Final defendant in $1.2 M guardian embezzlement case sentenced

One day in prison, but hefty restitution ordered

By Alex Rose

The final defendant in an embezzlement scheme involving wards of court-appointed guardianships was sentenced Thursday to one day in prison with three years of supervised release.

Alesha Mitchell, 44, of Suffolk, Va., was also ordered to pay $85,974 restitution and a $100 special assessment under the sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mitchell, represented by defense counsel Heather Mattes, was charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to bank fraud by federal indictment in June 2021. She pleaded guilty in March 2022 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for her role in the scheme.

Co-defendants Carlton Rembert, 70, of Hampton, Va., and Gloria Byars, 63, of Aldan, were likewise charged with bank fraud and conspiracy at that time, as well as five counts of wire fraud. Byars faced an additional charge of money laundering, but she died in August before she could be sentenced.

Byars was originally charged in 2019 with former Democratic candidate for county council Keith Collins and his wife, Carolyn Collins — Byars’ sister — as part of the same scheme. Byars had been facing hundreds of state counts before the eight-count federal indictment came down.

Keith and Carolyn Collins, of the first block of Princeton Avenue in Ridley Park, were facing 18 state counts each of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property, and three conspiracy counts.

The married couple, who serve as pastors at the Church of the Overcomer in Trainer, pleaded guilty before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan to one consolidated count of theft by unlawful taking in March. They were each sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to repay more than $54,000.

According to information from the indictment and affidavits in the state charges:

Byars, who was also Rembert’s sister, had worked from 2008 to October 2016 at a Havertown business that cares for wards appointed by the state. In her position, she assisted the company’s owner in managing wards’ assets, and had access to their checkbooks and bank accounts.

Byars was appointed guardian of several wards in 2015, granting her access to their assets as well. She set up her own corporation in August 2016, called Global Guardian Services LLC, shortly before leaving the Havertown company.

Byars, Rembert and Mitchell fraudulently obtained more than $1.2 million of unauthorized checks from 120 incapacitated wards and deposited them into accounts they opened with local banks, then split the proceeds.

Byars opened business bank accounts for Global Guardian and “ICU Records & Billing,” while Rembert and Mitchell opened accounts for shell corporations “CWR Medical Services,” and “ACC Medical Billing LLC.” Rembert also opened business bank accounts in the name of a business he previously operated called Grace Home for Children.

Byars stole money from the wards’ accounts by writing unauthorized checks payable to ICURB, Global Guardian, ACC Medical Billing, CWR Medical and Grace Home in order to make the transactions appear to be legitimate medical expenses incurred by the wards.

According to a prior release from U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, Rembert deposited more than $695,000 in checks into the shell business bank accounts, then withdrew more than $388,000 in cash.

He also obtained $217,082 in certified checks that he sent to Byars, while keeping a portion of the stolen ward money for himself.

Byars pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false income tax return. The Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office later reported the cause of death was the “combined toxic effects of different drugs” and that the manner was suicide.

Rembert, representing himself with Bala Cynwyd attorney Vernon Chestnut, was convicted at trial last year on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud. He was later denied motions for acquittal and a new trial.

Rembert was sentenced earlier this month to 5½ years in federal prison with five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $400 special assessment and $534,335 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiwana Wright and Samuel Dalke prosecuted the case.

“The greed and callousness here are off the charts,” Romero said in a release when Rembert was sentenced. “It’s vile that criminals target the elderly and infirm specifically to take advantage of their vulnerability. My office and our partners will continue to do all we can to hold these crooks responsible and protect our elders from such greed, fraud, and abuse.”

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Final defendant in $1.2 M guardian embezzlement case sentenced