A Connecticut conservator is accused of selling the house of one of her conservatees to her business partner.
As a conservator, Kristan Exner is responsible for managing the financial and, in certain cases, personal interests of conservatees, who are adults deemed by a court to be incapable of managing their own affairs. Exner is being accused of abusing that position of power for one of her former conservatees, Barbara Tobin. The allegations were raised by Tobin’s current conservator, Robert Tobin.
Joseph Garin, Exner’s former classmate and the alleged co-owner of a real estate business, bought a house that was previously owned by Barbara while Exner was her conservator, according to court documents filed in the Milford-Orange County Probate Court.
On Oct. 7, attorney Damon Kirschbaum sent a letter to Probate Judge T. R. Rowe asking him to permanently disbar Exner over this allegation, and the allegation that Exner perjured herself by claiming on record that she had not spoken to Garin since 2000, even though they owned a business together. Kirschbaum is representing a man, John Davis, in a lawsuit against Exner that is unrelated to Tobin’s case. Exner is the conservator for Davis’ fiancée.
In the lawsuit about the house sale, Exner is being accused by Robert Tobin of mishandling Barbara’s assets when Exner was her conservator. Specifically, Robert is accusing Exner of arranging to have Barbara’s house sold to Garin “for less than fair market value.”
Exner and Garin allegedly met at the United States Merchant Marine Academy more than two decades ago. In November 2021, they may have formed the real estate company, Mariners Investment LLC. Records from the Business.Ct.Gov website show that the principal owner of Mariners Investment is Joseph Garin, and that the agent is a person named “Kristan Sullivan.” Mariners Investment has the same principal business address as Trident Legal Associates, LLC, which is owned by Kristan Exner.
Robert Tobin alleges that Exner is “almost certainly married to someone named Gregory Sullivan” in the court documents. In the past, Exner has gone by the name Kristan Exner Sullivan. Multiple filings from Mariners Investment to the state of Connecticut were signed by “Kristan Exner.”
On March 21, 2022, four months after Exner and Garin allegedly co-founded Mariners Investment, Exner arranged for Barbara’s house to be put on the market. The very next day, Garin bought that house. Robert alleges that Exner and Garin did not negotiate the price, and that neither Exner nor the real estate agent she used spoke to any other potential buyers.
According to court documents, when Exner was asked about the sale under oath, she said that she had not spoken to Garin since 2000—even though they may own a company together. Exner allegedly went on to say that he must have heard about the house from the real estate agent she used, Katiria Chiluisa of RE/MAX Right Choice. Chiluisa said that he might have been on a list of real estate investors she had and that she could have called him the day the property was put on the market; however, Robert alleges that Chiluisa “could not explain the circumstances precisely.”
Inside Investigator did not obtain a copy of this recording.
Exner is also accused of selling the property of a trustee of hers to Garin in late 2023. Supposedly, Exner was appointed as the successor trustee to the Mary Maier Irrevocable Trust and sold a house in Southbury to Garin for $100,000. Court documents allege that Garin sold that house to a third party for $250,000 three months later. The deeds for these sales are in the court documents.
Attorney Christopher Harrington, who is representing Exner in the Tobin case, could not be reached for questions. Neither could Kirschbaum.
Robert Santoro is representing Exner in the lawsuit filed by Davis. On Oct. 9, Santoro sent a letter to Chief Clerk Gail Hanna, asking her to disregard Kirschbaum’s motion to have Exner disbarred.
“Such actions are inappropriate and should not be entertained,” the letter stated. “The Court, on its own motion, without any affidavits or evidence, should refrain from scheduling this matter for a hearing, as it does not warrant further expenditure of the Court’s time.”
In a phone call with Inside Investigator, Santoro did not want to comment on the specific allegations made in the Tobin case, which he is not involved with.
This isn’t the first complaint filed against Exner. In the past, she has been accused of mishandling Medicaid payments for multiple people under her conservatorship and transferring $100,000 from a nursing home resident’s bank account into her employer’s conservator account. Santoro also did not want to comment on these allegations, because he is not involved in these cases.
However, in an email to Inside Investigator, Santoro accused Kirschbaum of making “unfounded” allegations against Exner in the past.
“Attorney Kirschbaum represented another individual suspected of elder abuse against a frail elderly woman by the Department of Elderly Protective Services and tried to implicate Attorney Exner,” Santoro alleged in that email. “You can see the Judge’s pretty clear decision (to dismiss Kirschbaum’s argument), which may implicate a vexatious litigation claim against Attorney Kirschbaum and his client given the judge’s characterization of the argument as “simple.””
On March 30, 2025, Exner submitted testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly, in which she requested more legal protections for conservators.
“Conservators are tasked with making complex decisions in deeply personal and often contentious circumstances, including healthcare, financial management, housing, and end-of-life care. They are bound by legal and ethical responsibilities, often under intense scrutiny by courts, families, and the public,” she wrote. “Yet when disagreements or misunderstandings arise—even when acting in good faith under court order—conservators can become the targets of civil lawsuits.”
These lawsuits can be “costly” and “personally devastating,” she said in the testimony.
She specifically asked the General Assembly to pass a law that would give conservators qualified immunity “for actions taken in good faith and in accordance with court orders,” access to state-funded liability insurance, and impose limits on civil liability.
Full Article & Source:
Lawyer accused of selling conservatee house to business partner
No comments:
Post a Comment