MIAMI (WSVN) - A woman who was hired to take care of an elderly woman
is facing several felony charges after, officials said, she financially
exploited the woman for over $100,000.
Officials with the State Attorney’s Office announced the charges during a press conference, Tuesday afternoon.
Eighty-one-year-old
Myriam Fernandez, officials said, fell prey to exploitation by her
caretaker, 61-year-old Gladys Smith, who now faces three first-degree
felonies, including the exploitation of the elderly and grand theft of
over $100,000.
“To scammers, these homes are like buried treasure,
and like the pirates of the past, they work to unearth and steal that
fortune,” said state attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle.
Fernandez, who lives with an eye disease, found herself alone
after losing her Florida driver’s license following a 2021 car accident.
Smith, a former Broward County resident, befriended Fernandez,
eventually becoming her caretaker. Due to Fernandez’s impaired vision,
she was unable to read documents Smith had her sign, including a power
of attorney.
Smith used her power over Fernandez to go on a spree,
including posing as Fernandez’s daughter at medical appointments,
obtaining dementia medication, and even manipulating property documents.
The exploitation was discovered during a wellness check in May
22, 2023 by Fernandez’s childhood friend, Sylvia Napoli, after an
anonymous tip to the Department of Children and Families.
During the check, Fernandez was found in distressing conditions, prompting Napoli to alert authorities.
“In a darken room with the strong odor of urine and feces emanating from her person,” Fernandez-Rundle said.
Napoli went to school with Fernandez in Cuba and were childhood best friends.
“Your being here sends another really strong message,” Fernandez-Rundle said. “Very brave. And feisty, I might add.”
Smith had moved to Tallahassee but was arrested seven months ago. She is expected to be transferred back to Miami-Dade County.
For
now, Fernandez-Rundle said they are working to get restitution back in
Fernandez’s name but it is not guaranteed she’ll gain it back.
After escaping to Spain, Hadee Toledo was extradited to Miami-Dade
County on Monday and went before a judge for the first time Tuesday. She
was arrested on a warrant from May charging her with the exploitation
of an elderly person.
According to prosecutors, Toledo took advantage of her 93-year-old
uncle when he was very sick with COVID-19. Authorities said the victim
was hospitalized in August 2020 and remained quarantined in a nursing
and rehab center after his release from the hospital.
Her son, Italo Nelli, pleaded guilty last year for helping her and was sentenced to five years probation.
Toledo allegedly forged the victim’s signature on a power of attorney
document, which was allegedly witnessed by Nelli and others and was
legally notarized.
Toledo then used that power of attorney to forge transfer of property
deeds, allowing her to sell the victim’s home, liquidate his bank
accounts, and leave Florida, prosecutors said. Hialeah Police said the
house was sold in a rush for less than it was worth.
Police said Toledo even changed her name to match the victim's last name to perpetrate the scheme.
After challenges with the Spanish legal system and plea negotiations,
Toledo and prosecutors agreed she would plead guilty to only one count
of forgery.
"Message there is: you can run but you can't hide," Miami-Dade State
Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in response to the plea.
Toledo was sentenced to six months probation and must pay her uncle's
real heir $250,000. She must also waive any possible inheritance. If
she violates probation, she faces up to five years in state prison.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A
Portage man has been charged with 7 counts of mail fraud and 11 counts
of money laundering. He is 62-year-old Irfan Gill.
According to
the Department of Justice, Gill worked with a call center in Pakistan as
part of a telemarketing scheme from as early as June 2018 through at
least March 2022. The scheme targeted elderly victims throughout the
United States.
Gill claimed to operate several businesses, which were: Cable
Upgrade, D Network, D Tech, Direct Network, Dish, Dish Upgrade, and Sky
Satellite. Telephone solicitors at a call center in Pakistan would
cold-call victims with offers of equipment upgrades, software upgrades,
and subscription discounts for their cable television, satellite
television, and internet services.
Although the businesses did not
actually provide any of those services, victims were instructed to send
payments to Gill’s post office boxes in Portage. He then deposited the
payments in his bank accounts. Gill tracked the payments and used
transfer services like Remitly and Western Union to pay a portion of the
proceeds to the telephone solicitors in Pakistan.
It is believed that 1,400 people throughout the country were victimized in the scheme.
Gill faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of telemarketing fraud. He also faces 20 years in prison for money laundering.
“As
we have alleged, defendant Irfan Gill ran an international network to
exploit America’s seniors,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District
of Michigan Mark Totten. “These scams are not going away and so we need
to remain vigilant. Be cautious when you receive an unsolicited contact
or offer. Resist the pressure to act quickly. Never send personally
identifiable information or anything of value to unverified people or
businesses. Combatting elder fraud and abuse is a top priority for my
office and we will continue to hold perpetrators accountable, whether at
home or abroad.”
“Postal Inspectors are dedicated to safeguarding
the well-being and security of the American public, with a particular
focus on protecting the elderly and vulnerable individuals from
fraudulent schemes,” said Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins of the
Detroit Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Today’s
indictment serves as a stark reminder of the exploitation tactics
employed by criminals who prey on the elderly and other susceptible
individuals through deceptive telemarketing schemes, with the sole
intention of extracting as much money as possible and, in some cases,
causing irreversible financial damage to their victims. The U.S. Postal
Inspection Service remains resolute in its mission to vigorously
investigate and apprehend those responsible for perpetrating these
telemarketing scams, thereby putting an end to their illicit
activities.”
A list of tips on how to protect yourself from telemarketing scams can be found below:
Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, e-mails, and mailings.
Never
Give or send any sensitive information (including your date or birth,
account numbers, or passwords), credit or debit card numbers, or money
to unverified people or businesses.
Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers create a false sense of urgency to lure people to immediate action.
If you recognize a scam attempt, immediately end all communication with the perpetrator.
The
U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are
working to identify other individuals who may have been victimized by
sending payments to the post office boxes listed below for any of the
listed businesses:
Post Office Boxes:
P.O. Box 122, Portage, Michigan 49024
P.O. Box 404, Portage, Michigan 49024
P.O. Box 421, Portage, Michigan 49024
P.O. Box 482, Portage, Michigan 49024
P.O. Box 1164, Portage, Michigan 49024
P.O. Box 1562, Portage, Michigan 49024
Businesses:
Cable Upgrade
D Network
D Tech
Direct Network
Dish
Dish Upgrade
Sky Satellite
If
you believe you are a victim in this case, you can contact victim
coordinator Kathy Schuette at (616) 808-2034 or visit the U.S.
Department of Justice’s website.
Many care homes are understaffed, ignored alarms, skipped bed checks or otherwise neglected safety procedures
Dozens of elderly people have died across the US
in the last five years after walking away unchecked from
assisted-living or supposedly secure dementia or memory care facilities,
a national study has found, highlighting a lack of effective oversight
in a burgeoning industry.
Most of about 100 deaths since 2018, reported Monday by the Washington Post,
were weather-related, involving exposure to extreme heat or cold. Some
of the “elopements” – the industry name for those who leave unnoticed or
unsupervised – were not found until days or even weeks later.
In
the majority of the more than 2,000 cases the newspaper found of
residents wandering away or simply being left outside, failures by
caregivers or administrators were cited, with many care homes
understaffed, ignoring alarms, skipping bed checks or otherwise
neglecting crucial safety procedures.
The Post also found a disparate range in the
handling and reporting of such episodes at assisted-living facilities.
Unlike nursing homes, where there is federal regulation and oversight,
individual states are responsible for investigations of assisted-living
facilities and enforcement of regulations and few have adopted strong
staffing or adequate training requirements, it said.
Only
29 states have “complete and up-to-date” inspection records, published
to websites that are often hard to find or difficult to use. Many others
require relatives to file public records requests to find out
information – or to contact a state ombudsman.
The
Post said that, as a result, its investigation was limited to only
about 40% of the country, and that the figures nationally, had they been
calculable, would have been even more alarming.
Examples
cited include a 77-year-old woman with dementia who walked out of her
assisted-living facility in Des Moines, Iowa, one evening in January
2022 when the temperature outside was -11F (-23C). Staff, who ignored a
door alarm and repeated alerts on their mobile phones and iPads, found
her eight hours later, collapsed outside with ice on her body. She died
in hospital of exposure.
A 77-year-old man in
North Carolina died from multiple organ failure after being found
covered in fire ants and wasp stings almost 24 hours after leaving a
North Carolina facility; and the body of a 79-year-old man was found
face down in shallow water in the woods in South Carolina two weeks
after his second disappearance from his care home.
Families
of those who had died were frequently lied to. Records for an
86-year-old woman who was left unattended in a sweltering Colorado
courtyard for six hours in June 2021 claim she “passed outside watching
the sun set, an activity that she loved”.
Numerous families who spoke to the Post said they
were let down after assuming their loved ones would be safe and well
cared for in often pricey facilities promising security and well-trained
staff.
“The thing I grieve the most is I
tried everything I could for her to be safe. That’s why she was there,”
the granddaughter of the Iowa victim said.
According
to the Post’s investigation, the popularity of assisted-living
facilities for people with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other memory
diseases has grown exponentially in recent years to the point where it
is now a $34bn industry, catering to about 1 million residents, compared
with 1.2 million in nursing homes.
An Ozark County woman has been arrested for financially exploiting two
elderly women she was caring for. Fifty-seven-year-old Patricia Santos
Duvalier of Dora is facing two charges in the case and is also facing
charges for physically abusing another client in her care this year that
is mentally handicapped.
According to court documents in the most recent case, an investigator
with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Office of
Special Investigations received a report from the Ozark County Sheriff’s
Department regarding a death investigation of a woman from Tecumseh.
Duvalier was a caregiver for the woman.
The woman had given Duvalier her debit card to withdraw her $1,000
per month salary, but when the woman went into a nursing home prior to
her death, Duvalier continued to withdraw the money.
A second victim who is bedridden in the home and cared for by
Duvalier, was found by deputies in a bed that was soaked with urine and
feces and had roaches crawling on the bed.
The victim was taken to Ozarks Health in West Plains and treated for
numerous bedsores the affidavit says were caused by Duvalier’s neglect.
The second victim told investigators she paid Duvalier between $860
and $900 per month to take care of her and another $1,000 to take care
of the other woman who was handicapped. She also says Duvalier would not
agree to take care of the two women unless she added her name to the
deed of their house and land. The woman said she agreed to this because
she feared she would have not have anyone to take care of them.
When investigators asked the second victim how many hours Duvalier
worked each day, she said Duvalier would work from 9-2, leaving her in
her bed and the other woman locked in her bedroom until she arrived
again the next day.
Duvalier is facing two felony counts of financial exploitation of
elderly or disabled and one misdemeanor count of elder abuse. She is
being held without bond in the Ozark County Jail.
Duvalier was arrested earlier this fall after a mentally handicapped female in her care was injured.
According to the probable cause affidavit in that case, the victim,
who also lives in Tecumseh, was brought to the emergency room at Ozarks
Health and told by Duvalier, her paid caregiver, that she had suffered a
fall.
Hospital staff noted the 37-year-old had lost nearly 50 pounds in a
short amount of time, had numerous bruises indicating abuse, tissue was
missing from her upper lip indicating a blow to the face and she had a
broken nose.
Hospital staff told investigators the victim was very scared and kept repeating “help me.”
In that case, Duvalier is facing felony counts of assault in the first degree and abuse of a mentally disabled person.
A 46-year-old Ocala woman was arrested after an elderly man accused
her of stealing one of his credit cards and using it to make over $1,000
in fraudulent purchases.
On November 25, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a
residence on SW 56th Avenue Road in Ocala in reference to financial
fraud. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the male victim who
advised that his bank had notified him that one of his credit cards had
been fraudulently used the previous day, according to the arrest report.
The victim stated that he had not used the credit card in question in
months, and he recently noticed that the card was missing from his
wallet. He told the deputy that a housemaid, later identified as
Jennifer Louise Middleton, had started working at his home shortly
before the credit card went missing, according to the report.
The victim’s daughter told law enforcement that a total of six fraudulent charges had been placed on the victim’s credit card.
On December 7, the deputy learned that Middleton was employed by
Ashford Home Care, and she had been referred to the victim by a local
medical facility. The deputy noted that this put the victim and
Middleton in a “relationship of trust.”
Less than a week later, on December 12, the deputy visited several
stores where the victim’s credit card had been used to make the
fraudulent purchases. According to the report, the following
transactions were conducted on November 24 using the victim’s credit
card:
$90.19 at a Ross Dress for Less store in Lady Lake.
$176.36 at a Skechers Outlet in Lady Lake.
$188.77 at a Bealls Outlet in Lady Lake.
$38.39 at a Sonoco gas station in Marion County.
$195.65 at Victoria’s Secret. This transaction was made online.
$355.78 at Dillard’s. This transaction was made online.
The deputy noted in the report that Middleton was observed on video
surveillance footage completing the fraudulent transaction at Ross Dress
for Less at around 4:20 p.m. on November 24. Additionally, video
surveillance footage from Bealls showed Middleton using the victim’s
credit card to make the fraudulent purchase at around 4:50 p.m. on the
same day.
The total amount taken from the victim was $1,045.14, according to the report.
On December 15, the deputy made contact with Middleton. After being
read her Miranda rights, Middleton admitted to removing the credit card
from the victim’s wallet without his permission. She further admitted to
conducting all of the fraudulent transactions, and she added that she
had thrown the stolen credit card into the trash.
Middleton was arrested, transported to Marion County Jail, and she
was released the following day after posting an $8,000 bond. She is
being charged with exploitation of the elderly (less than $10,000),
fraudulent use of a credit card (more than two times or over $100), and
three counts of misusing personal identification without consent (victim
over 60 years of age).
A court date has been scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, according to jail records.
The 'Good Times' actor would
love to repair his fractured relationship with estranged daughter
Shannon Amos despite alleging she had taken advantage of him.
AceShowbiz -
John Amos has said "the love is still there" with his
daughter despite accusing her of "elderly abuse" over the summer. In
June, the 83-year-old actor alleged Shannon Amos had
"taken advantage" of him after she claimed on Instagram he had been a
"victim of elder abuse and financial exploitation" before she filed a
complaint with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and created a
GoFundMe campaign asking for "legal, medical, future housing, and care
expenses," which he ordered her to end as he insisted she was more of a
problem to his wellbeing than her brother, his son, K.C. Amos.
The "Good Times" actor, however, is hopeful they can repair their rift
eventually and he is keen for them all to have a "harmonious
relationship at some point." "It is his sibling, that is my daughter, my
first child. I love her. K.C. loves his sister," John told People
magazine in a joint interview with filmmaker K.C.
"We just have, I guess, what might be best described in the tabloids is
an acrimonious relationship, but everything heals in time, and the love
is still there. All families go through trials and tribulations of some
sort..."
"Right now, it is somewhat acrimonious, but never mind what you might
read or hear about in the paper or on this medium or that medium
platform. Suffice it to say we are still family, and we love each other,
and that's the bottom line."
At the time, concerns were raised over John's health after Sharon
claimed she had received a "distressing call" from her father and he was
a "victim of elder abuse and financial exploitation."
But the veteran actor denied the claims and insisted he was "doing
well." He said in a statement given to People, "To all of my fans, I
want you to know that I am doing well. I am not in ICU, nor was I ever
fighting for my life. First, I want the GoFundMe campaign about me to
stop immediately, and the funds subsequently returned to those who made
donations."
He later alleged in a video uploaded to Instagram by K.C. that Shannon
was the one who had "taken advantage" of him. He said, "She would be the
primary suspect - if you would. I don't know if that's the right term
to use or not. But she's the one that I would attribute my elderly abuse
to. It's definitely a case of elderly abuse."
In response, a representative for Shannon said she was "disheartened at
the continuation of false and defamatory statements being made against
her."
CONCORD — New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella issued a
warning Thursday about a scam known as the “Phantom Hacker,” which has
been mainly targeting older adults in the state.
According to Formella, the scam involves fraudsters who contact
victims pretending to be computer technicians, claiming that the
individuals’ computers or other electronic devices are infected with a
virus or have been compromised.
The scammers then warn that the victims’ financial accounts are at risk.
An accomplice, posing as an official from a financial or government
institution, convinces the victim to transfer money from the supposedly
at-risk accounts to “protect the funds.” Often, the victims are
instructed to move their funds into accounts that the scammers falsely
guarantee are secure but are actually under their control.
In other cases, victims are tricked into purchasing valuable items
like gold, which a scammer’s courier then collects from their homes
under the guise of “safekeeping.”
The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit of the attorney
general’s office has received multiple reports over the past month of
older adults falling prey to these schemes.
Scammers convinced the victims to buy gold to safeguard their assets,
leading to significant financial losses when the gold was picked up by
the fraudsters’ couriers.
Formella emphasized that neither financial institutions nor
legitimate law enforcement would ever ask individuals to purchase
valuable items for safekeeping, send unsolicited messages about
compromised devices, or pressure them into paying money or providing
personal information without proper verification.
The attorney general advised residents to be cautious and provided a
series of steps to avoid falling victim to such scams, including not
clicking on suspicious links, hanging up on unsolicited calls about
compromised devices, and verifying the legitimacy of any entity claiming
to offer protection.
He also urged those who have encountered such scams or have been
victimized to contact the local police and report the incidents to the
Office of the Attorney General through their Consumer Protection Hotline
or email, as well as to the New Hampshire Bureau of Elderly and Adult
Services.
When American Pickers star Frank Fritz suffered his stroke
in 2022 he needed a temporary guardian and conservator. However, over a
year later, he is in danger of losing both for the second time for the
same reason.
Here is why Frank’s conservator and guardian are in danger and what this means for the reality TV star.
Frank Fritz in danger of losing conservatorship
In August 2022, friends of American Pickers star
Frank Fritz filed an emergency appointment after the reality TV star
suffered a stroke. Frank, 60, was unable to care for himself, and his
friend Chris Davis became his legal guardian. Furthermore, Midwest One
Bank became the conservator for his assets. However, both are in danger
of losing those titles.
Court papers were filed that accused them of failing to file their
annual report that was due on November 12, 2023. If they don’t work this
out, Frank could lose both his guardian and conservator. The biggest
problem here is that this is the second time this has happened. On June
2, 2023, the same Notice of Delinquency for Conservatorships was also
filed when the inventory report was not filed on December 12, 2022 (via The U.S. Sun).
While they filed that report later in June, they have now missed a
second deadline that is required under the court’s order. If this newest
missed deadline is not corrected, the judge could make both parties
subject to removal. Even if the forms are filed, disciplinary action
could still be taken.
Frank Fritz needs these protections in place
After the American Pickersstar suffered his stroke,
he needed help put in place to manage his affairs. When Frank Fritz,
60, had his stroke, the papers were filed claiming that he was unable to
care for his safety and well-being. It also said his decision-making
was impaired. The papers said, “Decisions must be made for Mr. Fritz’s
care and placement while he continues to recover and receive treatment
for his injuries.”
However, for the plan to remain in place, there are guidelines put
into effect that protect Frank. The deadlines missed were for updates
and forms on several aspects of Frank’s recovery, life, and assets. This
is to keep anyone from taking advantage of the American Pickers
star. While this might seem difficult to manage for an individual like
Chris Davis, the conservator is a bank that should have things in place
to never miss these important deadlines.
A lawyer filed a “will prior to death” for Frank in October as well,
and the judge accepted that will. Frank is worth $6 million.
What are your thoughts on Frank Fritz’s guardian and conservator
continuing to miss important court-mandated deadlines? Does this make
you worry more about the American Pickers star?
A bank teller in Houston, Texas, has been accused of stealing $180,000 from an elderly customer.
The 86-year-old victim apparently trusted the 29-year-old bank teller
“like a daughter” before the alleged robbery, ABC 7 reported Friday.
Now, officers are trying to find the young woman accused in the
alleged crime, which took place this year over a period of five months.
Image show the suspect, identified as Cecilia Hope Brown, is facing a second-degree felony charge of grand larceny by an elderly person:
Charging documents state that Brown developed a relationship with the elderly customer, who came into the Frost Bank regularly.
An
investigation was opened when the victim questioned why her Frost Bank
IRA account that was supposed to have $180,000 in it was down to $1.50,
the ABC 7 report continued:
The victim’s account apparently pulled a number of unauthorized cases.
Some of her withdrawal slips are said to show “inconsistencies with the
older woman’s signature and the presence of Brown’s own signature.”
A bank supervisor told authorities she watched surveillance video of
the suspect taking money out of the vault. Apparently Brown claimed she
took the money to the victim in her car several times, but there was no
video evidence of that happening.
According to a charging
document, “Brown took wads of money out of the vault, hid them under
papers, walked them out to a teller’s counter, and stored the money
underneath. She is then seen leaving the bank with boxes from the
counter,” the ABC 7 article said, noting that the bank had placed the
young woman on administrative leave.
The victim’s money was later refunded.
According to the Texas
Attorney General’s website, employees, caregivers and relatives who
steal from senior citizens can commit financial exploitation.
The
website states, “Employees who deal directly with seniors in banks are
in a unique position to detect and prevent financial abuse of this
type.”
The American Bankers Association lists several ways seniors can protect themselves from financial abuse.
In
June, Breitbart News reported that caregivers and loved ones across
America rob seniors of $20.3 billion annually, while strangers take
another $8 billion a year.
In a state investigative report,
the resident reported that during her time of residency in the nursing
home, a male nurse aid forced her to perform sexual acts on him. On Oct.
14, 2023, law enforcement interviewed the resident. During the
interview, the resident detailed her alleged timeline of events, though
she said she did not know the specific date the incident allegedly took
place.
The resident said on the night of the incident, it was raining and
she went outside of the facility to have a cigarette. Due to her
medical conditions, the resident was in a wheelchair and needed
assistance outside. The resident claims she sent a male staffer $10 on
Cash App for cigarettes. She said he assisted in the cell phone payment
transaction and then asked if she'd like to smoke her cigarette with him
in his car. The resident said she agreed to go and the Certified Med
Aid (CNA)
wheeled her to his car. Once in the car, the resident said the CNA
pulled out a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey and started to drink and
listen to loud music. Then, the resident states the CNA forced her to
perform a sexual act on him while allegedly videotaping the assault.
Following her report of this incident to staffers, the nursing home's
administrator was made aware of the payments made between the staffer
and resident for cigarettes. According to the state documents, the
administrator said after a couple of the members on staff told her about
the transactions. She then called the staffer allegedly involved into
her office. During the conversation, the staffer showed her an online
receipt for the financial transaction, and she suspended him from the
building. The staffer denied any sexual advances took place in exchange
for cigarettes.
Within the state documents, the staffer claimed that the company
begged him to work other shifts prior to them confronting him with the
sexual assault claims. The employee's time sheets show he continued to
work at their nursing homes on three other occasions.
On Oct. 5, another staffer reported that days after the alleged
incident, the care facility's administrator had a loud verbal exchange
with the resident giving her only 30 minutes to pack her room and leave
for a local shelter. A car was arranged to take the resident there but
did not have enough room to fit all of the resident's belongings. A
housekeeper staffer stated she packed some of the resident's items into
her vehicle. The driver reportedly took the resident to a local women's
shelter which later denied the resident. The driver then called the
administrator who told him to take her to a local homeless shelter, but
that shelter did not accept all of the residents belonging and they were
not given the appropriate information to take on a resident with these
needs.
The resident was picked up from the homeless shelter by a friend.
Both the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Department of
Health and Human Services say this is an open investigation.
The November report states the Correctionville Specialty Care Nursing home "is not in compliance" with federal guidelines for long-term care facilities.
Local 5 also reached out to Care Initiative's cooperate office about the allegations. They provided the following statement:
"We have investigated allegations of inappropriate behavior
between a team member and a prior resident. We take these matters very
seriously. We have and continue to cooperate with the Department of
Inspections, Appeals & Licensing and area law enforcement in their
investigations. Additionally, we launched an extensive internal
investigation into this matter and have taken immediate action to ensure
the safety of our residents. Involved parties are no longer employed by
Care Initiatives. Our top priority is the care and well-being of our
residents, and we do not tolerate any behavior that compromises their
trust and confidence."
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The largest skilled nursing facility in St. Louis
has closed suddenly, forcing about 170 residents to be bused to other
care centers. Many left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
The
abrupt shutdown of Northview Village Nursing Home on Friday came after
workers learned they might not be paid and walked out, confusing
residents and their relatives. Many family members gathered through the
day Saturday outside the facility on the city’s north side. Some didn’t
immediately know where their loved ones were taken.
Alvin Cooper
of East St. Louis, Illinois, was preparing Monday to fill out a missing
person’s report on his 35-year-old son. Alvin Cooper Jr. has lived at
Northview Village for several months while recovering from a gunshot
wound to the head and a drug addiction.
“They don’t know where he is,” Alvin Cooper said. “I’ve burnt two tanks
of gas going back and forth to that nursing home trying to find out
what’s going on. I don’t know if he’s somewhere safe or what’s going to
happen to him.”
The difficulties started Friday when, according to the union
representing workers, more than 130 people went unpaid, and it became
unclear if their checks would be forthcoming.
Marvetta Harrison, 59, a certified medical technician, said workers
received emails from the company this weekend promising they’ll be paid,
but it was unclear when.
“This is real wrong,” Harrison said. “I
have worked in that building for 37 years. Not only did they mistreat
us, they mistreated the residents we take care of.”
Northview Village has been fined 12 times for federal violations
since March 2021, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services. Fines totaled over $140,000 and ranged from $2,200 to more
than $45,000. The federal agency gives Northview a one-star rating out
of a possible five, but doesn’t spell out reasons for the fines.
In
addition, the state health department website lists nearly two dozen
Northview investigations since 2016. The most recent complaint, from
February, said a resident was able to get out of the building through an
unsecured door. A 2021 complaint alleged the facility failed to
investigate allegations that residents left the nursing home and brought
drugs into it.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
spokeswoman Lisa Cox said the agency was notified around 4:15 p.m.
Friday that the nursing home was closing. The operator implemented an
evacuation plan and emergency medical service workers helped relocate
residents to other nursing homes, Cox said in a statement Monday.
“The
final resident left the facility before 6 a.m. Saturday,” Cox said.
“Our team continued working through the weekend following up with the
receiving facilities to check in on the residents who had been
transferred.”
Shamell King, an assistant manager at another St. Louis-area nursing home, Superior Manor, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that some Northview Village residents arrived without paperwork documenting their medical histories or medication needs.
Phone calls to Northview Village went unanswered Monday. Calls also
were unanswered at suburban St. Louis-based Healthcare Accounting
Services, the company that owns the nursing home and five others.
On
Friday, employees began to question why their bi-weekly paychecks were
late. They found out the payments weren’t coming at all, said Marjorie
Moore, executive director of VOYCE, a St. Louis agency that serves as an
ombudsman for long-term care residents and their families.
The
shutdown began as employees voiced their concerns, said Lenny Jones,
state director for the Service Employees International Union Healthcare
union, which represents about 100 of the roughly 130 displaced workers.
“They
ran out of money to make payroll, caused this massive disruption, and
just quickly moved forward with their goal, which was to shutter this
facility,” Jones said. “You would have to have been planning to move 175
residents in the dead of night.”
Shuttle buses took residents to
at least 15 different facilities across the St. Louis area, Moore said.
Many patients departed with nothing but what they were wearing.
“Closing it down this way is the absolute worst-case scenario for a lot of us,” Moore said. “It all happened so fast.”
Northview
Village was the largest skilled nursing facility in St. Louis, licensed
for up to 320 beds. Many residents are on Medicaid and can’t get into
other long-term care facilities, Moore said. In addition to elderly
people, the center houses many with behavioral problems, she said.
“It’s a troubled facility, but it’s also been a safety net to keep people from falling through the cracks,” Moore said.
Cherie
Ford, a certified nursing assistant at Northview Village, said she
figured something was wrong on Friday when her direct-deposit paycheck
wasn’t in her account. Still, she and her colleagues worked a full day.
“We had no warning, the residents knew nothing either,” she said in a Facebook Messenger interview.
Around 3 p.m. Friday, the staff learned they wouldn’t be paid at all, she said.
“This
was the only job I had and am facing eviction and no Christmas for my
family,” Ford said. “We were all looking forward to this check. This was
our Christmas check to do our shopping, paying rent and other things.”
Lawmakers and advocates are looking for ways to strengthen oversight within Maine’s probate courts.
State officials have expressed interest in strengthening the probate
courts’ oversight of vulnerable Mainers and preventing elder abuse,
after an investigation by The Maine Monitor this year revealed gaps in
how these courts monitor guardians, conservators and estates.
Some lawmakers and advocates for aging Mainers and people with disabilities reacted with alarm
this year when a Maine Monitor investigation uncovered systemic
problems with the state’s 16 independent, county-run probate courts.
The issues plaguing Maine’s probate courts have been studied for more than five decades.
“The
time for study is over and a lasting systemic solution is overdue,”
said Jaye Martin, executive director of a Maine legal aid nonprofit,
Legal Services for the Elderly. “This is a complex arena but it is vital
to the well-being of many, and we need to get it right.”
Martin said lawmakers should adopt the nearly unanimous recommendations of a state study group
— the Commission to Create a Plan to Incorporate the Probate Courts
into the Judicial Branch — that in 2021 proposed making the probate
courts a part of the state judicial branch, selecting probate judges
with the same standards as the rest of the state’s judges, and providing
money for lawyers, guardian ad litem (to represent those not capable of
representing themselves in lawsuits) and visitors throughout the court
process.
The probate courts are unique and have the state’s only
elected and part-time judges. They are also separate from the judicial
branch.
The Monitor’s reporting this year showed that “the
challenges facing those who require the services of our probate system
are only getting worse,” Martin said.
Gov. Janet Mills is open to
ideas that would strengthen protections for people served by the
probate courts, according to her spokesman, Ben Goodman. But Mills did
not commit to specific reforms.
Her most recent budget included
$4 million to reduce abuse, neglect and exploitation of older Mainers
and people with disabilities by adding employees to Adult Protective
Services, and supporting free legal aid services through Legal Services
for the Elderly, among other investments.
“The governor welcomes
collaboration with partners and the legislature to examine ways –
including through the budget — that we can continue to strengthen both
public and private efforts to prevent and effectively respond to elder
abuse,” Goodman wrote.
•
Probate courts only recently began keeping track of guardianships.
Several do not know how many people are under guardianship in their
county, or if these adults are alive or dead.
• Eight adults under public guardianship and in the state’s care died in unexplained ways
in the past three years. One woman’s death was deemed a homicide by
state medical examiners, but the attorney general’s office declined to
prosecute her case.
• The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has failed to follow
a state law for 26 years that requires it to report all deaths of
people under public guardianship to lawmakers on the Health and Human
Services Committee.
• No probate court or state entity tracks the probate courts’ use of a less restrictive alternative to guardianship, known as “supported decision-making,” and it is an option that probate judges infrequently use.
• Many probate courts do not audit the financial records submitted once a year by conservators, leaving these adults vulnerable to financial exploitation or theft.
• A constitutional amendment
was passed by Maine voters 56 years ago that said probate courts should
be overhauled and assigned full-time judges, but lawmakers did not take
action to make that happen.
No state lawmaker has announced an
intent in 2024 to push for the enactment of the mandate from voters to
make probate judges full-time.
Deirdre Smith, a University of
Maine professor of law, said overhauling the probate courts to create a
statewide probate system, rather than 16 independent county courts,
would be the most significant judicial reform the state could do.
And because voters passed the constitutional amendment, change is required, not optional, she said.
“The
people of Maine spoke in 1967 and I don’t think the legislature can
just disregard that. I think that is a total dereliction of their duty,”
Smith said. “The voters of Maine gave an order, a mandate, to the
legislature, which is to come up with a different probate court system
that has full-time judges.”
Smith said the best and most
efficient way to do that was outlined by the 2021 study commission,
which included input from probate judges, registers, advocates and
lawmakers.
“There’s room for the legislature to tighten things up
and make more sense out of the flaws that they may perceive with the
probate system,” Sagadahoc County Probate Judge David Paris told the
Monitor.
Paris said he is opposed to making the probate courts
part of the Maine judicial system, but that changes to state law would
set consistent standards across the 16 probate courts.
Legislators
could require the probate courts to complete criminal background checks
of prospective guardians and conservators, Paris said. They could also
change state law so that conservators are required to file an accounting
of assets twice a year, rather than annually, so the probate judges and
office staff can keep better track of how the money of a person under
conservatorship is being spent, he said.
The probate courts also
could consider expanding the role of court-appointed “visitors” to check
on people under guardianship more frequently, he said.
Paris said he did not think Maine needed to hire auditors like the Minnesota Judicial Branch, which more than a decade ago launched a conservator auditing team to do in-depth financial reviews.
“We
do take out our calculators. We do look through the expenses, and if
something raises a question we’ll pursue it,” Paris said.
Thomas
Marshall, 72, a Rockland resident who reached out after reading the
Monitor’s series, said volunteers may be another way for Maine to put
extra eyes on conservators and guardians.
Prior to moving to
Maine, Marshall lived in New Jersey and volunteered around six hours a
week reviewing financial statements and narratives submitted to the
court by guardians mostly for adults with intellectual or developmental
disabilities. He looked for changes in expenses or fees being charged by
lawyers or family members serving as guardians, and concerning cases
were sent to a court-employed investigator.
“It provided
consistency of oversight for everyone. Whether it was court-appointed
attorneys, family attorneys or family itself, the oversight of what was
happening to these people and their assets … was consistent across the
board,” Marshall said.
Calls to modernize guardianship
State
lawmakers and people with disabilities have said they would like to see
improvements in how probate courts will monitor guardians.
Cindy
Thielen, 31, was diagnosed with autism and under the guardianship of
her mother for 11 years before successfully petitioning the probate
court to terminate the arrangement, the Monitor reported.
Based
on her experience, Thielen said probate judges need to follow the law
and consider supported decision-making before guardianship.
“Supported
decision-making” is a nationally recognized tool used by those with
disabilities to help them assess the consequences of big and small
decisions. Maine laws that went into effect in late 2019 require probate
judges to consider this alternative before appointing a guardian.
“I’ve
known a couple people who are under guardianship where it was the best
thing to do at the time based on their disabilities, but I would love to
see them have the chance to thrive under supported decision-making
someday,” Thielen said.
Thielen said state lawmakers need to
modernize how the probate courts keep track of people under guardianship
and what is going on in their lives, she said.
Thielen was not
appointed an attorney to advocate for her when her mom filed a petition
for guardianship in the Hancock County Probate Court in 2011, when
Thielen was 19. Thielen was appointed a lawyer for the first time after
asking the probate court in 2015 to terminate the guardianship.
“Hiring more people and giving people representation right from the get-go would be a great start,” Thielen said.
Adults
subject to a guardianship petition are advised by the court that they
have the right to hire a lawyer to defend them in probate court, but
also are told that the cost of a lawyer may come out of their own
pockets. Probate judges can waive those fees, the Monitor reported.
All
10 probate courts that responded to a Monitor survey earlier this year
said judges will assign an attorney if the person opposes a
guardianship.
A state bill proposed in 2019 would have required
lawyers for all adult guardianship cases. Probate judges were among the
stakeholders to object, in part because of the added cost to county
budgets. The bill did not pass.
Thielen said Maine lawmakers
should also create a way for people to report if something has gone
wrong to a person under guardianship. She pointed to the audit and fraud
detection programs used by the courts in Florida and Minnesota that
were featured in a recent Monitor article.
Lacking prosecutorial manpower
In one example after another, the Monitor found
that the life savings of Mainers were spent down by conservators, taken
by family members, or sometimes redirected in wills to once-trusted
lawyers for their personal gain in the probate courts.
Financial exploitation of older Mainers is the third-most common allegation investigated by Adult Protective Services, a recent state study showed. But Maine has limited prosecutorial resources to pursue these kinds of theft cases.
The
state attorney general’s office employs one prosecutor and one
investigator for elder fraud. None of the eight district attorney
offices employ a prosecutor whose work is exclusively devoted to elder
fraud cases, according to Kathryn Slattery, the district attorney for
York County, in a statement on behalf of the Maine Prosecutors’
Association.
“Although we would like to do so, we simply do not
have the personnel or resources necessary to meet our current
obligations,” Slattery wrote.
Dedicated elder fraud prosecutors in each district attorney’s office was a top priority recommendation in a December 2021 report
about elder issues, which was supposed to be Maine’s “road map” to
preventing exploitation and abuse of the state’s aging population.
This year the prosecutors’ association asked the legislature
to fund 10 additional prosecutor positions across the state to keep up
with current workloads in the recovery courts, specialty dockets and
diversion programs. The request is sitting on the state’s appropriations
table.
R.
Christopher Almy, the district attorney for Penobscot and Piscataquis
counties, said even if an additional prosecutor was added to his office,
the prosecutor would not be dedicated to elder crimes. Instead,
prosecutors need to be jacks of all trades to work through the 5,000 to
6,000 cases the office manages each year with 10 or 11 people.
“There’s
no way we would be able to do that. We’re inundated with cases. We
don’t have enough people to take that sole responsibility. That would be
impossible. There aren’t that many cases anyway,” Almy said.
Police
departments report only a few cases to his office each year where an
older Mainer has been defrauded, Almy said. Often the charge would be
theft, which makes it difficult for the district attorney offices to say
how many elder fraud cases they pursue each year, he said.
Plus, prosecutors can only go to court when they have enough evidence to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, Almy said.
“The
problem with it is we have to have witnesses. And if we don’t have
witnesses that are able to testify, you’ve got your foot in the bucket,”
Almy said.
The Maine attorney general’s office asked to add a
forensic auditor position in the last state budget, but lawmakers did
not approve funding, wrote agency spokeswoman Danna Hayes.
Since
2020, the attorney general’s office has filed charges in six cases
involving elder fraud. The cases run the gamut from home contractors who
scammed elderly clients for work that was never completed, all the way
up to manslaughter.
Judge James T. Walther during the Graduation Ceremony for Keith Jackson from the Veterans Treatment Court Program on Nov. 7. Credit: JEFF BARNES / CHRONICLE
by The Chronicle-Telegram
Lorain County Probate Judge James Walther announced Monday that his office has returned of $114,271.42 to Lorain County's general fund, ahead of upcoming county budget hearings.
In a news release, Walther said giving the money back underscores "his commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparent governance."
The decision resulted from what Walther called "the unforeseen challenge of being unable to hire a magistrate for the current fiscal year."
Walther asked the Board of Commissioners for the money in January to create a new magistrate position to handle guardianship programs, oversee the guardianship docket, a new guardianship mediation program, the visiting Guardian Angel program and the Volunteer Guardianship Program.
Guardianship is "a court-ordered relationship" in which an appointed guardian acts on behalf of or in the interest of someone who is not able to care for themselves or their property due to age or health. It is one of the more-than 600 responsibilities of the Probate Court and takes up a large amount of Walther's time on the bench, he said earlier this year.
Walther said he plans to fix the staffing situation in 2024.
"While we faced challenges in hiring a magistrate this year, I am committed to ensuring that the necessary positions are filled for the effective functioning of the Lorain County Probate Court," he said in the news release. "Therefore, I plan to allocate funds to hire a magistrate for the fiscal year 2024."
Walther also praised the clerks in his office for their "collaborative efforts, hard work, and dedication," their "diligence" and "their vital role in the efficient operation of the Probate Court."
Kurt Falke sat in his room in a residential hotel in Anchorage,
reflecting on the second guardian the state assigned him. He said he
appreciates the work his guardian did behind the scenes
“I was recovering from my brain damage and I was pretty much a kid,”
Falke said. “He was working with other people without me being aware of
it, my counselors and all this.”
Falke’s had guardians on and off since the mid 1990s. That’s because
he was homeless and struggling with substance abuse and later suffered a
serious head injury. He tears up when he talks about how one of his
guardians, Ezra Stone, helped him change his life for the better.
“Ezra, Ezra stone- He became my friend and I started to learn how to
trust somebody because I started trusting myself,” Falke said.
Guardians are assigned to people by the courts when they aren’t able
to make important decisions for themselves. That may be because of an
injury, a mental disability or illness, or because of dementia.
Guardians can then help with or make decisions about medical care,
housing, finances, or even real estate on behalf of their clients.
But patients throughout Alaska have been denied new guardians over
the past seven months. Since April, OPA stopped taking all new
assignments of guardians and conservators because of a severe staffing
shortage. Guardians now have 80 to 100 cases on their plate instead of
the recommended 20-40.
Falke said the guardian he works with now is great at his job and cares.
“David Harper- Now, he’s a good kid. He tries real hard,” Falke said.
But he said Harper has way too many cases on his plate to be able to help everyone.
“It was about 20 then it went up to 50 then 100 and now David’s like ‘oof.’ He’s swamped,” Falke said.
James Stinson, director at OPA, co-signed a letter to the courts in
April saying OPA’s staffing crisis is partially because a number of
public guardians retired or resigned. Stinson said this guardianship
crisis is about more than just OPA.
“It’s not just that case loads are continuing to grow,” Stinson said.
“It’s also that all of the things that a public guardian depends on to
provide services for their wards are becoming more and more constrained
and much more scarce. And the hiring pool has changed considerably.”
Stinson said they’ve done some hiring, but it typically takes two
years for guardians to be fully trained on their job. That’s because
they need a vast variety of expertise to be able to help people with
decisions ranging from real estate to healthcare.
Right now, guardians at OPA have two to three times what Stinson said
is a typical maximum caseload. And because of the state supreme court’s
order, OPA has to continue putting more cases on Guardian’s plates no
matter how many they have. Stinson said that means guardians won’t be
able to do their jobs well.
“Public guardians are just people and they’re people that want to do a
good job, and the staffing situation we’re in is a candle burning on
both ends,” Stinson said. “You can’t afford to overload your most
experienced guardians to the point that they just give up and quit
because they just can’t do anything because that’s disastrous. And you
can’t place a bunch of cases on somebody who’s new and inexperienced,
who doesn’t know how to do it either.”
He said he’s worried Guardians will get burnt out and quit, which will make the problem worse.
Corinne O’Niell, senior director of care management for Providence
Alaska Medical Center, said most people have friends or family that can
make decisions for them. But not everyone has that and that’s when they
need an appointed guardian.
“They’re some of the most vulnerable people in Alaska because they
just don’t have anybody that can step in and fill that role of a
guardian,” O’Niell said.
O’Niell said that if someone can’t get a guardian after medical care,
they might have to stay in the hospital for longer than needed.
“We can’t safely discharge them to the community, because we have
nobody to sign their paperwork to go into a long term care facility, or
an assisted living facility, or sign for their durable medical
equipment, because they can’t understand those decisions and we don’t
have a guardian appointed,” O’Niell said.
And she said that impacts healthcare for all Alaskans.
“Even when we tie up one bed or two beds, or five beds for long
periods of time, those are beds that are then not available right to the
general public to get the right care that they need at the right time,”
said O’Niell.
She also said Alaskans should consider creating an advanced care
directive just in case of injury or illness. She said it can help
prevent the need for a guardian to make decisions for you.
