$614,000 accident settlement has run out, family seeks resources for 24-hour care
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| A star high school athlete who moved to Florida from Haiti suffered a major head injury in an accident more than a decade ago. He ended up in guardianship and received a substantial financial settlement. But now his money has now run out, his guardian was removed from his case, and he faces an uncertain future. |
by: Adam Walser
NAPLES, Fla. — Our ongoing series “The Price of Protection” usually focuses on how professional guardianship impacts vulnerable seniors, but the I-Team has learned how guardianship can affect people of all ages.
A star high school athlete who moved to Florida from Haiti suffered a major head injury in an accident more than a decade ago.
He ended up in guardianship and received a substantial financial settlement.
But now his money has now run out, his guardian was removed from his case, and he faces an uncertain future.
From star athlete to brain injury patient
34-year-old Wilkins Vilcin is the youngest resident of his assisted living facility in the Golden Gate community.
He wears diapers and needs help dressing, bathing, and completing daily tasks.
“He needs 24-hour care... an eye on him,” said his sister Fabiola Vilcin Borgelin.
Photo collages on his wall show better days, when Wilkins was a stand-out athlete at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples.
“Run track, play football, run cross country,” Wilkins said, struggling to find words to describe his participation in high school sports.
Wilkins, his father, his brother, and three sisters moved from Haiti in the early 2000s and were granted temporary protected status, which provided a pathway for citizenship.
“He went to states for the track 4x4. He was on the football team. He was on the soccer team,” said Brian Ullrich.
Brian, now a nurse in California, is Wilkins’ former teammate who has kept in touch with him over the years.
Brian is the only classmate Wilkins remembers since suffering a traumatic brain injury.
“It was our homecoming dance, 2010. He was a senior,” Brian said. “There was a flip at the dance that he had done and got over-rotated and landed on the back of his head.”
“He was just having a fun night, and out of nowhere, it changed his life,” Fabiola said.
Wilkins was rushed to the hospital, where he spent weeks in intensive care and months in recovery.
“Eventually, he's starting rehab in the hospital. He can walk again. He can sit up in the chair. We threw a birthday party for him,” Brian said.
He said it was one of the most tragic things he remembers as a teenager.
“It was just unbelievable. You don't know, you know, until you have someone you know go through something like that,” Brian said.
Guardian appointed to manage funds and care
Wilkins was declared incapacitated in 2011, and Kathy Johnson was appointed as his professional guardian, overseeing his care and managing his money.
That included $614,000 from legal settlements related to the accident.
Fabiola says Johnson rarely communicated and didn’t call when he had COVID or was hospitalized for a seizure.
Under the state’s guardianship law, the guardian is not required to provide that type of information to wards’ family members.
“I’ve never met her. I've never seen her. Every time when I ask to see her, there’s always an excuse,” Fabiola said.
Johnson also moved Wilkins between facilities without telling them.
That is also allowed in Florida, although guardians are required to notify the court when they move a ward under state law.
“We just go see Wilkins, and he’s not there,” Fabiola said.
Brian had the same experience last Thanksgiving.
“Wilkins was moved. We can’t tell you where he’s at because you’re not the legal guardian,” Brian said.
Brian tracked down the guardian, and she told him Wilkins only had $4,000 left.
“He’s going to end up on the street”
“That’s kind of barely going to get us through December. We really need to figure something out, you know, because he can't see stay in the house anymore. We're going to get evicted,” Brian said Johnson told him.
“She told me his money runs out. That if he has nowhere to go, he’s going to end up on the street,” Fabiola said.
“Are we looking at going back to Haiti and in a time where we've got massive issues going on with gang warfare and all this stuff?” Brian said.
In August 2022, more than a decade into the guardianship, Johnson asked the court to move Wilkins’ remaining $158,900 into a pooled trust, telling the judge that would enable her to try to qualify him for government benefits.
But Johnson never managed to get Wilkins a Green Card, which would allow him to qualify for certain benefits.
16 months later, Johnson petitioned the court to resign, saying Wilkins no longer had any money and she feared she would be held liable for his expenses.
Guardian removed from cases
In late February, Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Krier, who appointed Johnson, removed her from all her Collier County cases.
That followed a scathing audit alleging missing money, lost records, and hacked bank accounts.
“At best, this is mismanagement. At worst, it’s something more,” Krier said at the time.
We questioned Johnson about those cases at the hearing, but she declined to comment.
Records show Johnson billed Wilkins $48,000 for her services during Wilkins’ guardianship.
That included a bill for $500 the month before she told his sister he was running out of money.
Currently, there is no money to pay for Wilkins’ care.
“It’s almost $4,000 just to stay here,” Fabiola said.
A new emergency temporary guardian appointed in February is contacting state and federal authorities, trying to get Wilkins a Green Card so he can qualify for health insurance and other benefits.
The family says Johnson took his birth certificate and other documents and never gave them back.
“We're trying to take him back. So that’s the plan... for us to take him back,” Fabiola said.
Brian, his family and Wilkins’ classmates are also helping out.
Emergency fund established
They have worked with a volunteer attorney to set up the Wilkins Vilcin Special Needs Trust.
Donations are being coordinated by Wilkins’ former school... they can be mailed to St. John Neumann High School, 3500 53rd ST SW, Naples, FL 34116.
For more information about the trust, you can email the organizers at vilcintrust@gmail.com
Wilkins doesn’t understand what’s going on, but his friends and family see a broken system that failed to protect one of the most vulnerable people in its care.
“I can certainly work. I can certainly come up with some money to help him a little bit along. But this is this is the tiniest of Band-Aids on such a massive problem,” Brian said.
We contacted Kathy Johnson and her attorney for this story, but we have not heard back.
The most recent court filing in Wilkins’ case indicates the Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating.
Full Article & Source:
Star high school athlete placed in guardianship after head injury faces possible deportation
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