Steve Miller: More Damning Evidence Uncovered Against Private Guardian Jared E. Shafer

In August, 2009, private guardian Jared Shafer and his CPAs, Bruce Garnett and Shawn King, avoided criminal charges by secretly agreeing to pay back money Shafer converted from the accounts of his Clark County Family Court assigned "wards" into an immense Utah based Ponzi Scheme.

Even though Shafer and his CPAs were caught red handed by the US Security and Exchange Commission, they were not criminally charged and were allowed to continue handling the assets of wealthy wards of the court if they returned the money. But by that time, most of the bilked wards had died, and their heirs were never informed of the disposition of their loved one’s assets after required financial reports were allowed to go unfiled by the guardian because Family Court Judges William Voy, Charles Hoskin, and Hearing Master Jon Norheim regularly allowed the omission of financial reports when it involved Jared Shafer.

Interestingly, the public had no right to know this information based on the "Confidentiality" clause in the following Settlement Agreement obtained exclusively by INSIDE VEGAS. (The source of this information is protected under NRS 49.275, the Nevada Reporter's Shield Law.)

FULL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT signed by Shafer:

http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/ShaferPonzi%20Settlement%20Agreement.pdf

S.E.C. PRESS RELEASE:

BACKGROUND:

S.E.C. Complaint:  https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2008/comp20450.pdf

MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/ShaferFinancialRecords2.html

Source:
More Damning Evidence Uncovered Against Private Guardian Jared E. Shafer

Circuit Judge Mike Maggio Cuts Deal on Judicial Ethics Probe

Judge Mike Maggio

Circuit Judge Mike Maggio of Conway, who continues to draw more than $140,371 a year pay while not hearing any cases since the beginning of an ethics probe, has agreed to a settlement of his case before the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission.

In it, he admits violations of ethics rules and agrees never to seek office again as judge. He  will be able to be paid for the rest of this year, which means he can continue to accrue retirement benefits. But he'll be suspended from acting as judge. He's done as a judge.

Each additional year of service qualifies a judge for pay equal to 3.2 percent of the salary of the office at retirement. Maggio, 53, took office as circuit judge in 2001, appointed to a vacancy by Gov. Mike Huckabee. He was elected twice. A judge must be 65 to take retirement benefits unless 20 years have been served.

Here's the lengthy findings of violations and agreed punishment.
Multiple complaints were merged to produce some core findings of violations, all related to his prolific postings as "geauxjudge" on an LSU fan website, tigerdroppings:

* He breached confidentiality in the case of an adopting mother, actress Charlize Theron, by revealing she'd adopted a child in Faulkner County.

* He had misused social media to the detriment of the judiciary by comments easily traced to a sitting judge. Ironically, some included pronouncements on poor judicial behavior by others. Some of his comments were posted while he sat on the bench hearing cases.

* He tried to clean up the record — thus removing evidence — after the news broke.

* He made improper comments as a sitting judge. The volume of comments suggested more than a problem of taste and decorum, the report said. "It adds up to demonstrate someone who is unfit for the bench." The record included sex jokes about bipolar women; blow jobs as wedding gifts; incest references; referring to teenagers' sex with teachers as trophy hunting, and remarks about how women make divorce decisions on emotion rather than common sense. He made jokes about the names of black people and derogatory remarks about gay people and Mexicans. Pages 3-6 of the report are a mind-numbing illustration of Maggio's lack of fitness to serve.

Full Article and Source:
Mike Maggio Cuts Deal on Judicial Ethics Probe; Will Never be Judge Again

Judge Recommends Removal of Legal Guardian for Bret Bohn

An Anchorage judge is recommending the state terminate its legal guardianship over Bret Bohn, the 27-year-old Wasilla man who has been at the center of a medical custody battle between the state and his family.
 
Bohn, who is currently living in Idaho, spoke by telephone at his hearing today in an Anchorage courtroom. The media was not allowed to be present but his family and attorney spoke after the proceeding.

“I think all the parties have come to the agreement that Bret Bohn has regained capacity and he is now ready to re-enter society as the young man he was before he had a guardian placed over him last fall,” said Mario Bird, an attorney for Bohn’s parents.

Bohn was declared medically incapacitated a short time after he was admitted to Providence Alaska Medical Center last fall; first for insomnia, then for seizures.

The family clashed with hospital staff over medications given to their son.

A judge overrode his parent’s power of attorney and gave sole control over Bohn’s medical decisions to a paid public guardian.

Lorraine Phillips, Bohn’s mother, said she was looking forward to seeing her son soon and couldn’t be happier that he had regained his rights. She said her son is doing well and is able to make his own decisions, including whether he might seek legal redress over what happened to him.

Source:
Judge Recommends Removal of Legal Guardian for Bret Bohn

See Also:
Bret Bohn Case Puts Spotlight on Alaska State Guardian Program

Bret Bohn Case Puts Spotlight on Alaska State Guardian Program

A high-profile case involving the appointment of a state guardian for a 27-year-old Wasilla hunting guide hospitalized for nearly five months with a brain infection is getting attention from a well-known crusader against forced psychiatric drugging.

An Anchorage Superior Court judge last month appointed a state guardian to make medical and all other decisions for Bret Bohn at Providence Alaska Medical Center over the objections of his parents and other family members.

State officials couldn't release any information about the guardian assigned Bohn due to confidentiality restrictions.

It's pretty clear he or she is busy.

The state's adult guardians work with an average of 80 clients each, according to Elizabeth Russo, supervising attorney for the public guardian sector. In a hospital setting, they rely on national medical decision-making standards and try to make decisions based on what their clients would want.

A judge must assign a guardian, Russo said.

"You can't just walk into a room and say I'm now your guardian," she said. "The individual has due process rights that are taken into account. Courts don't make these decisions lightly."

But Jim Gottstein, an Anchorage attorney and co-founder of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights, said the Bohn case illustrates an "incestuous" relationship between the state and hospitals when it comes to the guardian process.

A guardian rarely, if ever, questions a hospital's decisions, he said.

Full Article and Source:
Wasilla Guide Case Puts Spotlight on State Guardian Program

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/03/08/3365083/wasilla-guide-case-puts-spotlight.html#storylink=cpy