Ms. Basso joined a program called Springpoint Choice that allows her to stay in her comfortable ranch house with an also-aging English setter named Princess Leia. Diane Willoughby, her “care navigator,” checks in regularly to monitor her needs.

 With luck, Ms. Basso, now 76, may remain in her home for years — or for good. If she eventually requires help with bathing, dressing or other so-called activities of daily living, the program will provide home aides.

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A Retirement Community That Comes to You

Man pays $32K in restitution for elder financial abuse case

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man who cashed out an elderly family member’s stocks without permission was ordered to pay $32,000 in restitution.

Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced David Walters was put on 2 years probation after he paid the $32,000 as part of a pretrial agreement. The 63-year-old reportedly cashed the stocks while knowing they were protected. The investigation began in November 2017 when police first learned of a 91-year-old man with dementia who was the victim of a theft.

The family of the victim told police that due to his dementia, the victim could not make his own financial decisions.

“This case involved a very vulnerable victim. These elder financial exploitation cases are very complex and oftentimes very emotional,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Shull.

According to the American Bankers Association, senior financial abuse is estimated to have cost victims nearly $3 billion last year alone.

Warning signs of potential elder abuse:

• Sudden and unexplained financial transfers;
• Sudden and unexplained “gifts” being given from an elderly person;
• Sudden and unexplained or changes in a person’s will or other estate planning documents;
• Unexplained spending patterns on a person’s financial bank accounts;
• ATM withdrawals that seem inconsistent with an elderly person’s spending habits.

Full Article & Source:

Man pays $32K in restitution for elder financial abuse case

Best Friends Build Their Own Tiny Town So They Can Retire And Grow Old Together

Chances are, you have had the thought of moving away and being surrounded with the people you love the most. These best friends are actually doing it.

While your ideal “get away from it all” escape may be an island retreat, or mountain cabin in the middle of a forest, these 8 friends had another idea: build an eco-town made out of tiny homes in good ol’ Texas.

“The cabin designed by architect Matt Garcia cost around $40,000 each and is environmental-friendly. The cabins are designed to be sustainable and make the most of the surroundings. The four couples named their settlement ‘Llano Exit Strategy’ and are looking to retire on the property,” reports Shared.

“We just wanted something warm feeling that would offset the coolness of the metal on the outside. It’s a high-design finish that doesn’t cost a lot of money,” said Matt Garcia, the architect.

“The reflective walls and insulated windows ensure the heat is reflected and thus keeping the cabins cool even during summer. The interiors have been made with plywood which has kept the cost of the house low. The slanted roofs have water barrels that can hold up to 50,000 gallons of rainwater.”

Even though they already lived close to each other, they didn’t see each other as often as they liked due to their busy schedules. Apart from the cabins, there is also a large communal kitchen and a guest bedroom for when other friends and family come to visit. There’s large, stainless-steel appliances, including a commercial range and clear-glass fridge.

Full Article and Source:

Best Friends Build Their Own Tiny Town So They Can Retire And Grow Old Together

When Pet Love Comes to Seniors

Pet owners know the many joys of pet ownership firsthand. They have a greeter waiting by the door when they get home from work, a friend to walk with around the neighborhood, and a fur baby to snuggle with while watching a movie on the couch.Although not everyone is able to care for a pet, the benefits of spending time with them can be experienced through animal-assisted therapy. The practice is part of an ever-growing collection of methods to improve conditions for aging populations, including for people with dementia.

Several local organizations, such as San Diego Humane Society and the Helen Woodward Animal Center, visit senior living facilities, hospitals and private residences so that those who can’t own pets can still enjoy them.

Studies have shown there are physical health benefits of interacting with animals such as lower blood pressure, stress reduction, lower cholesterol and muted pain sensations, said Robin Cohen, the pet encounter therapy manager at Helen Woodward Animal Center.

“There’s complete acceptance that comes from an animal: the unconditional love. There’s no judgment, they listen, they accept and they love,” she said.

Full Article and Source:
When Pet Love Comes to Seniors