Saturday, August 10, 2024

ProP­ublica reporter in­ves­ti­gates NYC guardianship system

ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson joined “The Rush Hour” to discuss the investigation. (Spectrum News NY1)

By Rocco Vertuccio

ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson has been investigating the city’s broken guardianship system, spotlighting how weak oversight has allowed legal guardians to abuse, neglect, and defraud the people they’re supposed to take care of.

Pearson’s latest investigation examines how judges allowed one of New York’s guardians to transfer over $1.5 million of her ward’s money to her own business — profiting from the people she’s supposed to care for.

Jake Pearson joined “The Rush Hour” on Thursday to discuss the investigation. 

Full Article & Source:
ProP­ublica reporter in­ves­ti­gates NYC guardianship system

Miami-Dade Mayor wants court to change guardianship system after damning audit

By Joshua Ceballos

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava

After an audit from Miami-Dade County’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found employees of the Guardianship Program of Dade County violated state laws, the county mayor wants new oversight and accountability before the program gets more taxpayer dollars.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has called on the courts to set new safeguards on a system that is intended to look after some of the most vulnerable members of the community, following the findings that were prompted by a WLRN investigation.

In a recent memo to Chief Judge of the 11th Circuit, Nushin Sayfie, and Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Juan Fernandez-Barquin, Levine Cava called for a meeting to review key aspects of the county's guardianship system.

“Per state statute, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, Probate Division works with the Clerk of Court and Comptroller to ensure the proper functioning and oversight of guardianship cases,” Levine Cava wrote in the Aug. 2 memo.

“We would like to meet with you to discuss next steps your offices can take, including review of current staffing and leadership as well as the introduction of additional safeguards into any potential future grant agreements.”

The Guardianship Program (GPDC) is a nonprofit entity that receives millions of dollars in annual funding from Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. They’re the guardians of last resort for people declared “incapacitated” by the courts and who have no family who can take care of them.

The program handles about 20% of the county’s guardianship cases, which are administered through the 11th Circuit’s Probate Division.

A WLRN investigation found the program repeatedly sold the properties of its incapacitated wards to a small group of people who then quickly sold them for a profit. The practice raised questions about whether the program was doing its best to care for the vulnerable people in its charge.

An OIG audit late last month corroborated those findings. It also found Guardianship Program employees engaged in conflicts of interest that violated state law, and that the program had a severe lack of oversight of its property sales that challenged its commitment to doing the most to take care of its wards.

"We are reaching out to meet with your office to discuss how we can support the implementation of additional accountability and oversight measures over the Guardianship Program."
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a memo to 11th Circuit Court officials.

In some cases, property coordinators helped their friends and families buy homes that belonged to incapacitated people, and a realtor received almost five times much money as an incapacitated ward after selling the ward's home for GDPC.

While Miami-Dade County partially funds the Guardianship Program with a more than $2.5 million annual grant, it has little control over the nonprofit’s operations.

“The County is required to serve as a pass-through for state funding but does not directly oversee the program or provide any management or audit function,” Levine Cava wrote in her recent memo.

Judge 'hopes to see changes'

WLRN reached out to Judge Sayfie following the release of the OIG audit to ask if the court would take any action in response to the findings. Sayfie said in an emailed statement that she hopes to see the Guardianship Program enact changes, but stopped short of saying what shifts the court might make.

“We are looking forward to seeing the changes outlined in the Inspector General’s report for the benefit of strengthening public guardianship and its important role in service to a very vulnerable community,” Sayfie said.

Levine Cava’s memo, however, seems to put the onus on Sayfie and the court to set up their own safeguards on guardianship cases.

"We are reaching out to meet with your office to discuss how we can support the implementation of additional accountability and oversight measures over the Guardianship Program," the mayor wrote.

Emma Louise Ladson, whose mother was an incapacitated ward and who was evicted from her home by the Guardianship Program, said the audit report was a relief after years of calling out abuses in the guardianship system.

“It feels like vindication. It’s just been happening for so long to too many people. I’m happy that Mayor Levine Cava has taken notice and has not let this case go,” Ladson told WLRN.


The Mayor’s office said she has not yet scheduled a meeting with the Chief Judge and the Clerk of Courts at the time of this writing.

Full Article & Source:
Miami-Dade Mayor wants court to change guardianship system after damning audit

Friday, August 9, 2024

Husband, Wife Bilk Elderly Woman Out Of $1M During 'Complex ID, Fraud Scheme:' Harford Sheriff

An elderly woman was robbed of more than $1 million after being targeted as part of "a complex identity theft and fraud scheme," according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office.


by Zak Failla

Devalkumar Harshadkumar Vyas and wife Mamata D. Vyas - who were arrested for a similar scheme in New York last month - preyed on a 73-year-old woman who was convinced to make bitcoin and gold purchases that they then took over the course of a five-week period.

In June, investigators say that the woman received an unsolicited email from erickressman@tuta.io, purportedly from Eric Kressman of the Office of the Inspector General claiming that she was the target of identity theft.

Shortly thereafter, the victim received an unsolicited call from a person identifying himself as "Willy Le," an employee of the Social Security Administration.

"Le" was able to provide the woman with detailed information about her bank accounts, and advised that she had to transfer it to him for safekeeping, imploring her to keep the entire situation confidential.

After that call, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office said that she made multiple transactions over five weeks, including deposits into a bitcoin machine and purchases of gold. 

She met with the suspects on five different occasions to hand over the gold and cash, resulting in a total loss of over a million dollars.

During the investigation, it was determined the suspects were driving a silver Chevrolet Equinox that was registered to Devalkumar Harshadkumar Vyas.

Further investigation found that Vyas and his wife were involved in a similar crime in New York state. Both husband and wife were arrested on Wednesday, July 10, by the New York State Police and charged there.

Late last month, Devalkumar Vyas was interviewed by members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, where he admitted to his role in the fraud scheme in Maryland.

Now, detectives are concerned there may be other victims of the couple who have not yet come forward.

While an arrest has been made, the sheriff’s office is continuing their investigation, they added.

Anyone who may have been victimized in a similar scheme has been asked to contact investigators by calling (410) 836-5428.

Full Article & Source:
Husband, Wife Bilk Elderly Woman Out Of $1M During 'Complex ID, Fraud Scheme:' Harford Sheriff

Home health aide caught snooping around Fayette County home, family says

By Erika Stanish


PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Fayette County family is waiting for answers after their home health aide was caught on camera snooping through their things. 

That aide is under investigation by her employer, Caring Mission Home Care, after videos show her with a flashlight apparently going through the family's things while she was supposed to be caring for her hospice patient. 

"It went on for hours," said Terry Christopher, the patient's daughter. "She would pace around the kitchen looking at different things in my home. And then she started going through my cabinets, my drawers."

Christopher said her father, Roger Porter, was approved by the VA for 40 hours a week of home health care after going to hospice. That is when the family hired the home health aide, who started on July 29, to care for her father overnight. 

KDKA-TV blurred her face and has chosen not to release her identity as charges have yet to be filed. 

"When she got here initially, I told her I have a camera," Christopher said. "They record all the time. There's one right here in the kitchen, which I showed her, and then I showed her the one in his room also." 

While Christopher and Porter were sleeping, she said her cameras caught the aide going through their things on her first night on the job. 

"In the video, you can hear a knock something over and then she looks to see if she woke him up. And she did not. So, she continued to search," Christopher said. 

The family said they feel violated and believe the aide should no longer have a job in home health. 

"I don't want anyone else to have to go through this," Christopher said. "I don't want anyone to have to feel violated like I feel."

Caring Mission Home Care released a statement and said it has seen the videos and is concerned about the circumstances. 

"Caring Mission Home Care is currently investigating the incident. It's a personnel issue and we cannot discuss that publicly at this time," the statement said, in part. 

Full Article & Source:
Home health aide caught snooping around Fayette County home, family says

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Nursing Facility Accused of Elder Abuse After Resident Suffers Severe Injuries


By Northern California Record

A skilled nursing facility in California is facing serious allegations of elder abuse and negligence after a resident suffered severe injuries due to inadequate care. The complaint was filed by Virginia Estrada, through her successor in interest, Ester Baldwin, against O'Connor Woods Housing Corporation and Eskaton Properties, Inc., on July 24, 2024, in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento.

According to the complaint, Virginia Estrada was admitted to Meadowood A Health & Rehabilitation Center on May 12, 2023. She required extensive assistance with daily activities due to chronic Type II diabetes mellitus. Despite knowing her medical needs, the defendants allegedly failed to provide adequate care. Estrada's condition deteriorated significantly during her stay at the facility from May 12 to May 16, 2023. On May 16, she was found unresponsive with low blood sugar levels and improperly administered oxygen.

The lawsuit details multiple instances where the facility's staff neglected Estrada's needs. For example, a licensed nurse gave her orange juice instead of the physician-ordered glucagon gel for low blood sugar and failed to notify her physician or recheck her blood sugar levels every 15 minutes as required. The California Public Health Department investigated these incidents and issued deficiencies against the facility for failing to meet professional standards of care.

Estrada's complaint accuses the defendants of understaffing and underfunding the facility to maximize profits at the expense of residents' health and safety. It alleges that this neglect led directly to Estrada's severe injuries and emotional trauma. The plaintiffs seek general and special damages, punitive damages for elder abuse claims, attorneys' fees, treble damages under applicable laws, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

The case is being handled by Stephen M. Garcia of Garcia & Artigliere law firm. The presiding judge is yet to be named under Case No. 24003014737.

Full Article & Source:
Nursing Facility Accused of Elder Abuse After Resident Suffers Severe Injuries

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

AG Nessel Announces Appointment of Van Buren County Public Administrator

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today announced the recent appointment of Theresa J. Cypher (JPG) as Van Buren County Public Administrator.   

“Theresa brings a wealth of experience to this role,” Nessel said. “Her extensive background in estate administration and her commitment to the community make her an excellent choice to be Van Buren County Public Administrator.” 

County public administrators have powers and duties primarily related to intestate decedent estates where there are apparently no known heirs, including managing the determination, collection, liquidation, and/or distribution of any assets in the estate.  Attorneys who serve in this capacity often also have private practice responsibilities that are separate and unrelated to their appointment as a county public administrator.    

“County public administrators serve in a position of trust in Michigan’s Probate Court system and perform vital work on behalf of their respective communities,” said State Public Administrator Randi M. Merchant. “The Department is fortunate to have a talented and passionate pool of attorneys that serve in this role across the State, and I am pleased to welcome County Public Administrator Cypher as the newest member of that team.” 

Cypher is a graduate with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology and has been in private practice since 1999. She currently practices at Laaksonen Law Offices, P.C., in Paw Paw, specializing in estate planning, estate administration, conservatorship and guardianship matters, family law, and juvenile court matters. She is also a volunteer with the Diocese of Kalamazoo, assisting with their Safe Environment Program and the Catholic Foundation of Southwestern Michigan. Cypher was sworn in on July 31st, 2024.

Source:
AG Nessel Announces Appointment of Van Buren County Public Administrator

Woman gets probation for falsifying records in probate court case


by: Joe Gorman

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A Poland woman who pleaded guilty to falsifying records in a case in Mahoning County Probate Court was sentenced Tuesday in common pleas court to five years probation.

Katina Soltis, 54, must also serve three days in the county jail and write a letter of apology to Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu as part of her sentence.

Soltis pleaded guilty May 28 before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum to two counts of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

Prosecutors say she forged documents in Mahoning County Probate Court indicating that she deposited $32,000, which had been willed to her children by a relative, but investigators say she kept the money for herself.

A grand jury indicted her in April.

Full Article & Source:
Woman gets probation for falsifying records in probate court case

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Court vacates appointment of indefinite guardian ad litem to incapacitated woman Appellate Courts Webp frankrizzoiii


By Nicholas Malfitano

HARRISBURG – The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has vacated a ruling from the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Orphans’ Court, and in so doing, also vacated the guardian ad litem (GAL) appointment for an incapacitated elderly woman subject to that “unauthorized” arrangement for more than three years.

Superior Court judges Victor P. Stabile, Deborah A. Kunselman and Correale F. Stevens issued a memorandum opinion to that effect on July 22, with Stabile authoring the Court’s opinion in this matter.

Stabile began by pointing to the trial court’s recitation of the facts of the case.

“This matter stems from an emergency petition filed by the Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging (COSA) on Aug. 31, 2020 requesting Appellant J.L.C. be adjudged an incapacitated person and requesting the appointment of a Guardian of her Person and Estate. On Sept. 1, 2020, the Orphans’ Court held an emergency hearing in which Appellant appeared with counsel. The court subsequently issued a decree appointing Elizabeth Stefanide, Esquire, as GAL for Appellant,” Stabile said.

“In its petition, COSA averred that Appellant was 80 years of age at the time and that she lacked capacity to make and/or properly communicate decisions concerning her Person and/or Estate. According to the petition, Appellant has two children, her daughter, J.F., and her son, J.J.C. Her assets include 13 residential/business properties, in addition to J&M Discount Tires, the values of which were listed ‘TBD.’ Appellant receives $1,170 per month in social security and $8,000 per month from Bryn Mawr Trust. COSA averred that Appellant resides in her home located…in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.”

Stabile added that COSA had initially been contacted regarding Appellant J.L.C. being a potential target for financial exploitation, allegedly by her own daughter, J.F.

“Up until 2017, both Appellant’s son and daughter were named as her power of attorney. More recently, on Aug. 2, 2020, Appellant’s daughter, J.F., took Appellant to a new attorney to sign paperwork designating herself solely as power of attorney. J.F. took money from her account to pay the lawyer then executed the new power of attorney document and a new will. At the time, J.F. was questioning her brother J.J.C.’s management of the family business and assets, as he is the president of the family business (J&M Discount Tires) and has managed all of Appellant’s financial affairs. J.J.C. provided an expert report, from Appellant’s longtime psychiatrist and a neuropsychological evaluation performed in 2019, which indicates a level of incapacitation in Appellant’s decision making,” Stabile stated.

“The psychological assessment…was performed on Aug. 21, 2020. During the evaluation, Appellant was unable to or had difficulty recalling the year she graduated, the year she was married, and the cause of her late husband’s death. When Appellant was asked about power of attorney, she stated that both her son and daughter have financial and medical power of attorney. However, it was reported that Appellant signed a new power of attorney naming solely her daughter as power of attorney in early August. At the time of the 2020 evaluation, Dr. Moore was provided with the assessment completed by Dr. Payne on May 8, 2019. Following the assessment, Dr. Payne concluded that Appellant had dementia of a mild-approaching-moderate severity, with features of long-standing psychiatric variability (bipolar history). Dr. Payne opined that Appellant was partially incapacitated but did have testamentary capacity regarding financial decision-making, as she had a good understanding of her current estate plan.”

It was noted Dr. Moore’s report “indicated that Appellant has major neurocognitive impairment with an impression of vascular dementia” and opined that “Appellant appears to be incapacitated and is in need of an emergency guardian, due to the significant amount of money in question and the family business being involved.”

After a September 2020 hearing and due to “condition of Appellant’s capacity and the [GAL’s] concerns regarding the execution of the July 8th power of attorney, the Court amended the GAL decree by suspending the July 8, 2020 power of attorney.”

On Jan. 19, 2023, GAL Elizabeth Stefanide contacted the court via telephone to relay the difficulty in her ability to access certain financial documents of Appellant, pursuant to her authority as GAL for Appellant. Due to said difficulty, a 2nd Amended Decree was issued on Jan. 24, 2023, clarifying Ms. Stefanide’s duties as GAL.

“Thus, the Orphans’ Court’s findings of fact reveal malfeasance on the part of Appellant’s daughter, J.F., and significant cognitive impairment of Appellant. Despite the latter, the Orphans’ Court has yet to make a finding of incapacity. Appellant, in the lengthy recitation of facts in her brief, criticizes the alleged malfeasance of J.J.C., Appellant’s son, and claims that COSA, the GAL, and the Orphans’ Court are doing J.J.C.’s bidding. J.J.C. has filed a participant’s brief in support of the Orphans’ Court’s decree refuting those allegations,” Stabile said.

“In essence, Appellant is a wealthy, elderly, allegedly incapacitated person whose children do not get along and have accused each other of mismanagement of various aspects of Appellant’s finances. As explained in detail below, we discern no statutory authority for the decree on appeal. We therefore have no occasion to delve into the details of Appellant’s children’s squabbles.”

Stabile provided that Appellant J.L.C. argued that the Orphans’ Court “lacked statutory authority to clothe the GAL with sweeping authority for an apparently unlimited period of time” – a sentiment with which the Superior Court agreed.

“The Orphans’ Court appointed Stefanide as GAL on an emergency basis in 2020. Three years later, the Orphans’ Court issued an ‘amended’ decree clarifying and arguably expanding some of the powers of the GAL, who apparently is still serving on an emergency basis. This matter commenced with COSA’s petition for a declaration of Appellant’s incapacity, and the appointment of a guardian of her person and guardian of her estate. To date, and for reasons not entirely clear from the record, none of those things has happened. Appellant is still an allegedly incapacitated person, and she has no guardian of her estate or her person,” Stabile stated.

“Guardians of the estate and/or person can be appointed, pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S.A. Section 5511, after a finding, by clear and convincing evidence, of incapacity. The duties of guardians of the person and estate are defined in 20 Pa.C.S.A. Section 5521. The decree before us was not entered pursuant to Section 5511, and the Court did not purport to follow Section 5521 in defining Stefanide’s duties. Rather, the Orphans’ Court appointed Stefanide as GAL after an emergency hearing and gave her powers as defined in the decree above, which appear to overlap somewhat with the statutory responsibilities of both a guardian of the estate and a guardian of the person. Stefanide has retained those powers for more than three years and apparently is set to retain those powers for an indeterminate time.”

Stabile pointed out that while Appellant J.L.C. is allegedly incapacitated and the Court found, back in 2020, that irreparable harm would result absent the appointment of a temporary guardian, “20 Pa.C.S.A. Section 5513 provides that an emergency order may be in effect for up to 72 hours and may be extended for no more than 20 days from the expiration of the initial order, [and] there is no authority in Section 5513 for the amendment, three years later, of an earlier decree which, if entered pursuant to Section 5513, has long since expired.”

Stabile further referenced Pennsylvania state law which “provides for the appointment of a guardian of the person or guardian of the estate of an incapacitated person, after a finding by clear and convincing evidence that the person is incapacitated…written notice must be provided to the alleged incapacitated person explaining the rights the alleged incapacitated person may lose as a result of a declaration of incompetency.”

According to the Stabile, “nothing in the record indicates that these procedural dictates were followed in this matter.”

“In summary, we agree with Appellant’s argument that no statutory authority exists to support the decree before us. It appears from the record that the Orphans’ Court and the parties have, for more than three years, subjected Appellant to a pseudo guardianship not authorized under any applicable law,” Stabile said.

“We remind the parties and the Orphans’ Court of this Court’s prior warning regarding the potential for the pernicious misuse of incapacity proceedings: ‘[A] statute of this nature places a great power in the Court. The Court has the power to place total control of a person’s affairs in the hands of another. This great power creates the opportunity for great abuse.’ For the foregoing reasons, we vacate the decree and remand for further proceedings in strict compliance with all applicable statutory and jurisprudential authority.”

Frank Rizzo III of Rizzo Law in Berwyn, offered a statement on the ruling.

“Fundamental due process rights do not have an expiration date and it is incumbent on those charged to protect the elderly, whether a local provider of protective services such as COSA, a Guardian Ad Litem, the Department of Aging or even the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office’s Elder Protection Unit to ensure these types of wrongs do not occur. There is no room for error when dealing with the most venerable yet vulnerable sector of our society,” Rizzo said.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania case 502 EDA 2023

Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Orphans’ Court case 0296-2020-O

From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com

Full Article & Source:
Court vacates appointment of indefinite guardian ad litem to incapacitated woman

Caretaker accused of using deceased man’s credit cards to rack up fraudulent charges


A Midland woman was arrested earlier this week after investigators said she allegedly stole credit cards from her ailing patient and then used the cards to rack up more than $60,000 in charges even after the victim died. Crystal Victoria Barela, 35, has been charged with two counts of Credit/Debit Card Abuse of the Elderly and one count of Fraudulent Use/Possession of Identifying Information, all third-degree felonies.

Source:
Caretaker accused of using deceased man’s credit cards to rack up fraudulent charges

Monday, August 5, 2024

Retiree lost $740K in savings through elaborate scam: NY Times

by Chris Clow

unknown cybersecurity hacker stealing information from computer

Older Americans are increasingly being caught up in elaborate scams designed by perpetrators to drain them of their retirement savings, with the detail and scale of such scams sometimes requiring the intervention of federal law enforcement. This is according to an investigative report published this week by the The New York Times.

Subjects of interviews were “ensnared in scams that could be so elaborate it’s as if they were created in a writer’s room testing different plot devices,” the report stated. “Scammers can impersonate government officials, tech support staff or love interests. They coach victims on how to sidestep fraud prevention measures at financial institutions, and they use manipulative psychological tactics — isolation, a sense of urgency or preying on people’s willingness to trust or connect — to keep the scam going.”

Retired lawyer Barry Heitin, 76, is one of the subjects profiled in the story. He detailed how he lost an estimated $740,000 in retirement savings due to the persistent efforts of these bad actors.

Heitin lost this money over a period of only three months, spending “just about every weekday doing the legwork and making withdrawals from his bank accounts as part of an intricate scam,” the report explained. “He believed he was helping the feds safeguard his money and catch thieves who were after it.”

Such scammers are present in a variety of online areas, including dating websites, social media platforms, messaging apps and through the use of invasive, malicious software — just to name a few.

“The nature of these schemes makes it nearly impossible to recover the money, leaving victims with little recourse,” the report explained. “The stolen funds are often whisked to overseas accounts or laundered through cryptocurrency wallets, which are quickly emptied.”

The losses are sometimes exacerbated by taxes. Withdrawals from retirement accounts — especially in such large amounts — can often come with a heavy tax bill that the victims have few resources to cover after being scammed.

“Potential losses from cybercrime exceeded $12.5 billion in 2023, a 22 percent jump from 2022, and more than triple the levels in 2019, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center,” the report said. “But these figures underestimate the problem, since many victims don’t report their losses.”

On top of these challenges, bad actors often single out victims over the age of 60 due to perceptions of large savings. This age group suffered the largest losses in 2023, totaling more than $3.4 billion, according to the FBI data cited in the report.

Federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), have also made an effort to sound the alarm over heightened instances of elder financial exploitation.

Full Article & Source:
Retiree lost $740K in savings through elaborate scam: NY Times

Lynchburg family falls victim to elder financial fraud

Larry’s law went into effect in Virginia on July 1, providing additional protection for seniors against financial fraud.

Source:
Lynchburg family falls victim to elder financial fraud

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Broken trust: How a Clearwater man took $100M from funds for disabled, records say

Drivers pass Big Storm Brewing's taproom in Clearwater, a craft beer business owned by Leo Govoni and his son. Govoni is named in two separate cases that document more than $100 million missing from trust funds for the medically needy. A judge recently froze Govoni's bank accounts and assets at the request of the Florida state attorney's office.
Drivers pass Big Storm Brewing's taproom in Clearwater, a craft beer business owned by Leo Govoni and his son. Govoni is named in two separate cases that document more than $100 million missing from trust funds for the medically needy. A judge recently froze Govoni's bank accounts and assets at the request of the Florida state attorney's office. [ CHRIS URSO | Times ]

By Christopher O'Donnell

FEATHER SOUND — Like countless others, David Wenk trusted Leo Govoni.

The oncologist met the financial adviser and his son in 2012 at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and ended up sharing a 10-year season ticket to a Bucs suite that Govoni bought through one of his companies.

Over several years, the Govonis pitched Wenk on investing in Big Storm Brewing, a fast-growing craft beer and spirits company. After seeing plans for a sleek high-end steakhouse and spirit room in May 2021, Wenk plunked down $3 million from his personal accounts.

It was easy to believe Govoni was a savvy businessperson. He flew friends on his twin-engine private jet to watch the Kentucky Derby from his executive suite at Churchill Downs. He doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to politicians.

But within three years, that carefully curated image of success would fall apart.

In February, Govoni was accused in bankruptcy court records of orchestrating a $100 million loan to his own company from a nonprofit he founded. The money was siphoned from special-needs trust funds set up to pay medical bills for people with profound disabilities, records state.

Then in May, a state court froze Govoni’s bank accounts and assets at the request of state prosecutors who in a civil complaint accused him and business associates of stealing more than $2 million from a second trust fund nonprofit.

To tell this story, the Tampa Bay Times reviewed thousands of pages of court documents, federal and state records and property deeds. Those documents and interviews with associates, former employees, neighbors and politicians show how Govoni lived lavishly for more than a decade while court documents allege he preyed upon a vulnerable population he had pledged to protect.

Govoni has not spoken publicly about the allegations, nor has he been criminally charged. His attorney, Eric Koenig, issued a statement disputing them and has filed court documents stating that the unpaid loan was sanctioned by the president and directors of the nonprofit. Govoni has appealed the court’s injunction freezing his bank accounts, arguing that there has been “no specific finding of wrongdoing.”

In all, more than 1,600 trust funds were either drained or are missing money, according to court records. They belonged to children with Down syndrome and other disabilities, people no longer able to work because of medical conditions and victims of road accidents who need lifelong expensive medical care.

“It’s a gut-wrenching story first for the victims and also knowing the people closest to him may have woken up and been blindsided by someone they trusted,” said former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a onetime Govoni associate.

No oversight

Govoni, 65, wasn’t a high roller when he moved into his Feather Sound neighborhood in Clearwater in 1990.

He and his wife, a college professor, bought a modest home for $140,000. He was a middling financial adviser who worked on the side at a clothing store in the International Mall. He rarely sold enough suits to earn a sales bonus at his second job, neighbors said. He kept a low profile and seldom gave to political campaigns.

There were already concerns about how he handled other people’s money. In 1991, the state Department of Banking and Finance denied his application to register as an investment adviser for a new finance firm. State regulators alleged that Govoni made 51 transactions without a client’s permission and failed to disclose more than half a dozen customer complaints while working at Smith Barney.

But in a recommended order, a hearing officer found the evidence insufficient to support the state’s allegations and the denial was overturned.

In 2000, Govoni founded a nonprofit called the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration. He grew the Clearwater-based organization into one of the nation’s largest administrators of special-needs trusts with close to 2,000 beneficiaries from almost every state.

The center catered to people with severe disabilities who received payouts from personal injury lawsuits. Putting the money in a trust meant they stayed eligible for benefits like Medicaid.

Despite the large sums that trust fund administrators oversee, there is little state or federal oversight, said Stephen Dale, president of the Alliance of Pooled Trusts, a Texas group focused on setting standards for the industry.

“This is an unregulated industry,” he said.

Those with trusts at the center Govoni founded included Sarah Schlosser, who was 10 weeks pregnant in 2000 when the car she was riding in hit a parked tractor-trailer at 60 mph. Six months later, while still in a medical coma, Schlosser gave birth.

The accident left the new mother profoundly disabled. Her family in Fort Myers battled in the courts for three years until Schlosser was awarded a settlement and a monthly annuity to pay for future medical care.

Govoni stepped down as president of the nonprofit in May 2009, records show. Just one month later, it approved a $2.5 million line of credit to the Boston Finance Group, a company Govoni had recently set up.

In the fall of that year, the nonprofit also transferred ownership of four properties to Broadleaf Property Management, another newly established Govoni company. The homes, which property appraiser records show were then worth a combined $642,000, were deeded to Broadleaf for $400.

Though no longer president of the center, Govoni maintained control of its business operations, court records state. Companies he owned had contracts to run its payroll, technology, human resources and accounting.

As part of those contracts, several employees of Govoni’s other companies worked on-site at the center. One of those workers, Tracey Gregory, had “full access and control” over the center’s bank accounts and “allowed the purported $100 million in loaned funds to be transferred,” according to a complaint brought by Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee. Govoni also had individuals he trusted in “key positions of authority,” including his daughter, Caitlin Janicki, who earned $138,000 per year as the center’s vice president.

Officially, Todd Belisle was in charge of the trust administration as its new president. But in a 2016 deposition for a contract dispute, he testified that he was second in command to Govoni, who had officially quit seven years earlier.

The loan to Boston Finance had other obvious red flags. The lender and the borrower had the same business address, the loan document shows. But the money kept flowing.

Within a year, Boston Finance’s line of credit was extended to $15 million, then to $30 million, then to $50 million. By 2012, it reached $100 million.

The money was taken from trust funds without the permission of the beneficiaries’ families, court records state.

On annual statements sent to families, the missing money was listed under generic labels like “investments.”

Finance guru

As the center grew, Govoni’s life slowly transformed.

He was appointed in 2006 to Stetson University’s Board of Trustees and the Florida Bar Foundation board of directors in 2009. The following year, he bought the house next door, demolished it and built a pool house, giving his combined properties two pools.

He liked to pose as a finance guru. Always dressed in a business suit and tie at meetings, he acted like he was the smartest person in the room, said David Lillesand, an attorney and national expert on special-needs trusts who met Govoni at events and conferences.

“Leo treated me like I was the idiot and he was the only one who knew anything,” Lillesand said.

He had a temper too, Lillesand said, recalling when Govoni yelled at one of Lillesand’s clients who was considering starting a competitor to the center.

His temperament was questioned in a contract dispute lawsuit filed 10 years ago. Two executives of IT Authorities testified in a deposition that Govoni threatened their employee with a baseball bat. Govoni denied the claims and sued both men for defamation. His case was dismissed because the executives’ depositions were protected by litigation privilege.

Former state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Pinellas County Republican, visited Govoni’s office around 2014, he said. Govoni donated about $25,000 to Brandes’ reelection campaign back then, avoiding $1,000 limits on individual contributions by donating from about a dozen of his companies, campaign finance records show.

Brandes recalled seeing several TVs tuned to Bloomberg and other business news networks.

“He seemed to be smart and business savvy,” Brandes said. “I thought he had been on Wall Street, and he had established he was capable of making a large sum of money.”

The perception of Govoni as a successful entrepreneur got extra polish when in 2014 he bought a Cessna 525A jet from a French aviation firm through his Boston Capital Leasing, Federal Aviation Administration records show.

He renamed the company BCL Aviation and hired a Plant City pilot, who remained on staff for seven years. Private jet pilots in Florida make about $114,000 per year, according to ZipRecruiter.

It’s unclear how frequently Govoni used his jet or whether he also chartered it out to private customers. A request was filed with the Federal Aviation Administration to avoid having the aircraft’s transponder tracked by internet services like FlightAware. But federal records obtained by the Times show one international trip from Miami to the Virgin Islands.

Two of Govoni’s neighbors and three former business associates told the Times that Govoni made annual trips by jet to Louisville to attend the Kentucky Derby. Suite prices at Churchill Downs range from $4,000 per person in the Turf Club to $225,000 for Jockey Club suites, according to the Suite Experience Group.

In 2013, Govoni purchased a 24% stake in Big Storm Brewery, then a small independent craft beer business started by two college friends and operating out of a warehouse in Odessa. Co-founder Mike Bishop played football on a team Govoni coached at Countryside High School.

Govoni and his son LJ Govoni became principal owners and rapidly expanded the business. They opened tap rooms in Odessa, Ybor City, Orlando and a 16,000-square-foot flagship brewery and tap room on 49th Street North in Clearwater.

They bought out smaller breweries, including Fat Point Brewing in Punta Gorda and Darwin Brewing in Bradenton. The purchase prices weren’t disclosed.

They also signed deals with the Tampa Bay Lightning to open a Big Storm bar inside Amalie Arena and produced a Bolts-branded beer for the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Sponsorship deals were forged with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Clearwater Threshers, too.

In an industry that requires investment in expensive brewing equipment but operates on low profit margins, Big Storm’s growth astonished competitors.

Brandes, who owns a stake in Green Bench Brewing in St. Petersburg, said other local craft breweries assumed Big Storm must have had access to large amounts of capital.

“No one really questioned the source of funds,” Brandes said. “They were managing hundreds of millions of dollars of assets.”

Political player

After donating less than $30,000 to politicians over a 26-year period, Govoni’s political spending rocketed after the trust administration transferred money to his company, records show.

His Boston Holding Co. gave $100,000 to American Crossroads, a political action committee that supports Republican candidates nationally. He made personal donations of $80,000 to a GOP committee that works to increase the party’s majority in the U.S. Senate.

Most of his giving went to Republicans, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Dennis Ross.

Leo Govoni was a strong backer of Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly, seen here, serving as finance co-chairperson on his 2014 campaign.
Leo Govoni was a strong backer of Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly, seen here, serving as finance co-chairperson on his 2014 campaign.

Govoni was a strong backer of Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly of St. Petersburg, serving as finance co-chairperson on his 2014 campaign. He and his companies gave $147,000 to the candidate, records show, and Boston Finance paid Jolly a quarter of a million dollars for consultancy work, according to his 2014 financial disclosure report.

Jolly hired LJ Govoni in 2014 to work as a legislative aide in his D.C. office. Jolly declined to comment on his business relationship with Govoni but said his thoughts were with the families who lost their life savings.

Govoni’s political spending gave him access to some of the state’s top political figures. He gave $74,600 to Sen. Rick Scott’s campaigns and political committees and, with his wife, co-hosted a 2018 Clearwater fundraiser for Scott.

Scott’s campaign last month said it had donated the contributions from Govoni to a special-needs group, Habitat for Humanity, and to the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Scott recently wrote to the Social Security Administration seeking answers about the oversight of trust administrations.

The federal agency performs no oversight of such organizations.

Govoni became a director of Enterprise Florida in February 2020 and remained so until the private-public partnership to spur economic development was disbanded in 2023, records show. It put him in the same room as Gov. Ron DeSantis, CEOs and heads of state agencies.

While some on the group’s board were appointed by either the Florida Senate or the governor, Govoni appears to have joined as an investor, according to records.

“Gov. DeSantis was not involved in the selection of this individual, and this individual is no longer associated with Florida Commerce or Select Florida,” said DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern.

Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson, a Democrat, received two dozen contributions of $1,000 each from the Govoni-linked corporations for his 2023 reelection campaign, amounting to more than 17% of his total fundraising.

“We were in a tough race, so I called all of the top political donors in the region to ask them for support,” Carlson said.

Asked if he would consider returning the money to the bankruptcy trustee to share among victims, Carlson said election laws required that he close the campaign with a zero balance.

“There is no legal mechanism to reopen a campaign account after an election,” he said.

Trouble brewing

The business empire that Govoni assembled has collapsed since officials at the center discovered the loan and began investigating the nonprofit’s finances.

Under the terms of the loan, Boston Finance should have repaid the $100 million to the center by Jan. 1, 2017. But even after that date, money continued to flow to Govoni’s company for another three years, court documents state.

The loan came to light because of some paperwork left behind by Govoni’s daughter when she resigned in 2022, according to bankruptcy records.

That same year, Govoni sold his private jet for $3.4 million, according to data in Aircraft Post, a widely used industry online price digest.

The center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. It sent letters to more than 1,500 trust fund holders telling them money was missing from their accounts. Court documents show some trusts should have had balances in excess of $1 million, with the largest being $4.5 million.

Schlosser’s mother, Theresa Schlosser, received a letter. About $180,000 was missing from Sarah’s trust, it stated. There was just $10,000 left, she said.

“It took years to get the settlement for our family,” Theresa Schlosser said. “I trusted them. I do not know how much over the years they took from Sarah.”

In March, a federal judge appointed a trustee to take over the center’s operations.

People who know Govoni reacted with shock and anger.

“He had gained the trust of individuals for an incredibly precious asset,” said Brandes, the former state senator.

Even as the center was trying to unravel its financial mess, Govoni was persuading more families to place their special-needs trusts with the Directed Benefits Foundation, a nonprofit he founded in 2013, court records state.

A Florida attorney general’s office investigation found that more than $2 million was missing from the books of the foundation. Prosecutors in their civil complaint accused him of stealing money from people already the victims of debilitating injuries.

One of those was Tampa resident Neon Frazier, who placed her money with the foundation after receiving a settlement from a 2019 road accident that left her with a damaged spine.

After just a few months, the foundation began to repeatedly deny her requests for distributions of her money, including a request to buy a walker, she said.

Now, her trust fund has been frozen, leaving her struggling to afford her medication. She went to the office address in downtown Tampa that was listed by the foundation only to discover no employees worked there, she said.

Frazier only found out about the scandal after hiring an attorney to try to get her money back, she said. A former nurse, she is outraged at how money has been taken from people, including children with disabilities.

“I used to take care of people like that,” Frazier said. “Those people trust them with their money just like I trusted them with my money.”

Karen Fisher was named as one of the defendants in the state’s civil complaint, which details a scheme almost identical to that used at the center.

A single mother, Fisher worked as an assistant for Govoni. To her surprise, she was promoted to vice president and board member of the foundation in June 2023. Govoni had removed his name as an officer of the nonprofit one year earlier, according to state records.

Soon after Fisher’s promotion, the foundation began wiring money to Boston Finance, sending roughly $2.1 million over a two-year period, state prosecutors maintain. In response to a subpoena, the foundation also provided prosecutors with false accounting records that initially hid the missing money.

Facing possible criminal charges, Fisher signed a consent order on July 17, agreeing to a permanent ban from working with special-needs trusts and a $10,000 fine that she won’t have to pay as long as she cooperates with state prosecutors.

In an affidavit, she said she signed checks as instructed by Govoni or by other employees at his request. Govoni controlled all the operations of the foundation and he was wary of being recorded even by his employees, she said. He sometimes insisted she leave her cellphone in her office when they met. He would then place his phone and handgun on a small filing cabinet, her affidavit states.

“I now believe I was placed in this position to be blamed for the wrongdoing of (the foundation) and be held responsible for the checks and other documents that I signed at the instruction of Leo Govoni,” Fisher wrote in her affidavit.

Final reckoning?

Wenk, the oncologist, sued Big Storm in June. The upscale steakhouse his investment was to fund was never built. His suit accused the company of misrepresenting its financial health and questioned whether Big Storm’s rapid growth was fueled by trust fund money.

Wenk would never have invested had he known of “the Govonis’ and Big Storm’s criminal involvement in the theft, embezzlement, and laundering of funds from the Special Needs Trust,” the lawsuit states.

LJ Govoni said Wenk’s claims are “entirely false, baseless and lack any actual foundation” and are intended to embarrass his family. He said he plans to take legal action against Wenk.

“I want to make it unequivocally clear that I have never engaged in any fraudulent activities or wrongdoing as alleged,” LJ Govoni said in a statement provided to the Times. “These accusations are not only unfounded but also defamatory, and I am committed to fighting them vigorously.”

But in a July 11 court hearing on Wenk’s case, Govoni’s attorney Koenig acknowledged that the brewery had received loans from Boston Finance.

Big Storm’s recent collapse has been as spectacular as its rise. In September 2023, the Cape Coral taproom closed with little notice.

Taprooms in Odessa, Orlando, Sarasota and Ybor City shut down soon after the center filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The brewery owes a combined total of almost $1.9 million in unpaid rent at those four locations, according to lawsuits filed by landlords.


Big Storm pints are now only being poured at the Clearwater taproom, the property that it shares with Govoni’s many companies.

It’s unclear if Govoni and his associates will face criminal charges over the missing money. He faces two class action lawsuits filed by trust fund holders. The trustee presiding over the center’s bankruptcy has filed a complaint against Govoni for damages. Including interest, the trustee said Govoni owes the center $142 million.

In a disclosure filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, Govoni acknowledged one of the class action lawsuits and accused a Palm Beach family suing on behalf of their disabled son of “inventing legal theories.” Govoni wrote that he intends to “vigorously defend against what we believe to be baseless allegations.”

The civil complaint filed by the state attorney general’s office in Pinellas County addresses only the $2 million missing from the Directed Benefits Foundation. It cites the Florida Anti-Fencing Act’s section on theft, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and state nonprofit law as grounds for freezing Govoni’s bank accounts and assets.

It suggests further legal action may follow.

“Florida’s investigation is ongoing and anticipates adding additional causes of action,” the complaint states.

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Broken trust: How a Clearwater man took $100M from funds for disabled, records say