Wendy Williams To Enlist A$AP Rocky’s Attorney In Guardianship Case

by Marc Griffin

Wendy Williams is looking to use A$AP Rocky’s attorney to end her contentious guardianship. Joe Tacopina shared on the 2 Angry Men podcast that she reached out to him to represent her in a case to end the two-year court mandate.

Tacopina asserted that he was alarmed after watching Tubi’s Saving Wendy documentary and declared the treatment of the iconic talking head as “a true injustice.” TMZ quoted the lawyer saying, “Murderers have more freedom than Wendy.”

Joe Tacopina was the lawyer who helped secure Rocky’s win in his Hollywood assault case against his former associate, A$AP Relli. Although some jurors have revealed that they didn’t believe the rapper’s “prop gun” story, they chose to acquit the fashion designer.

“Everybody was really focused on delivering justice,” one unidentified juror stated. “I think that we really took our time. We discussed all the issues and all the questions that we had, we clarified those, and we really kind of looked over some pieces of the evidence that people wanted to see a little bit more closely. And I think that we did the best we could with the instructions that we had, and with the evidence that we had.”

Regardless, Ms. Williams is hoping that the 58-year-old could work his magic to win her freedom. In a January interview with The Breakfast Club, Williams gave her first public statement since the release of the controversial Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?.

The former talk show host explained that her experience with the court mandate has felt like “jail” and called out her court-appointed guardian, Sabrina E. Morrissey, who previously claimed her to be “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and legally incapacitated.”

“I am not cognitively impaired. But I feel like I am in prison,” Williams detailed to DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God, and guest host Loren LoRosa. “I’m in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s. There’s something wrong with these people here on this floor.”

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Wendy Williams To Enlist A$AP Rocky’s Attorney In Guardianship Case

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Wendy Williams, Her Guardian, and the Age of the Celebrity Conservatorship

NBC 10 I-Team: Woman accused of draining elderly mother's bank account

 by BRIAN CRANDALL

(WJAR) — A North Providence woman is accused of improperly taking more than $240,000 from her mother’s bank account and using much of it to buy a house.

State police have charged Lisa McManaman, 55, with elder exploitation of more than $100,000 and obtaining money by false pretenses.

Her mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2015, according to court documents obtained by NBC 10.

According to the investigation reports, McManaman’s mother sold her home in 2020 and moved in with McManaman.

Authorities accuse McManaman of then transferring the money out of her mother’s bank account into her own without her mother’s authorization.

In 2023, the police report states the mother was living in an assisted living facility and went to the bank with a staff member after McManaman did not provide her mother with bank statements as requested.

It was at that time, the report states, the mother questioned why her bank account didn’t have nearly as much money in it as she expected.

Another daughter then went with the mother to State police to file a complaint.

That daughter, not McManaman, was their mother’s power of attorney.

Police note in their report that McManaman’s mother “continually had difficulty with her memory” during their interview, but was “adamant she did not give McManaman permission to take her money.”

McManaman’s sister told investigators that when she and another sibling had confronted McManaman about the money, McManaman got very angry and said she deserved it because she was taking care of their mother for years.

Investigators wrote that they suspected a signature was forged to allow McManaman access to $213,000 of her mother’s money.

They write in their report “it is believed that she (the mother) did not have the mental capacity to agree to give McManaman access to her bank account in 2020 or approve the $243,200 in transfers to McManaman’s bank account.”

McManaman entered a not guilty plea at her arraignment Monday and is free as the case continues.

McManaman’s lawyer, Nick Hemond, told NBC10 she “categorically denies the allegations.”

Hemond said, “We believe the allegations are not motivated by her mother, but her sister for her own improper motivations.”

McManaman’s sister has not replied to a message from NBC 10.

In 2016, McManaman pleaded guilty to federal charges of stealing prescription drugs from the VA Medical Center in Providence, where she worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit, and of failing to disclose on her employment application that she was fired from another hospital in Rhode Island.

She was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $1000 restitution in that case.

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NBC 10 I-Team: Woman accused of draining elderly mother's bank account

New Boston police arrest local man on theft and exploitation charges

by Daniel Duric

NEW BOSTON — The New Boston Police Department arrested Robert R. Kelly, 73, on the morning of March 1 on multiple felony charges.

Kelly faces charges of theft by unauthorized taking and financial exploitation, both exceeding $1,500, as well as witness tampering.

The investigation began on Jan. 16 following a referral from the New Hampshire Bureau of Adult and Aging Services, which alleged that Kelly was financially exploiting a 67-year-old victim known to him.

Kelly is charged with one count of theft by unauthorized taking, two counts of financial exploitation, and two counts of witness tampering.

He was previously arrested by the Newbury Police on Aug. 7, 2024, on charges of indecent exposure and lewdness at State Beach in Newbury. He is currently on bail for that case pending in Merrimack County Superior Court.

After his arrest in New Boston, Kelly was released on personal recognizance bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Goffstown District Court on April 8.

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New Boston police arrest local man on theft and exploitation charges

Wendy Williams, Her Guardian, and the Age of the Celebrity Conservatorship

Until she was assigned her most vocal charge in a post–#FreeBritney world, elder-law attorney Sabrina Morrissey worked in anonymity.

By Dan Adler 

Harvey Levin, the TMZ founder, was seated at the outlet’s headquarters in Los Angeles. Wendy Williams, the former daytime talk show host, was in Manhattan, looking out from a fifth-floor window of an assisted living facility. On the sidewalk, a camera streamed a feed of Williams to Levin. She gripped a phone with one hand and, as she made her latest pleas for freedom, pressed the other against the glass for emphasis.

The conversation between two of celebrity gossip’s most accomplished personalities constituted the throughline of TMZ Presents: Saving Wendy, an hour-long special released in February. It is an unsettling document defined by Williams’s face of tearful despair, and, in some other sense, a testament to each party’s capacity for spectacle. “I feel wonderful and fabulous,” Williams tells Levin. As the interview concludes, Levin addresses and empowers the audience, saying, “You don’t have to be a doctor or judge to take a stand.”

Williams rose to the highest rungs of her field as a bawdy and unabashed chronicler of starry turmoil. Her steady penchant for conflict saw her clashing with the likes of Diddy, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston, and to a degree, it made her one of them. Williams’s recent health issues, as well as claims of her substance abuse and her ex-husband’s infidelity surrounding the 2020 dissolution of her 21-year marriage, have often played as tabloid fodder.

When The Wendy Williams Show ended after a 14-year run in 2022, its conclusion was eclipsed by the murky circumstances surrounding it. After her bank claimed that year that Williams, now 60, was incapacitated, describing her as a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation,” she was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship. In 2024, her team announced that she had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. In recent months, across a growing series of media appearances, including interviews with The Breakfast Club and Don Lemon, Williams has denied having dementia and said that she feels like a prisoner. She told Levin that her two cats were gone and that she was only allowed to leave the building twice in the last month.

Conservatorship, historically a semi-esoteric legal practice, has gained considerable traction in the pop culture vernacular in recent years. Framing Britney Spears, the 2021 New York Times/FX documentary, turned the pop star’s long-running battle to exit a court-ordered guardianship run by her father into a global media phenomenon, and created a template for understanding other celebrities’ struggles for autonomy. On her show that year, Williams herself went so far as to wish death on Spears’s parents for the trauma described by the singer—the clip was cut from future airings. “Is Free Amanda Bynes the New #FreeBritney?” the Daily Beast asked as scrutiny of the former child star’s own conservatorship began to mount.

Four years later, with less fame and novelty in the backdrop, the #FreeWendy movement has been more sporadic, powered by a scattering of social media pages and a recent GoFundMe campaign. But as with Spears’s father Jamie, there has been an identifiable face for the opposition.

Sabrina Morrissey is an elder-law attorney whom a Manhattan court appointed to oversee Williams’s welfare and finances. She began working on guardianship cases about 20 years ago, and Williams’s is one of 24 she is currently managing. Conservatorships can naturally entail a measure of conflict, especially in instances such as Williams’s, when a court appoints a guardian in lieu of a family member or against family members’ wishes. Williams’s 24-year-old son had initially sought to be appointed, and, along with Williams’s sister and niece, has since condemned Morrissey’s handling of the case. Williams told TMZ that it was her son’s overspending that triggered her bank to seek a conservatorship. (He has denied the allegation.)

Williams’s public complaints against Morrissey have brought additional complications. Morrissey has largely tried to filter out thousands of outraged emails and one-star Google reviews, she told me during a recent interview, but when Williams herself is the messenger, she has some level of obligation to tune in. Hours after Williams contested her dementia diagnosis in a February interview, Morrissey requested a new medical evaluation.

Morrissey sought to block the release of the 2024 Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, and she and the network are currently suing each other. Morrissey claims that the four-part series exploited its subject’s erratic behavior and drinking. The network accuses her of trying to “silence criticism of her controversial and failed administration.” Each party denies the other’s allegations, and Morrissey has said she has “no interest” in pursuing her suit “in the extremely unlikely event” that the new examination finds that Williams has the mental capacity to oversee it. (The judge has granted a three-month stay pending the medical evaluation.)

The judge in Williams’s conservatorship case, Morrissey said, recently granted her a limited exemption to a broad sealing order for the purpose of clarifying the record following Williams’s claims about her and other allegations made on social media and in the press. When we spoke, Morrissey had a crisis communications professional and her own lawyer on the line as she tried to clear up an emerging narrative.

“Nobody’s saying that Wendy can’t leave a building,” Morrissey said, citing Williams’s two recent trips to Florida for her son’s college graduation and her father’s 94th birthday. “But that has become a thread that people pick up on.”

According to Morrissey, Williams’s cats were a bonded pair of siblings who were rehomed amid Williams’s moves between medical facilities. Williams’s current building only allows one cat per resident. Morrissey said that Williams didn’t want to split the pair, and that, when presented with an option to get a new single cat, she declined.

Williams was diagnosed by doctors at Weill Cornell Medical Center, according to one of Morrissey’s court filings, and ruled incapacitated by a judge. In general, Morrissey described her work in terms of its adherence to court orders, explaining that Williams’s living arrangements and level of care have flowed from medical recommendations. “It’s not something that I decided,” she said.

Despite the press appearances, Morrissey said Williams hasn’t seemed angry with her when they talk. They had spoken the night before our interview, and Morrissey said that they typically see each other a few times a month. She was even but firm about how she had been conducting her job and, under the circumstances, only intermittently defensive. She said that, in addition to showing that Williams hasn’t been emotionally abused, she felt compelled to address a more sweeping disparagement of the system in which she works—one that revolves, she noted, around difficult circumstances and decisions.

On the whole, Morrissey said, guardianships are often misunderstood. In her view, the aim is to maximize a person’s ability to make choices, at least within the boundaries of safety and bureaucratic constraint. “I had one woman who all she wanted to do is listen to Frank Sinatra,” she remembered. “If she said to me, I’m going to stand here and jump out the window, we wouldn’t let her do that.”

As the push to support Spears escalated, culminating in the end of her conservatorship in late 2021, advocates saw an opportunity for a broader reevaluation of guardianship practices. The director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Disability Rights Program, Zoe Brennan-Krohn, believes the mechanism should only be used as an absolute last resort, and wondered if any less restrictive options had been tried in Williams’s case.

Even if a guardian “started with the best of intentions,” Brennan-Krohn said, “it is very hard to come back from the real harm to your personhood that people feel when they are told it doesn't matter what you want.”

Healthcare attorney Harry Nelson has worked with several prescribing doctors whose celebrity patients died of opioid overdoses, including Michael Jackson and Prince. He said that observers of Williams’s case would be right to be troubled by what they’re seeing and hearing, and he identified what he sees as fundamental issues with the care relationships formed out of conservatorships.

“There’s an aspect of self-preservation and guardians inherently become conservators of their own.” Nelson said. “Obviously you don’t accept the responsibility without believing that you’re in an essential role.”

The most restrictive forms of guardianship, he added, tend to be the most straightforward for the conservator. “The safest way to prevent Wendy Williams from self-harm or from financial abuse is just to cut her off and effectively restrain her from doing anything.”

Like Spears’s and Bynes’s fans, Williams’s most devout acolytes have been studying the conversation around guardianships. Jarrius Adams, a 27-year-old Washington, DC–based attorney focused on voting rights, runs a small account on X, @FreeWendy2025, aimed at raising awareness about what he described to me as Morrissey’s failings.

Adams grew up watching The Wendy Williams Show, and in recent years, he said, “I realized that we’re seeing the exact same thing that happened to people who a lot of supporters got behind,” including Spears. He believes that Morrissey is retaliating against Williams for her outspokenness. While he and like-minded observers have not yet organized protests, he thought a tipping point could arrive with the recent uptick of attention.

Morrissey is white, and online backlash has sometimes emphasized the racial dynamic between her and a highly visible Black woman in her care. Adams specified that Morrissey’s behavior was not in keeping with the tenets that he learned at Howard University.

“I went to law school to help people and not take advantage of them,” Adams said. “When I think of Sabrina Morrissey, I think of people who are the opposite of me.”

“Can she speak?” Morrissey said, responding to some of the social media and tabloid chatter that highlighted Williams’s interview performances. “Yes, she’s a professional speaker.”

“But when I speak to her, and it’s not scripted and it’s not repetitive, do I see issues with her speech? Yes, I do, but the public isn’t having conversations with her the way I do.”

When she was assigned the case, Morrissey didn’t know much about Williams or the news surrounding her health decline. She said she wasn’t very familiar with Spears’s case either, and that her day-to-day work hadn’t changed in its aftermath. While she could imagine general instances of exploitation within the conservatorship structure, she said she’d have nothing to gain from restricting Williams’s movements, and that, given the level of judicial oversight, “If you wanted to take money or do something that wasn’t legal or proper, a guardianship would be the absolute wrong place to do it.”

Morrissey enjoys the practical and interpersonal challenges that accompany cases such as Williams’s. “As a guardian, you are a fiduciary,” she said. “I can’t let whatever happens in the public affect how I respond to her and how I continue to help her.”

Richard Seeger is a thrift store cashier in a suburb of Detroit. He has a degree in criminal justice, he told me, and alongside “#FreeWendy,” his bio on X includes American, pride, Israeli, and Ukrainian flags. He has designs on becoming a streamer and asked if I could include his handle, @Lion2Ya, in this story.

Seeger wasn’t sure that there was a villain in Williams’s case, apart from perhaps the law itself. “I understand that [Morrissey] is the lady who was court appointed and my notion is that maybe it’s kind of a hands-off approach,” he said, but he was also “getting the sense that maybe she isn’t fully within Wendy’s best interest.”

Another onlooker I spoke to struck a similarly ambivalent note. Valerie Connolly, a 43-year-old stay-at-home mother, grew up in Yonkers and, while not a hardcore fan, became familiar with Williams in her pre-television days as a New York City shock jock. She closely followed A$AP Rocky’s and Young Thug’s recent trials and views Williams’s case in the same vein of celebrity-justice matters.

Above all, Connolly found the situation sad. She also wanted to know more, and started poking around after Williams spoke out about her distress, even if the answers have been somewhat lacking. “There’s bits and pieces of it that I don’t understand completely,” Connolly said. “Maybe you’re never really going to know the why for certain things.”

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Wendy Williams, Her Guardian, and the Age of the Celebrity Conservatorship

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Wendy Williams

County begins ‘unprecedented’ forced care

• Conservatorship law changes in California for all counties 

By MARIJKE ROWLAND

For the second time in a year, Stanislaus County is a testing ground for sweeping changes to California mental health policy.

In January, Stanislaus became one of a handful of counties to begin implementing SB 43 a year earlier than required. The new law is aimed at curbing the state’s homelessness crisis, but could also increase the number of people forced into care against their will.

Passed in late 2023, the law adds to the state’s criteria for conservatorship, a kind of legal guardianship for people living with severe mental health disorders. The law expands the definition of “gravely disabled,” which was first set in the 1967 Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS) signed by then Gov. Ronald Reagan. That landmark legislation ended California’s practice of warehousing people with mental illnesses in state psychiatric facilities and instead set up criteria for who could be involuntarily committed for both short and long-term holds.

The “gravely disabled” threshold for conservatorship had previously required a corresponding mental health diagnosis, but SB 43 has now added “severe substance use disorder” and inability to provide for “personal safety or necessary medical care” as standalone criteria. Before, only those who could not provide for their own food, clothing and shelter could be placed in involuntary care.

The new broader definition was championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom along with a slate of other statewide mental health policy and funding shifts made to address homelessness, including Proposition 1 and CARE Court.

Stanislaus County implemented the latter, a new civil court division that can order those with untreated schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders into housing and treatment, a year before most other counties as part of its pilot program.

SB 43 is the first significant change to California conservatorship law in more than four decades. Getting county agencies on the same page took more than a year of monthly meetings with affected stakeholders, including law enforcement, medical staff and mental health professionals.

“This kind of LPS reform, which is unprecedented actually, affects almost all sectors,” said Bernardo Mora, medical director of Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. “Hospitals, health clinics, doctors’ offices, emergency services, law enforcement, the court system, DA, PD – I’m probably leaving somebody out.”

Stanislaus County supervisors were eager to implement the new law and agreed to move the deadline up a full year. The county is among four– including Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego – that deployed SB 43 this year. San Francisco and San Luis Obispo counties implemented it at the start of 2024. The remaining 52 counties have until January 2026.

Critics of SB 43 said broadening the “gravely disabled” definition has the potential to place many more people into forced conservatorship, which severely limits their civil liberties. Groups like Human Rights Watch and Disability Rights California also worry that involuntary holds would skyrocket across the state. 

But Mora said that has not played out in practice, so far. He said data from San Francisco and San Luis Obispo show an initial increase in 5150 holds, but that numbers leveled off by year’s end. 

State law allows 5150 holds, which can be initiated by law enforcement or medical and mental health professionals, if people meet one of three criteria: danger to themselves, danger to others or gravely disabled. The 72-hour holds are the first step to possibly longer term holds, including 14-day 5250 holds all the way to permanent conservatorship.

Local law enforcement officials also said they were not expecting a sharp increase in their 5150 holds because of the new criteria. Representatives from the Modesto Police Department, among other Valley agencies, were part of the county stakeholder meetings on SB 43 over the past year.

Modesto Police Lt. Michael Hammond said officers already regularly make in-the-field evaluations on 5150 holds and adding the substance abuse is another part of the criteria. 

“It’s one more tool in our tool belt, but then again it’s just an application for a hold, and we still have to take them to the hospital,” said Hammond. “They still have to be seen by medical staff and mental health staff, and so I don’t expect to see a rise in holds based on that.”

He said all patrol officers participated in two days of training on the new definitions, and received new forms for 5150 hold applications. 

Local health providers, including those who manage regional hospitals were also part of the county stakeholder meetings. A spokesperson for Sutter, which has a large footprint in Stanislaus County and operates Memorial Medical Center, said along with updated training and resources the organization has hired additional substance-use-treatment navigators for its emergency departments.

But Sutter officials said, based on early data, they also are not expecting an influx of new 5150 holds at the hospital. 

Mora said this is because, while the definition may have expanded, the most affected populations often already have a combination of both mental health disorders and substance abuse. 

“It’s actually very common to have both a behavioral health disorder and a (substance use) disorder,” said More. “The estimates are something around half of folks, if you have one, you have the other – and vice versa. So we’re already serving these folks.”

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County begins ‘unprecedented’ forced care

When Can a Probate Court Remove and Replace the Legal Guardian for an Adult?

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently answered these questions. In re Guardianship of AMS, No 372183, 2025 WL 452248 (Mich Ct App Feb 10, 2025) (unpublished).

AMS was married to Thomas, and she had two daughters, Theresa and Kristin. The daughters each petitioned for guardianship and nominated themselves to serve as guardian, but husband Thomas was appointed her guardian. Daughter Theresa filed a petition to modify the guardianship because she alleged Thomas as guardian was restricting access to her mother. In her petition, Theresa sought unrestricted access to her mother and did not ask for Thomas’s removal as guardian.

At the hearing on Theresa’s petition, the court removed Thomas as guardian and appointed a professional guardian. Thomas appealed.

The Court of Appeals addressed the procedural requirements before a probate court can remove a guardian. The probate court removed Thomas as guardian when there was not a pending petition asking the court to remove him. Rather, Theresa’s petition was asking the court for unrestricted access to AMS. Thomas argued that Michigan statute/EPIC, MCL 700.5311, has notice requirements for the removal of the guardian which include notice to the guardian as well as personal service of the petition seeking removal of the guardian on the ward (here AMS). Thomas argued he was never served with a petition seeking his removal as guardian (because that was outside the scope of what Theresa was asking of the court), and AMS was not personally served with Theresa’s petition (which was undisputed). The Court of Appeals reversed the probate court’s removal of Thomas as guardian because proper notice was not provided to Thomas or AMS.

The Court of Appeals also addressed the standard for removal of a guardian. “[T]o remove a guardian under MCL 700.5310, the probate court must find that the guardian is no longer suitable or willing to serve.” “[T]he EPIC thus makes clear that the guardian's focus of concern must be on the ward, that decisions made on behalf of the ward must be in the interests of the ward and not the guardian, and that the guardian must be qualified to achieve the purposes set forth in EPIC.” “[S]ince a suitable guardian is one who is qualified and able to provide for the ward's care, custody, and control, it logically follows that particularly relevant evidence would include (1) evidence on whether the guardian was still qualified and able, and (2) evidence on whether the guardian did, in fact, satisfactorily provide for the ward's care, custody, and control in the past.” (Internal quotations omitted.)

The Court of Appeals determined that the probate court had to conduct the above analysis and determine whether Thomas was suitable before removing him as guardian, and the probate court was ordered to do so on remand.

Finally, the Court of Appeals agreed with Thomas that the probate court could not appoint a professional guardian for AMS without first establishing that no other individuals with priority of appointment were either willing or able to serve as guardian. Michigan statute/EPIC provides the priority list for appointment as guardian at MCL 700.5313. The statutory scheme prioritizes the appointment of a family member over a professional guardian. Thus, even if there was a basis to remove Thomas as guardian on remand, the probate court would need to analyze whether Theresa or Kristin were suitable to serve as guardian if they remained interested in doing so before the court could appoint a professional guardian.

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When Can a Probate Court Remove and Replace the Legal Guardian for an Adult?

AARP Recognizes 193 Financial Organizations for Their Role in Fighting Financial Exploitation

WASHINGTON—Today, AARP announced that 193 banks, credit unions and financial advisory firms nationwide have earned the 2025 BankSafe Trained Seal in recognition of the steps they’ve taken to curb financial exploitation of older adults. This represents a 15% increase in the number of seal recipients since 2024. A list of the financial organizations that received the 2025 BankSafe Trained Seal can be found here.

A June 2023 AARP BankSafe report found that at least $28.3 billion a year is stolen from adults over the age of 60 in the U.S. This report underscores the importance of empowering financial organizations and their employees to recognize and act against financial exploitation.

“The tremendous growth in the number of financial organizations using AARP BankSafe shows just how valuable the initiative is to frontline workers across the nation,” said Jilenne Gunther, National Director of AARP’s BankSafe Initiative. “Not only do we have financial organizations coming back year after year to provide their staff with the BankSafe training, but more institutions continue to learn of its value. Our impact is growing exponentially as we provide more workers with the tools, skills and confidence to help prevent financial exploitation.”

AARP BankSafe includes a free online platform developed in collaboration with more than 2,000 industry professionals and used by nearly 250,000 frontline professionals to learn how to spot and stop financial exploitation.

Based on a Virginia Tech study, it is estimated that BankSafe-trained employees save customers 16 times more than frontline workers who don’t complete the training. Saving a record $137 million in 2024 – a 53% increase in dollars saved over the previous year – BankSafe has totaled more than $428 million in savings since its inception.

To earn the esteemed seal, organizations must ensure at least 80% of their frontline staff complete AARP's comprehensive BankSafe training annually, alongside actively pursuing policies to address suspected financial exploitation. Eligibility for the seal also requires a positive standing in Better Business Bureau ratings and adherence to specific legal and regulatory standards.

The BankSafe Trained Seal is not a product or service endorsement but indicates that a financial institution’s frontline employees have been substantially trained in financial exploitation prevention. Training courses for each respective industry are available at no cost to banks, credit unions and financial advisors in the United States.

More information about AARP’s BankSafe trainings and resources, including how to sign up for the training, can be found at aarp.org/banksafe.

Full Article & Source:
AARP Recognizes 193 Financial Organizations for Their Role in Fighting Financial Exploitation

Seymour teens start initiative to help elderly people with snow removal

Two 8th grade students are looking to make a difference in their community by starting the "Seymour Snow Brigade."

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Seymour teens start initiative to help elderly people with snow removal

BREAKING: ‘New chapter’ begins for Life Care Centers of America as judge gives permanent control to owner’s son

by James M. Berklan

A Tennessee judge has granted sole permanent oversight of long-term care icon Forrest Preston’s vast financial holdings to one of his sons, Aubrey Preston.

The centerpiece of the portfolio is the Life Care Centers of America nursing home chain, which comprises more than 200 facilities spread over 27 states, employing more than 30,000.

The gargantuan provider was deemed at risk after company executives raised alarms about Forrest Preston’s declining mental health and what was described as increasingly erratic behavior by his third wife, who had threatened Life Care leaders and was alleged in separate legal action initiated by Aubrey to have bilked the billionaire of tens of millions of dollars.

In a brief hearing in Bradley County Chancery Court Tuesday morning, Chancellor Jerri Bryant found that the 91-year-old Forrest Preston is disabled under state law and requires a conservator. His net worth has been estimated at $1.2 billion.

Attorneys gave brief opening statements, but there was no new evidence or testimony introduced. The judge’s formal, written order will be issued in the coming days. 

“We’re grateful that the court looked at the facts of the situation and determined that a conservatorship is the right course of action to protect my father,” said Aubrey Preston in a statement to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “This has been a difficult process, but it has always been about protecting Dad and helping him age with grace and dignity. This has also been about ensuring that Life Care and its sister company, Century Park, are protected for the future. We’ve got an outstanding management team, and they’ll have the support they need. Our family is fully committed to caring for Dad and providing stewardship for the businesses in the months and years ahead.” 

Life Care Centers President Todd Fletcher also issued an optimistic statement after the hearing’s outcome.

“As Life Care embarks on a new chapter, I’m honored to be part of this historic moment. Forrest Preston hired me in 1990, and for that I will always be grateful,” said Fletcher, one of Preston’s nephews. “On behalf of Life Care, Century Park, and our entire team of associates, we want to thank Aubrey Preston for his leadership and willingness to step in on behalf of his father. The future looks bright, and I look forward to working together with Aubrey to continue serving the mission and legacy that have made Life Care a leader in the industry.”

‘Unable to manage’ but ‘very much alert’

After court-ordered neurology exams, doctors found over the last few months that Forrest has “a moderate to severe cognitive condition that affects his ability to manage his own affairs, property, and healthcare needs” and that decision-making should be entirely transferred, according to a trial brief that Aubrey’s legal team filed last week.

“Forrest is, quite simply, unable to protect himself or manage his health decisions, unable to manage his personal financial decisions, and unable to manage the hundreds of business entities that comprise his business empire and he needs someone to protect him and manage his affairs,” it added.

Forrest Preston was in court and “very much alert and certainly understood the nature of the proceedings,” said his lawyer, William Horton, of Horton, Ballard & Pemberton PLLC. That made for mixed emotions.

“Any person who has, at that age, accomplished remarkable things, on his own, as sole owner, for years and decades and accomplished that much and is, I guess you might say, prideful of what he’s created, it’s hard for them to let go,” Horton told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “I would say he had some trepidation about it and reservations about it, but I think he accepts the end result and they’re the best results for the company and all concerned.

“Mr. Preston’s legacy and reputation and accomplishments were reserved with dignity, and the court was very complimentary of Mr. Preston,” Horton added.

Some claims settled

Aubrey Preston was granted temporary conservatorship in December after an emergency appeal prompted by behavior by Forrest’s wife, Kim Phuong Nguyen Preston, that Aubrey and company leaders called erratic, harmful and fraudulent.

After that Nov. 20, 2024, ruling, however, Kim stated in a recent legal filing that she would not object to Aubrey being named conservator if a court deemed it proper. 

The Vietnam native, who first came on the scene as a caregiver to Forrest’s now-deceased second wife, said in the same brief she wants to remain Forrest’s wife and caretaker, not conservator.

Attorneys agreed to a confidential settlement over Aubrey’s charges against Kim and her siblings’ alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars of Forest’s assets, Horton said Tuesday.

Aubrey Preston has owned and operated long-term care facilities for decades, though he has not worked directly for LCCA since serving as his father’s director of acquisitions as a young adult.

He described himself as a reluctant participant in the legal action who was compelled to act after hearing disturbing reports from company officers and others.

Among other endeavors, he is the founder and chairman of the Leiper’s Fork Foundation, where he is described as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and preservationist. He and his mother, Cora, Forrest’s first wife, were original land donors to conserve acreage in Leiper’s Fork through The Land Trust for Tennessee.

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BREAKING: ‘New chapter’ begins for Life Care Centers of America as judge gives permanent control to owner’s son

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[UPDATED] Sole Conservatorship Granted to Son of CEO of Nursing Home Giant Life Care Centers

By Zahida Siddiqi

Aubrey B. Preston will serve as the sole conservator for his father, Life Care Centers of America CEO and founder Forrest Preston, following a swift court decision Tuesday morning.

The trial in Bradley County Chancery Court was a short hearing, lasting about 30 minutes, according to sources present. And following statements from attorneys of various parties involved, Chancellor Jerri Bryant ruled that Aubrey, currently serving as the emergency conservator, would be the sole conservator for his father. 

Upon reviewing the documentation in the case, including health-related assessments filed under seal, Bryant found that Forrest Preston was disabled under Tennessee law and in need of a conservator. The written order will be issued at a later date.

“We’re grateful that the court looked at the facts of the situation and determined that a conservatorship is the right course of action to protect my father,” Aubrey Preston said in an email statement to Skilled Nursing News. “This has been a difficult process, but it has always been about protecting Dad and helping him age with grace and dignity. This has also been about ensuring that Life Care and its sister company, Century Park, are protected for the future.”

Life Care Centers and Century Park together have 20,000 patients and more than 30,000 employees across 200 skilled nursing facilities and other long-term settings in 27 states.

“We’ve got an outstanding management team, and they’ll have the support they need. Our family is fully committed to caring for Dad and providing stewardship for the businesses in the months and years ahead,” the younger Preston said.

In late November, a judge made Aubrey the emergency conservator on a limited basis for his 91-year old father. Court documents at the time described turmoil within the company related to the elder Preston’s alleged inability to make executive decisions, including related to crucial financial matters. During that time, Aubrey Preston was allowed to make decisions in consultation with Life Care Centers’ executive leaders.

Todd Fletcher, president Life Care Centers of America, applauded the court’s decision and thanked Aubrey for stepping in for his father in an email statement to Skilled Nursing News.

“As Life Care embarks on a new chapter, I’m honored to be part of this historic moment. Forrest Preston hired me in 1990, and for that I will always be grateful,” said Fletcher. “The future looks bright, and I look forward to working together with Aubrey to continue serving the mission and legacy that have made Life Care a leader in the industry.”

Aubrey’s precise corporate role and responsibilities at Life Care Centers will be discussed in the very near future, in consultation with Life Care’s board, according to sources familiar with the situation. In the past, Aubrey has closely worked alongside his father in overseeing the company’s real estate strategy. 

Forrest Preston founded Life Care Centers in 1970.

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[UPDATED] Sole Conservatorship Granted to Son of CEO of Nursing Home Giant Life Care Centers

She steals over $25,000 from her sick and fragile grandmother to gamble online.

Written by Tricia Richards

In a shocking case of elder abuse, a British woman has been found guilty of stealing over £21,000 from her vulnerable grandmother to fuel her online gambling addiction. This disturbing incident highlights the growing issue of financial exploitation of the elderly and the devastating consequences of gambling addiction.

Betrayal of trust: A granddaughter’s heinous act

Charlotte Kidd, a 30-year-old mother of four from England, was recently convicted of abusing her position as her grandmother’s legal guardian. Over a two-year period, from September 2020 to November 2022, Kidd systematically siphoned off her grandmother’s savings, amounting to approximately €26,000.

As the appointed caregiver, Kidd was entrusted with managing her grandmother’s finances, including paying for her nursing home expenses. However, she exploited this responsibility by using her grandmother’s bank card to fund her own lifestyle and gambling habits. The case has sent shockwaves through the local community and raised concerns about the vulnerability of elderly individuals to financial abuse.

This incident bears a stark contrast to other recent stories of generosity and kindness, such as the heartwarming tale of a family scammed by fake Disneyland tickets receiving an incredible Christmas gift from a mysterious donor. While some individuals go out of their way to help others, cases like Kidd’s serve as a sobering reminder of the darker side of human nature.

The allure of online gambling and its consequences

Kidd’s actions were primarily driven by her addiction to online gambling platforms. The ease of access and the promise of quick wins have made these digital casinos increasingly popular, but they also pose significant risks. In Kidd’s case, the addiction led her down a path of deceit and criminal behavior, ultimately tearing her family apart.

The court heard how Kidd used her grandmother’s money not only for gambling but also to cover her personal expenses, including rent, bills, and even school uniforms for her children. This pattern of behavior highlights the all-consuming nature of gambling addiction and its potential to override moral considerations and family loyalties.

While some individuals find themselves in dire straits due to circumstances beyond their control, as seen in the case of a delivery driver who received only a $2 tip, prompting a police officer to raise over $19,000 for him, Kidd’s situation was entirely self-inflicted. Her actions serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of addiction and the importance of seeking help before it’s too late.

The impact on the victim and the family

The emotional toll of Kidd’s betrayal on her grandmother has been profound. The elderly woman, already dealing with health issues and reduced autonomy, now faces additional stress and heartbreak. In her statement to the court, she expressed disbelief that a family member could commit such an act, saying, “This situation causes me a lot of stress… I can’t believe a member of my family could do this to me. It has deeply hurt me.”

The case has undoubtedly strained family relationships and trust. While some families come together in times of crisis, as seen in the story of a woman who rescued a dog chained outside for 13 years, Kidd’s actions have likely created irreparable rifts within her own family. 

The incident also raises questions about the adequacy of safeguards for vulnerable adults. Despite Kidd being the legal guardian, she was able to misuse her grandmother’s funds for an extended period without detection. This case underscores the need for better oversight and protection mechanisms for elderly individuals who rely on others for financial management.

Legal repercussions and societal implications

The Hull Crown Court, where Kidd’s trial took place, handed down a sentence that has sparked debate about the adequacy of punishments for elder abuse. Judge Alexander Menary noted the prolonged nature of the theft and Kidd’s apparent lack of remorse. Despite the severity of her actions, Kidd received a 20-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation to her grandmother.

This relatively lenient sentence has raised eyebrows and prompted discussions about whether the legal system is doing enough to deter such crimes. Some argue that stronger penalties are needed to protect vulnerable members of society and to send a clear message about the seriousness of elder abuse.

The case also highlights the need for increased awareness and education about the signs of financial exploitation. Just as the public was shocked by the tragic death of a tourist couple from tainted limoncello in Vietnam, society must be vigilant about the less visible but equally devastating effects of financial abuse on the elderly.

Addressing the root causes and prevention

While Kidd’s actions are inexcusable, her case points to broader issues that need addressing. The rise of online gambling and its accessibility pose significant risks, particularly to individuals with addictive tendencies. Stricter regulations and better support systems for those struggling with gambling addiction are crucial in preventing similar incidents in the future.

Moreover, the case underscores the importance of robust screening processes for those appointed as guardians or caregivers for vulnerable adults. Regular checks and balances could help detect and prevent long-term financial abuse. Financial institutions also have a role to play in identifying suspicious patterns of transactions that may indicate exploitation.

As society grapples with these issues, it’s worth noting that not all stories involving the elderly are tragic. Some, like the remarkable case of a woman found alive 52 years after her disappearance in the United Kingdom, remind us of the resilience and mysteries that surround human life. However, for every uplifting story, there are countless untold tales of abuse and neglect that demand our attention and action.

In conclusion, Charlotte Kidd’s case serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by the elderly and the devastating impact of addiction. It calls for a multifaceted approach involving legal reforms, better support systems, and increased societal awareness to protect our most vulnerable citizens. As we reflect on this troubling incident, we must strive to create a society where the elderly can live with dignity and security, free from the threat of exploitation by those they trust most.  

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She steals over $25,000 from her sick and fragile grandmother to gamble online.

Study: To Better Protect Elderly Rural Adults, Laws Need to Be Updated

According to research, the lack of definitional and legal clarity regarding instances of elderly abuse could be responsible for a large number of rural cases going unreported. 

by Liz Carey 

Experts say elder abuse in rural communities is a problem, but finding ways to solve it means clarifying how states define it and who should report it.

One in 10 older adults across the country reported experiencing some form of abuse during the previous year, according to a recent report from the National Center on Elder Abuse. For every single report of abuse, there are 24 incidents that may go unreported, the study claimed. 

Although research on elder abuse in rural communities is limited, there is some evidence that older adults living in rural and remote areas are at greater risk of abuse because of their geographic isolation, lack of support services, and poorer health.

Elder abuse encompasses physical, emotional/psychological, sexual, and financial abuse, as well as neglect and self-neglect,” a 2023 study by the RHRC stated. “There is some evidence that older adults living in rural and remote areas are at greater risk for abuse than their urban-dwelling counterparts. Some unique characteristics of rural America, including less densely populated communities, more geographic isolation, and scarce resources may conceal abuse, thereby inhibiting prevention and intervention. Rural older adults also tend to have less education and fewer financial resources, and are in poorer health than their urban counterparts, possibly creating barriers to leaving abusive situations.”

In order to protect older rural residents from elder abuse, the 2023 RHCR study argues, lawmakers first need to define what it is and who is responsible for reporting.

“These statutes also vary quite a bit by the age covered,” Alexis Swendener, a coauthor of the policy brief, said. “It’s not always the same. I saw anywhere from 50 to 70 (years old) defined as an older adult or senior adult. Some of the statutes were related to just any vulnerable adult, so a dependent adult would qualify and they weren’t age-defined. That was surprising to me that the protected population wasn’t necessarily based on age.”

The findings mean that policy makers need to be more clear on what elder abuse is and how state laws can and should protect older rural residents. Swendener said the differences make for difficult analysis and ineffective policymaking.

“As I was sifting through these statutes […] I was thinking about how the differences make it pretty difficult for us to know overall what the scope of the problem is,” she said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. 

“These state statutes – it’s not necessarily elder abuse that they’re talking about … and if we collected data on it, it’s not consistently about just older adults –  some of the laws are about vulnerable adults or dependent adults. Some of them have age defined in them and some of them don’t.”

The RHCR study initially aimed to find the differences between rural and urban elder abuse by looking at statistics of elder abuse across the country. What the researchers found was differences in every area, from who is mandated to report elder abuse to how elder abuse is defined.

The mere makeup of rural communities and their people may also affect how many victims of rural elder abuse there are reported, said Nels Holmgren, director of Aging and Adult Services in Utah. Speaking about what he sees in Utah, he noted that there may be more people in urban areas to report elder abuse, and there may be more older people in rural Utah who don’t want anyone to know they are being abused.

“I think, in some of our urban settings, there are more reporters, there are more people sometimes that have eyes on these situations. In our rural areas, there are simply fewer people to do that investigation,” Holmgren said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “Certainly in rural communities, there’s a real sense of rugged independence, and people are less likely to ask for help because partly they value their independence and do things on their own.”

Rural elder abuse and neglect are relatively high in rural areas, and screening and prevention are needed to protect against elder abuse, according to the National Institutes of Health. In a 2022 study of more than 10,000 rural older adults, an estimated seven percent reported physical abuse, five percent reported financial abuse, 17% reported psychological and emotional abuse and 26% reported neglect.

Swendener said her study looked at six different kinds of elder abuse – emotional abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and self-neglect. The study found that 72.2% of the most rural states, 55.6% of the somewhat rural states, and 66.7% of the least rural states clearly covered all six abuse types in their state statutes. Sexual abuse and self-neglect were the two areas of elder abuse least likely to be clearly mentioned, she said.

While about 1 in 10 older adults experiences some form of elder abuse nationwide, research on elder abuse in rural communities remains limited, according to researchers at the Rural Health Research Center at the University of Minnesota.

“The most common thing that we’re dealing with is self-neglect, but often if we can get to the people of self-neglect, those issues are often easier to resolve … and the person is usually in a better position afterward,” Holmgren said. “It’s disconcerting, the growth in financial exploitation. We’re also dealing with individuals closer to the person who are using the person’s funds inappropriately. I believe somewhere north of half of our cases are self-neglect.”

In July 2024, an elderly woman in Medina County, Ohio, was swindled out of $100,000. Marilyn Glauner, 81, said she got a phone call from someone who said they were with Publisher’s Clearinghouse and that she had won $8 million and a car. By the end of the phone call, she’d sent off three cashier’s checks totaling $100,000 and $3,000 in gift cards.

When her children found out that the money was missing, one of her sons called the police to help. Officials were able to stop two of the checks, but one of the checks had already been cashed.

Holmgren said one of the key elements in protecting rural seniors from elder abuse is reporting. The increased isolation some rural seniors experience can make that difficult. While senior services can get to older adults if they know there is a need, finding out that the adult needs help is the first step, he said.

”It’s harder for people that may not be on the radar of those agencies,” he said. “That’s the trickier part, especially in a rural area. There’s just fewer opportunities to interact. Once they know who they are and where they are and what they need, then I think (support agencies) are able to very effectively connect people.”

By defining the problem and how it is addressed, policy makers could increase awareness of elder abuse in rural communities and combat it at its source, Swendener said.

“Making folks aware of how to prevent elder abuse and keeping folks in contact with each other by increasing social support and reducing social isolation, especially for folks in rural areas, is a good start to addressing the problem,” she said.

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Study: To Better Protect Elderly Rural Adults, Laws Need to Be Updated

FBI arrests Florida man in fraud case, suspect to be charged in Missouri

A Florida man accused of participating in a fraudulent scheme that cost multiple victims more than $550,000 was arrested on Friday.

Michael P. Garcia, 36, of the Miami area, was indicted on December 18, 2024, in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Garcia and other conspirators contacted victims and made false claims to obtain cash or valuables. In one instance, they posed as representatives from a victim’s financial institution and falsely stated that the victim’s accounts had been compromised and used for illegal activity. The conspirators then convinced the victim to provide money to prevent further fraudulent activity. Couriers were sent to collect the victims’ valuables.

Garcia is accused of recruiting and compensating a courier who collected $20,000 in cash and gold bars from two victims in Brooklyn, New York, on October 30, 2023. Two days later, the same courier retrieved an additional $30,000 in cash, according to the indictment. In November 2023, Garcia allegedly directed the courier to Summerfield, North Carolina, to collect gold bars from another victim. That same month, the courier was sent to retrieve approximately $200,000 in gold bars from a 76-year-old victim in Fenton, Missouri, who had already provided the conspirators with $20,000 in cryptocurrency, the indictment states. The courier has since been arrested and charged.

Garcia is expected to be transported to St. Louis to face charges.

The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting it.

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FBI arrests Florida man in fraud case, suspect to be charged in Missouri

“It Is a Fake Will”: Late ‘American Pickers’ Host’s Will Dispute Takes a Shocking Turn

By Teguan Harris 

The dispute regarding the late American Pickers star’s will has now reached new heights. The U.S. Sun previously reported that Frank Fritz’s lawyer filed a “will prior to death” to “safe keep” the document in October 2023, and a certificate was issued for approval of the will on October 18 2024, after Fritz’s passing. However, Fritz’s father, Bill Fritz, claims to the publication that the will was fake.

The former American Pickers host passed away on September 30 after health complications from a stroke he had in 2022. Four months after his tragic passing, a friend of Frank's challenged his will and demanded a trial to determine Frank’s estate. With Bill’s claims that the will was fake, the challenge for his will is tougher. Frank’s father, Bill Fritz, expressed his concerns to The U.S. Sun: “It is a fake will. He did not have a will. He did not sign it. I am his only loved one. I am his only survivor. None of them are related to him. I am the only relation he has," Bill continued to raise skepticism towards other parties. “All the others are trying to get money. They are nothing but people who worked for him.”

The Late 'American Pickers' Star’s Father is Now Challenging The Will

Bill revealed to The U.S. Sun that he and his son were close, despite Frank’s friend’s claims that he was barely involved in his son’s life. Bill revealed that he and Frank would spend summers deep sea fishing at his home in Saint Thomas. He then tells the publication, “I am requesting the entire state.” The U.S. Sun reported that the late American Pickers star is estimated to have had a net worth of $6 million. His estate includes his fortune, his motorcycle collection, several rare antiques, and his $155,000 Iowa farmhouse.

According to a conversation between the Des Moines Register and Bill’s lawyer Cory Gourley, Bill was removed from “all access to Frank.” “They simply prevent Bill from having any contact with Frank whatsoever,” the lawyer claimed. “They don’t tell him where he is, they don’t tell him where they’re taking him, and they don’t even allow them to have phone contact.”

Frank Fritz’s Friend Fights Back Against Bill’s Claims

A source that is fighting to protect Frank’s estate from Bill dismisses Bill’s claims that the will was fake. “He’s asking for the whole estate. He wants the will to be thrown out so his money will go to the nearest relative, which is Bill,” the source revealed to The U.S. Sun.

“His father had very little to do with Frank. He only came to see Frank once when he suffered the stroke.”

The source then claims that they tried to get Bill involved in the guardianship, but he allegedly refused. “He could have come up at any time to declare him and didn’t,” the insider said, praising Frank’s “amazing friends” who took on the responsibility. "If there is no will, what is he contesting? Just because Bill is blood does not mean he has the right to take away Frank's last wishes." The source also disputes the claim that Bill was removed from access to Frank, stating, “It was not the responsibility of the guardian to contact Bill with any information in regards to where he was. His medical status andhis responsibilities were to Frank, not to Bill. We didn’t disregard Frank’s dad, he just rarely asked about him.”

Regarding Frank’s decision about his will, the source said, “he was making all decisions himself.” “It was the guardian’s responsibility to carry out Frank’s wishes, which I assure you he did. The courts have already accepted it. They just have to accept it again now." Bill’s lawyer Gourley revealed that he has “filed a petition on behalf of Frank’s family challenging the validity of that will.” ““We believe the evidence will ultimately show that the will is invalid for at least one if not multiple reasons,” he stated. “The case is relatively new and will now proceed to be litigated in District Court.” American Pickers airs on the History Channel.

Full Article & Source:
“It Is a Fake Will”: Late ‘American Pickers’ Host’s Will Dispute Takes a Shocking Turn

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