Florida’s professional guardians have been in the headlines this past year and under arrest for stealing, abuse and neglect.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s professional guardians have been in the headlines this past year and under arrest for stealing, abuse and neglect.
But the I-Team has uncovered that even when the state’s own investigators found guardians broke the law, they continued with business as usual.
Teresa Kennedy provided us with a 2018 video showing a reunion with her aunt Lillie White, herself and her mother Jane Kennedy at an assisted living facility where White was placed by her court-appointed guardian.
White’s guardian banned most of her family from contacting her years ago.
“We didn't know where she was for two years and then we found her through private investigators in November 2018,” said Kennedy.
After a family dispute over money, a judge appointed a professional guardian to care for White.
“I never thought anything like this could've happened,” White said, in the 2018 video.
White was removed from her home in August 2016 and taken to an assisted living facility.
“They’re saying you don't want to see your sister Jane. Do you want to see her?” Kennedy asked her aunt in the video.
“See how lies can get out? Oh my goodness,” said White. “I've always wanted to see her.”
That’s the watchdog agency set up to investigate complaints against guardians.
“I finally received a call from the inspector general's office saying 'we're opening up an investigation.' So I was very excited,” said Kennedy.
That call came in 2017, about a year after she filed a complaint, but she heard nothing more until almost two years later.
“Every month, I'm calling and saying another year, another week, another month. Where's the report?” said Kennedy.
The I-Team obtained that report showing investigators found Lillie's guardian was not registered as a professional guardian with the state and had billed White’s bank account for attorney fees that were not allowed.
But despite finding problems, the state’s watchdog did not take any disciplinary action.
In a letter to White’s guardian, Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Richard Prudom said her conduct was “mitigated by the complexity of the family relationships.”
“I was so angry when I got the OPPG letter,” said Kennedy.
The I-Team uncovered eight other cases in which investigators found guardians violating the law. But the state never moved to take away the license of any of those guardians, each time ruling the problem had been "mitigated".
One guardian was cited for paying a concierge dentist $73,000 for unnecessary visits.
Investigators found another guardian charged a person under her care hourly fees for a caretaker to accompany the ward on a cruise without getting permission from the court.
Another guardian billed a woman’s estate for providing care services using a side business he owned without telling the court, which is also a violation of the state guardianship law.
Those guardians' actions were all mitigated by taking 16 hours of continuing education courses
Kathleen Zagaros complained to the state after her mother's guardian ignored her mother's advanced care directives, then requested a do not resuscitate order.
“She wanted all measures done. She appointed me as her surrogate healthcare provider. And they were ignored by the guardian,” Zagaros said.
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The state did not take any disciplinary action against the guardian because she bought five wreaths for $150 through an organization that lays wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.
Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Richard Prudom, who oversees OPPG, declined an on-camera interview but provided the following statement by email:
“The Department of Elder Affairs is committed to transparency and education regarding this process. Several factors are used to appropriately determine disciplinary actions regarding complaints received against professional guardians. In cases where evidence of intent to cause harm is found, the Department will refer the matter to law enforcement. We are thankful to have the ongoing partnership of Representative Colleen Burton and Leader Kathleen Passidomo to make revisions to existing law to help ensure the Department has more tools to hold bad actors accountable.”
A guardianship reform bill sponsored by those lawmakers was passed during the 2020 legislative session. It was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis and took effect July 1.
At least five guardians have been charged with crimes since the OPPG was created, but OPPG has not been able to substantiate which of those cases they referred to law enforcement.
“OPPG to date has been there to protect guardians and not the senior. It's very, very clear,” said Kennedy.
We first spoke to Kennedy about her case in early March, before the pandemic shutdown. We followed up with her recently and she says she’s still not allowed to have any contact with her aunt, including phone calls.
“People who do have loved ones in nursing homes right now during COVID-19 might get a little sense of it, not being able to hug their mother, having to talk to them through the window. But at least they can do that. We can’t,” Kennedy said.
She has filed a new complaint with OPPG involving her aunt’s guardian and is hoping her last reunion with her aunt Lillie in 2018 won't be her last.
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Florida watchdog allowed 8 professional guardians who violated state law to continue practicing
It appears there is no supervision or accounting of so-called Professional Guardians, unless they are actually caught in the act. It seems some ¨court-appointed guardians¨ are in a conspiracy with many other professionals - judges, doctors, administrators at assisted living facilities, realtors, other guardians,
ReplyDeleteetc- to achieve their evil intentions with no regards towards the wishes of the ¨Ward¨ or their family and friends. My good friend was assigned a guardian and I thought it was good because that way people would not be able to take advantage of her. Was I wrong!! This guardian and I communicated regularly, and I brought things that needed to be done to her attention. My friend insisted I be her chosen Guardian, so the Guardian and I reached an agreement that I would take the training needed and become my friend´s guardian. That Guardian ended up in jail because of some wrongdoings discovered. As we waited for the Court hearing for my swearing in, my friend received a notice that someone else had been appointed. This other one has proven to be a wolf in sheep´s clothing. She has ended up taking my friend from her home without notifying her family (sons). I found out because my friend was not answering my calls for our ¨girl´s day out,¨ which she looked forward to every Thursday. I went to her house to make sure she was well and although all the lights were on in the house, no one answered the doorbell. Although I had a key to her house, I called the local Police for a well-check and had to wait for quite a while (NO rush). When an officer finally showed up and I explained my concern, he asked me all kinds of questions about my interest in my friend. I guess he finally saw how concerned I really was, and finally told me, ¨She is in a safe place.¨ This was all he told me. It finally dawned on me what had happened, and I had an idea where they had taken her. Since I was not on speaking terms with the new Guardian because of how she was treating and doing to my friend, I called my friend´s son and let him know what had transpired since the day before. He was able to find out where she was. She had been Baker-Acted for no particular reason. She did not pose any danger to herself or others. She was then transferred to an Assisted Living Facility, which her son did not now about. He had to call and find out where she was taken. I tried to go visit her three times and was told I was not welcome on the premises. They could not give me a reasonable answer. I wrote the Judge several letters to no avail. The Guardian has sold my friend´s house and possibly her car and other possessions. The Odyssey continues....I have not been allowed to visit or call her during all this time (a year+). In the meantime, Court hearings to remove the Guardian have been cancelled/postponed, lawyers willing to help have been rejected, etc. I really believe they are all just waiting for her to die from the stress they are causing her. Thank God she is a tough cookie!!