David Furbush Indicted for Financially Exploiting Elderly Adult

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Date: January 28, 2025

Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella announces that the Strafford County Grand Jury has returned an indictment charging David Furbush, age 46, of Manchester, with one class A felony count of financial exploitation of an elderly adult.

The indictment alleges that between June 22, 2023, and March 15, 2024, Mr. Furbush served as trustee for an elderly adult (aged 60 or older) and, during that time, he took $1,500 or more in trust funds for his own profit or advantage. The indictment further alleges that the trust did not authorize Mr. Furbush to take these funds and that he breached his fiduciary obligations as trustee in doing so.

The allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and Mr. Furbush is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Mr. Furbush is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in the Strafford County Superior Court on February 4, 2025, at 12:30 p.m.

This matter was investigated by Calice Couchman-Ducey of the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit, with assistance from the Lee Police Department and the Bureau of Adult and Aging Services.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant Attorney General Bryan J. Townsend, II, of the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of elder abuse or financial exploitation, please contact your local police department or the Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Adult and Aging Services (1-800-949-0470). 

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David Furbush Indicted for Financially Exploiting Elderly Adult

Franklin County business owner faces charges of financial exploitation

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has announced that a grand jury in Franklin County has returned charges against Daniel E. Harrison, 40, for allegedly defrauding consumers through his business, Extreame Lawn and Landscape. Harrison faces three counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person and three counts of deceptive business practices.

“As Attorney General, I will always hold accountable those who target innocent Missourians,” said Attorney General Bailey. “We will continue to work around the clock to obtain justice for any Missourian who has been ripped off.”

The charges allege that between February 2022 and August 2022, Harrison’s business falsely promised to engage in home and business renovations for consumers in exchange for upfront payments. Once paid, Harrison either abandoned the projects after performing negligible work or without completing any work or delivering any materials.

The case is being prosecuted and investigated by the Attorney General’s Office.

Consumers who believe they may have been scammed by a contractor should file a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office by calling the Consumer Protection hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or by submitting a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.

Attorney General Bailey reminds the public that charges against Harrison are allegations and, as in all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.

The indictment can be viewed here.

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Franklin County business owner faces charges of financial exploitation

Five individuals, including local probate judge, charged for roles in stealing valuable sports cards and firearms collections from estate

Published on Friday, July 28, 2023

An indictment, information, or complaint is merely an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and the Rhode Island State Police today announced that the Statewide Grand Jury returned an indictment charging five individuals, including a local probate judge, for their roles in the alleged theft of valuable sports cards and firearms collections from the estate of a deceased Cranston man.

On July 26, 2023, the statewide grand jury returned sealed indictments charging Sylvia Santilli (age 71), Luke Baughman (age 37), Jillian Chatelle (age 32), James Connors (age 69), and Priscilla Facha DiMaio (age 65) with various crimes related to the theft of valuable property from the estate of the late James Barbieri. The estate included collections of sports cards with an estimated value of more than $1 million and firearms worth more than $100,000. Ms. DiMaio is a probate judge in the town of Johnston.

The indictment was unsealed on July 27, 2023, at the arraignments of Sylvia Santilli, Jillian Chatelle, and James Connors in Providence Superior Court. Luke Baughman and Priscilla Facha DiMaio are scheduled to be arraigned on July 31 and August 2, respectively.

As alleged in the indictment, James Barbieri passed away on April 26, 2021, at Rhode Island Hospital and did so without a will. During the final days of his life, Mr. Barbieri was sedated and intubated. Two days prior to his passing, it is alleged Sylvia Santilli, a close friend of Mr. Barbieri, began to remove items from his home without lawful claim or authority to do so.

It is further alleged that on the day of Mr. Barbieri’s passing, Ms. Santilli, her daughter Jillian Chatelle, and Ms. Chatelle’s boyfriend Luke Baughman, conducted internet searches regarding market rates for sports cards contained in Mr. Barbieri’s collection. It is alleged the following day the co-defendants unlawfully removed sports cards and other items from the estate. It is alleged they later sold a portion of the collection, sought buyers for the collection, and transported the goods to a storage unit for later sale.

Separately, it is alleged that James Connors, owner of Jim’s Firearm Repair and Sales in Johnston, received and eventually sold firearms unlawfully removed from Mr. Barbieri’s estate. It is alleged that in response to a probate court subpoena, Connors knowingly submitted a false accounting and receipts of the firearms sold and their approximate value. It is alleged that Connors sold multiple firearms for more than the value of firearms that he reported to the Cranston Probate Court.

Additionally, it is alleged Priscilla Facha DiMaio filed with the Cranston Probate Court an Application for Approval of Fiduciary’s and Attorney’s Fees for work that she claimed to have performed for the Barbieri Estate for services on the following dates: May 8, May 9, May 12, May 15, and May 21, 2021. These claims are alleged to be substantially false.

 

Charges:

Sylvia Santilli (P1-2023-2568A) has been charged with one count of entering a dwelling to commit larceny, two counts of larceny over $1,500, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses, and one count of conspiracy to commit larceny.

Luke Baughman (P1-2023-2568B) has been charged with one count of receiving stolen goods over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of larceny over $1,500 and one count of conspiracy to commit larceny.

Jillian Chatelle (P1-2023-2568C) was charged with one count of receiving stolen goods over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, and one count of conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses.

Priscilla DiMaio (P1-2023-2568D) was charged with one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, and one count of providing a false document to a public official.

James Connors (P1-2023-2568E) was charged with one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of unlawful appropriation over $1,000, and three counts of providing a false document to a public official.

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Source:
Five individuals, including local probate judge, charged for roles in stealing valuable sports cards and firearms collections from estate

Attorney and wife accused of exploiting vulnerable adults

By DAVE THOMPSON

Allegations of theft and misconduct against a local attorney now charged with exploitation stretch back at least 17 years, to before the earliest cases for which he was recently charged, court documents show.

Kenneth Anderson, of McCracken County, who has frequently been appointed as a guardian in cases of disabled persons, was indicted Friday on a total of 31 counts of stealing from and exploiting adults as far back as 2006.

But in a federal lawsuit filed in 2007 and dismissed on technical and jurisdictional grounds, a veteran argued Anderson stole tens of thousands of dollars from his military pension when Anderson served as the man’s guardian between 2002 and 2005.

Anderson and his wife, Gina Anderson, were both indicted Friday in McCracken County, on 25 counts of knowing exploitation of an adult of more than $300, five counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property over $10,000 and one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of property over $1,000 but less than $10,000.

The two are scheduled to appear Dec. 22 in McCracken County Circuit Court.

Kenneth Anderson also currently faces a criminal charge in Ballard County of abuse or neglect of an adult. A pretrial conference is scheduled in that case for March.

Among the initials and timeframes specified in the McCracken indictment, Anderson does not appear to be charged with the offenses alleged by Joe Browder, who filed the federal lawsuit against Anderson and others.

Browder, who was incarcerated at the time, alleged in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Paducah, that Anderson, while serving as payee for Browder’s accounts, had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from Browder and falsified paperwork to cover his tracks. Browder also claimed that he had been found incompetent and appointed a guardian wrongfully.

Browder alleged in the suit that Anderson stole more than $36,000 in 2005 alone, in part by misrepresenting property purchases and life insurance payments.

Browder claimed the thefts represented civil rights violations, as well as violations of state law, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Hate Crimes Act.

Browder claimed in the lawsuit that he first noticed a problem when his Veterans Affairs pension payments started coming sporadically to the Daviess County Detention Center.

A letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs filed as evidence in the case, which came in response to Browder’s request for a change in fiduciary, claims that Anderson “has performed his functions on your behalf in a proper manner,” and determined a change in fiduciary was not warranted. Browder claimed Anderson had given the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Kentucky Bar Association false information related to the complaint.

The lawsuit was dismissed due to the determination that Browder didn’t state a claim for which the court could grant relief.

Anderson in his voicemail message refers to himself as “public guardian for the Western District of Kentucky.” Statutes governing the appointment of conservators or guardians allow “any suitable person or any entity, public or private, capable of conducting an active guardianship or conservatorship program” to be appointed when a person has been declared disabled.

Though administrators are appointed by local courts, U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell said in his opinion ordering the lawsuit dismissed that most courts have “found that guardians are not state actors … because they are acting in the interests of an individual and not the state.”

Russell said the U.S. Constitution “does not apply to the conduct of private persons; it applies to conduct by the government.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit declined to hear Browder’s appeal.

The Office of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron investigated the McCracken criminal case, and is handling the prosecution.

Cameron’s office declined to comment on the investigation.

Anderson did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday. 

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Attorney and wife accused of exploiting vulnerable adults

Man from Russellville charged with financial exploitation of an elderly family member

by: Kait Newsum

COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A Russellville man was arrested on a grand jury indictment for charges of financial exploitation.

35-year-old Justin Mayfield was arrested on June 30 following an indictment from March 2022, charging him with exploiting $47,807 from an elderly family member.

According to court documents, a grand jury returned the indictment last week, resulting in a warrant being issued for Mayfield’s arrest.

Justin Mayfield
(Colbert Co. Sheriff’s Office)

Mayfield was taken into custody and placed on a $15,000 bond.

Online court records show an arraignment has been scheduled for September 8 at the Colbert County Courthouse.

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Man from Russellville charged with financial exploitation of an elderly family member

U.S. Attorney Announces Indictment Of Georgia Man For Laundering Proceeds From Fraud Schemes Perpetrated By Nigeria-Based Criminal Enterprise

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of New York

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 30, 2022

 

U.S. Attorney Announces Indictment Of Georgia Man For Laundering Proceeds From Fraud Schemes Perpetrated By Nigeria-Based Criminal Enterprise 

Defendant Controlled at Least 15 Bank Accounts With Deposits Totaling Over $8 Million, Which Primarily Consisted of Proceeds of Fraud Schemes

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Patrick Freaney, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service (“USSS”), announced the indictment of UWEMEDIMO UMOREN in connection with his role in a fraud and money laundering conspiracy based in Nigeria, involving the theft of millions of dollars from victims across the United States.  UMOREN was previously arrested in Georgia on December 17, 2021.  

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Uwemedimo Umoren, as alleged, was a member of a multimillion-dollar fraud enterprise built on the cruel exploitation of elder adults. Among other tactics, members of Umoren’s prolific fraud scheme posed as romantic interests to their victims, with the sole purpose of syphoning their bank accounts. We thank our outstanding law enforcement partners at the United States Secret Service for their continued vigilance in the effort to protect elder Americans from fraud.”      

Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge Patrick Freaney said:  “As alleged, the defendant participated in multiple fraud schemes, including romance and investment scams that targeted some of our most vulnerable community members, the elderly.  While the defendant in this case will answer the charges brought against him in the Southern District of New York, the threat posed by those who seek to financially victimize the elderly persists.  Although elder fraud endures, the U.S. Secret Service remains vigilant in identifying and investigating those who wish to defraud the elder population out of their retirements and savings.”

According to allegations in the criminal complaint and the indictment filed against UMOREN:[1]

From at least in or about 2016 through at least in or about December 2021, the defendant was a member of a criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”) based in Nigeria that committed a series of business email compromises and investment and romance scams against individuals and businesses located across the United States.  The objective of the Enterprise’s business email compromise fraud scheme was to trick and deceive businesses and individuals into wiring funds into accounts controlled by the Enterprise through the use of email accounts that “spoofed” or impersonated employees of a victim company or third parties engaged in business with a victim company.  The Enterprise conducted the investment scams by contacting victims by phone and email regarding purported investment opportunities that the members of the Enterprise said could generate millions of dollars in returns.  Finally, the Enterprise conducted the romance scams by using electronic messages sent via email, text messaging, or online dating websites that deluded victims, many of whom were vulnerable older men and women who lived alone, into believing the victim was in a romantic relationship with a fake identity assumed by members of the Enterprise.  Once members of the Enterprise had gained the trust of the victims, they used false pretenses to cause the victims to transfer money to bank accounts controlled by members of the Enterprise.

UMOREN received fraud proceeds from victims of the Enterprise in more than a dozen business bank accounts that he controlled in Georgia.  The business bank accounts were opened in the names of companies formed by the defendant that were purportedly involved in, among other things, automobile sales and health care.  From in or about 2016 through at least in or about December 2021, UMOREN controlled at least 15 bank accounts that received deposits totaling over approximately $8 million. 

Once UMOREN received fraud proceeds in bank accounts under his control, he withdrew, transported, and laundered those fraud proceeds to other members of the Enterprise abroad.  The defendant laundered the fraud proceeds through his businesses by, among other things, using the proceeds to purchase automobiles and other goods from U.S.-based suppliers and distributors of such products and shipping those products to Nigeria and elsewhere.  The defendant’s transactions had the appearance of legitimate business transactions when, in fact, the products had been purchased using the proceeds of fraud schemes.  This trade-based money laundering scheme was designed to obscure the origin of the fraud proceeds as well as the identity of the ultimate beneficiaries of these schemes. 

*                      *                      *

UWEMEDIMO UMOREN, 60, of Hoschton, Georgia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to receive stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the USSS.  Mr. Williams also thanked the USSS Field Office in Atlanta, Georgia, for its assistance in the investigation of this case.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorney Juliana N. Murray is in charge of the prosecution.

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[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the Complaint and Indictment and the description of the Complaint and Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

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U.S. Attorney Announces Indictment Of Georgia Man For Laundering Proceeds From Fraud Schemes Perpetrated By Nigeria-Based Criminal Enterprise

Indictment: Ex-judge stole cash from client

YOUNGSTOWN — Former Mahoning County Judge Diane Vettori-Caraballo of Youngstown was accused in an indictment Thursday of stealing between $100,200 and $328,000 in cash that was in the home of a client when the client died in March 2016.

A Mahoning County grand jury handed up indictments against Vettori-Caraballo on charges of mail fraud, structuring cash deposits and making false statements to law enforcement. Vettori-Caraballo, 50, and her husband, Ismael Caraballo, 60, were also charged with one count of filing a false tax return.

In her private practice, Vettori-Caraballo provided estate planning services to Robert Sampson, including drafting his will, according to the indictment. On Nov. 20, 2015, Vettori-Caraballo filed an application in Mahoning County Probate Court to administer Sampson’s estate. The application stated Sampson died without a will.

The probate court, unaware of Sampson’s will, appointed his sister, Dolores Falgiani, as the administrator three days later, according to the indictment.

Vettori-Caraballo had also prepared Falgiani’s will, according to the indictment. The will made 16 bequests to relatives and friends and bequeathed the rest of the estate to Animal Charity Human Society of Boardman and the Angels for Animal Charity in Canfield, according to the indictment.

Sometime in October or November 2015, Falgiani told Vettori-Caraballo that she had several shoeboxes of cash stored at her residence, the indictment states.

Falgiani was found dead in her home on March 10, 2016, according to the indictment. Vettori-Caraballo filed an application two weeks later in Mahoning County Probate Court to probate Falgiani’s estate.

On May 2, she reported having found $20,000 in cash in the residence and depositing it into the estate, according to the indictment. She filed a notice of newly discovered assets with the court on several subsequent occasions in 2016 and 2017.

However, the amounts were not what she actually found, according to the indictment. Investigators said she made 22 deposits in her name into five banks within four weeks to avoid regulations that require banks to report cash transactions over $10,000 to the IRS, the indictment states.

The information charges that Vettori-Caraballo lied to the FBI when she was confronted about the theft and the structuring of cash deposits.

Vettori-Caraballo was elected to position of judge in Mahoning County Court 3, Sebring Court, in 2002, with jurisdiction over misdemeanor criminal and traffic charges and other matters in Sebring and Beloit Villages and Berlin, Green, Goshen, Ellsworth, Smith and Washingtonville Townships. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2012, according to the indictment.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian M. McDonough and Alex Abreu.

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Indictment: Ex-judge stole cash from client

Butler faces 28 counts

Former senior living director indicted on fraud, drug charges

 

Former owner of Senior Lifestyles, Stephanie Butler, has been indicted on 28 charges by the Putnam County Grand Jury.

The indictment also lists Brian Fitzhugh Richey, a licensed nurse practitioner. Richey turned himself into the Putnam County Jail this morning.

According to a release from District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, the investigation began in February, following multiple reports of criminal behavior.

Butler faces charges of conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud, obtaining controlled substance by fraud, conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable adult, financial exploitation, 11 counts of financial exploitation (A only), theft over $2,500 (A only), 4 counts of identity theft, 6 counts of money laundering and tampering with evidence.

According to the indictments, Butler obtained or acquired possession of residents' controlled substance medication by misrepresenting that the medication would be destroyed.

The count of committing financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable adult reportedly happened between December 2017 until May 2018, when Senior Lifestyles was initially raided by TBI agents.

Charges date back to 2016, alleging that Butler reportedly deprived patients of property, medication and knowingly financially exploited them while acting as their caregiver.

Butler also reportedly violated the Identity Theft Victim's Rights Act of 2004, and used, possessed, bought or obtained the personal information of numerous patients. After knowing an investigation was pending, Butler reportedly destoyed or concealed prescription medication packages.

The investigation discovered a total of 16 victims. Butler is now in the Putnam County Jail with a $150,000 bond.

Richey has charges of conspiracy to obtain controlled substance, obtaining controlled substances by fraud, conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable adult and financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable adult.

According to the indictment, Richey used his professional license as a way to provide and prescribe excessive amounts of controlled substances. Richey also reportedly prescribed victims controlled substances to numerous residents at Senior Lifestyles.

Richey reportedly became aware that Butler was diverting medication from patients and did not act to intervene, and continued to prescribe controlled substances.

Butler, on at least one occasion, provided Richey with controlled substances, from a resident of Senior Lifestyles, for his personal use.

Richey had a bond of $40,000.

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Butler faces 28 counts

Indictment charges Decatur doctor, Ed Henry with kickbacks and bribery

Rep. Ed Henry

Doctors in Decatur and Huntsville were charged with participating in a bribery and kickback scheme, and additional charges were filed against state Rep. Ed Henry in a federal indictment filed last week.

The Hartselle lawmaker was originally indicted May 31 for allegedly engaging in a conspiracy with a Montgomery doctor, Gilberto Sanchez, to defraud Medicare. The superseding indictment filed last week alleges he engaged in similar conspiracies with Dr. Punuru Reddy of Decatur and Dr. Nicole Scruggs of Huntsville.

Henry’s lawyer said prosecutors filed the new indictment to put pressure on his client.

“By adding the two new defendants into Ed’s case, they hope that one or both will succumb to the pressure and then become witnesses for the prosecution,” Birmingham lawyer Max Pulliam said.

Reddy and Scruggs, who did not return calls Tuesday, have not filed responses to the superseding indictment. Henry pleaded not guilty to the original indictment and has filed motions seeking to dismiss it.

Sanchez, who pleaded guilty to drug distribution, health care fraud and money laundering charges in November, is not named as a defendant in the indictment.

“In an effort to apply additional pressure to Ed Henry, the government has charged two additional citizens with being partners in crime with Ed,” Pulliam said. “These citizens practice medicine in Decatur and Huntsville, and neither has any relationship with Sanchez, the real criminal. Like Ed, these citizens helped people get the health care they needed and saved the taxpayers money.”

Henry's business, MyPractice24 Inc., provided chronic care management for the patients of doctors who contracted with the company. Chronic care management involves coordinating medical care and billing issues for Medicare patients with two or more serious health conditions.

Henry entered into an agreement to provide chronic care management services to Reddy’s Medicare patients at a rate of $22.65 per month in August 2015, according to the indictment. Consistent with Medicare regulations, the doctor would bill Medicare for the services, and Henry’s company would invoice the doctor.

Because chronic care management involves no face-to-face time with a doctor, and is handled primarily by telephone calls between the patient and a non-physician, the indictment indicates many patients would reject the service if they were required to pay their own money, either through the 20 percent co-pay amount or if their deductible had not been met.

“Henry assured Reddy that a physician could ‘write off’ a co-pay obligation if a patient refused to pay,” according to the indictment. “Henry said that to do so, all that Reddy would need to do would be to write ‘financial distress’ on the patient’s bill.”

Henry instructed Reddy that he should refrain from submitting reimbursement claims to Medicare until well after the beginning of the year “so as to allow patients to pay their annual deductibles on other services,” according to the indictment. To facilitate this, the indictment alleges, Henry agreed to delay invoicing Reddy until after the doctor had received reimbursement from Medicare.

Reddy began sending bills for the co-pay amounts on the chronic care management services soon after entering into the agreement with Henry, but patients resisted. “The patients stated that they did not wish to pay out-of-pocket for a service that did not include seeing or speaking to a physician,” according to the indictment.

Reddy instructed his front desk staff to waive the co-pay amount, typically $8, on services provided by Henry’s company anytime a patient complained about the charge, according to the indictment. He initially signed each waiver. He eventually “grew tired of signing co-pay waiver documentation forms,” according to the indictment, and had his staff use his signature stamp to waive the co-pays of patients who complained.

Non-routine waivers of Medicare co-pays are not considered kickbacks, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, but doctors who routinely waive co-pays with the intent of attracting patients violate the federal anti-kickback law.

Pursuant to Henry’s instructions, Reddy also refrained from submitting claims to Medicare for chronic care management services provided from January 2017 until May of that year, according to the indictment, thus increasing the likelihood the patients’ deductibles already had been met. Henry’s company delayed submitting invoices to Reddy for those months until June 2017, when he sent combined invoices for $31,137, the indictment claims.

The allegations concerning Henry’s interactions with Scruggs are similar, although in Scruggs' case the indictment claims Henry bribed her by hiring an employee to work in her office at no cost to the doctor.

“MyPractice24 would pay the entirety of the employee’s salary,” according to the indictment. “Nevertheless, Henry advised Scruggs that Scruggs would be permitted to use the MyPractice24 employee to perform clinical work not related to chronic care management.”

The employee “spent significant amounts of time doing work at Scruggs’ direction that was unrelated to chronic care management,” the indictment alleges. “Henry knew that the employee was doing so.”

Henry also paid an employee at Sanchez’s office, according to the original and superseding indictments. In that case, Henry initially paid the employee $1 per referral, leading to monthly kickback payments of hundreds of dollars, according to the indictment. He later hired her and had her provide chronic care management services for Sanchez’s patients while also providing services for Sanchez, according to the indictment.

According to Alabama Secretary of State records, Henry incorporated MyPractice24 in July 2015, shortly after Medicare guidelines were changed to allow reimbursement of chronic care management services. The indictment alleges his partner in the venture was a Decatur resident identified only as “G.C.” According to Secretary of State records, Greg Cheatham is a director of MyPractice24. A call to Cheatham’s office was not returned.

A call to Reddy’s practice was not returned Tuesday. A voicemail option for patients calling his office for chronic care management was not operational. His lawyer, Anthony Joseph of Birmingham, did not return a call late Tuesday.

Scruggs did not return a call to her practice, Legacy Medical Care LLC.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners database shows no restrictions on either Reddy’s or Scrugg’s medical licenses and reflects no public reprimands or disciplinary actions.

“Ed paid no kickbacks to anyone and like Ed, these citizens are guilty of no crimes,” Pulliam said.

Sanchez’s medical license was surrendered Dec. 31, 2017, while he was under investigation by the board, according to the database.

Henry’s arraignment on the superseding indictment is scheduled in Montgomery for Aug. 8 before U.S. District Judge Wallace Capel Jr. A pretrial conference in Henry’s case is scheduled the following day.

Henry announced early in 2017 he would not seek a third term this year. He is still the state representative, earning $1,927 every two weeks.

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Indictment charges Decatur doctor, Ed Henry with kickbacks and bribery

Grand jury indicts woman in elder abuse case

A Maury County woman was arrested this month after allegedly abusing her elderly parent in a Mt. Pleasant nursing home.

At the request of Adult Protective Services and the Mt. Pleasant Police Department, TBI agents with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated a complaint of exploitation of an adult at a nursing home in Mt. Pleasant.

During the course of the investigation, agents learned that Jessica Woods, 33, the daughter of a resident there, allegedly misappropriated more than $17,000 of her father’s money, from August 2015 through August 2016.

The investigation revealed that Woods eventually removed her father from the nursing home, leaving more than $26,000 of unpaid bills.

On Aug. 1, the Maury County grand jury returned indictments charging Woods with one count of theft of services and one count of willful abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Woods, a native of Indianapolis, was arrested on Aug. 3, and booked into the Maury County Jail on charges of willful neglect and abuse of an adult and theft in services over $10,000 She has since been released after posting a $10,000 bond.

According to a 2016 segment form Nashville Public Television, there are more than 5 million elder abuse victims in the United States, more than the combined total of child abuse victims and domestic violence victims.

The Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability calls elder a abuse a growing problem in the the state.

The National Center on Elder Abuse, or NCEA, defines elder abuse as “intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or ‘trusted’ individual that lead to, or may lead to, harm of a vulnerable elder.”

Physical abuse, neglect, emotional or psychological abuse, financial abuse and exploitation, sexual abuse and abandonment are considered forms of elder abuse. In many states, self-neglect is also considered mistreatment.

Younger adults with disabilities may qualify for the same services and protections.

Recent incidents

In July, state officials halted admissions to Westmoreland Health and Rehabilitation Center, one of the biggest nursing homes in Knoxville, after an investigation concluded that a bedridden dementia patient fractured both her knees in a fall, but was left in agony and untreated for more than a week, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The home must also pay $30,000 in penalties and will now be observed by a state appointed monitor, according to a report from the Knoxville News Sentinel.

During the incident, which occurred in November, the unidentified patient fractured her knees while falling out of bed in front of a nurse assistant, and complained of “intense pain,” according to state records.

The records indicate it took the nursing home five days to perform an X-ray, and another four days before the patient was seen by a doctor.

After the patient was sent to a hospital for surgery, she died a month later.

In August, a Morristown man was charged with aggravated elder abuse in what was described as the alleged suspect’s horrific neglect of his 92-year-old grandfather, The Citizen Tribune reported.

According to the Morristown Police Department, first responders found Elbert C. Williams stuck to a couch,” covered in feces and open wounds, and suffering from dehydration.

The primary caregiver, Matthew Allen McReynolds, 24, was arrested for the incident and jailed for failing to appear in court.

Reporting abuse

If elder abuse is suspected, the state urges the public to contact the the Adult Protective Services which investigates reports of abuse, neglect (including self-neglect) or financial exploitation of adults who are unable to protect themselves due to a physical or mental limitation.

The APS can by contacted by phone at 1-(888)-APS-TENN or 1-(888) 277-8366.

Reports can also be submitted online at https://reportadultabuse.dhs.tn.gov/, using a form provided by the Department of Human Services.

Additionally, those with suspicions, or who want to verify that a person isn’t already on record, can visit the Tennessee Department of Health’s Abuse Registry to search by name or social security number.

Knoxville and Memphis both host what are known as Family Justice Centers, places where victims of domestic violence and abuse can find the resources they need from police, lawyers, medical assistance, planning and safe options to relocate.

In 2013, Chattanooga, Cookeville, and Nashville were awarded funding to create their own Family Justice Centers. In Nashville, The Jean Crowe Advocacy Center is located at 100 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 114, Nashville, TN 37201. Operating hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center’s 24-hour hotline is (615) 862-4767. The center can also be reached for non-emergencies by fax at (615) 862-4768 or email at jeancroweadvocacycenter@nashville.gov.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services’ Adult Protective Services unit is currently partnering with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Tennessee Vulnerable Adult Coalition, or TVAC, to help raise awareness and stop elder abuse.

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Grand jury indicts woman in elder abuse case

Indictment returned in case of elderly Augusta man found in meth home

A 16-count indictment was returned by the Richmond County grand jury Tuesday in the case of an 88-year-old man found in frail condition in a dirty house reeking of methamphetamine.

The indictment names Julia Squires Hunter, 16, John Arden Unger, 49, and Grace Marie McCarthy. Hunter, who was entrusted to care for the elderly Augusta man, is named in the most counts of exploitation and neglect of an elderly person as well as possession of methamphetamine and oxycodone.

Unger is named in two counts of exploitation and two counts of neglect as well as fraudulent use of the victim’s credit cards. McCarthy is named in only one count of exploitation.

Neighbors alerted a family member because of suspicions something wasn’t right at the home of the victim, a retired medical school professor. According to an earlier report in The Augusta Chronicle, Richmond County sheriff’s Investigator Carol Romero found the victim to be frail and having trouble breathing on Christmas Eve. The smell of cooking methamphetamine was strong, and the house was dirty, cluttered and in disarray. Rotting food was on the kitchen counters and a number of lights did not work.

Romero testified at a hearing in February that the victim’s family had the house tested for methamphetamine, and the results were so high the house was uninhabitable unless specially cleaned.

Full Article & Source:
Indictment returned in case of elderly Augusta man found in meth home

Former NY Judge Pleads Guilty to Scamming Millions From Estate

A former Capital Region town justice and lawyer pleaded guilty on Monday to working with a financial adviser to bilk about $11.8 million from trust funds that they were responsible for overseeing.

Former Town of Guilderland Justice Richard Sherwood agreed to resign from the bench in April, pleaded guilty to federal money laundering and tax crime charges and a state charge second-degree grand larceny, a class C felony, according to news releases from the New York Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

He faces between three and 10 years in prison on the state charge and up to 20 years in prison on the federal charges, the releases stated.

According to court papers, Sherwood and Thomas Lagan, an attorney and a longtime associate of Sherwood’s, provided estate planning for the estate of Warren Bruggeman, a top General Electric executive and noted Capital District philanthropist who died in 2009.

According to the U.S. attorney’s release, Sherwood admitted that, after Bruggeman’s wife died in 2011, he conspired to steal money from her estate, valued at some $20 million.

“New Yorkers should be able to trust that their financial advisors will make sound decisions—not scheme to line their own pockets,” said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood in a news release. “We will continue to hold accountable those that try to game the system and violate the public trust.”

Sherwood is scheduled to be sentenced for his state charge on Aug. 6 and will be sentenced for his federal charges on Oct. 11.

Full Article and Source:
The New York Law Journal: Former Albany Area Judge Pleads Guilty to Scamming Millions from Estate

Grand jury accuses Illinois special prosecutor of misconduct

Brian Towne

(CNN)An Illinois state prosecutor who had been assigned to investigate police and prosecutorial misconduct arising from a wrongful murder conviction has himself been indicted on multiple misconduct charges.

A grand jury in LaSalle County, Illinois, returned a 17-count indictment on Tuesday night accusing Brian Towne of official misconduct and misappropriating public funds while in office. Towne had been the state's attorney there for a decade until he lost a re-election bid in November.

 

After losing the election, Towne quickly found a job as a special prosecutor at the Illinois Office of the State's Attorney Appellate Prosecutor. He had chaired the agency's board and taught classes at its continuing legal education conferences.

One of his first assignments was to investigate a perjury complaint arising from the wrongful conviction of Jack Daniel McCullough for the 1957 kidnapping and murder of Maria Ridulph. The case was featured in CNN's 2013 series "Taken," which raised doubts about whether McCullough had received a fair trial.

 

Towne stepped aside from the perjury investigation in March after CNN reported he was under scrutiny for how money was spent from an asset forfeiture fund he created.

 

The fund was generated from property and cash seized by a drug interdiction unit of mostly retired Illinois state troopers authorized by Towne to stop and search "suspicious" vehicles with cannabis-sniffing dogs along Interstate 80. If marijuana was found, police confiscated the vehicle and its contents.

 

Towne launched the unit and fund in 2011 during his tenure as the state's attorney. Court records indicate Towne's team, dubbed SAFE for State's Attorney's Felony Enforcement, brought in $1.2 million between 2011 and 2016.

 

Neither Towne nor his lawyer responded to requests this week for comment. But in an earlier conversation with CNN, Towne denied wrongdoing and expressed confidence he would prevail in court. He talked with a local newspaper on Tuesday evening, just after the indictment was filed.

He said the indictment was orchestrated by his political opponents. 

 

"This is clearly an abuse of power and dirty politics at its worst," he told the LaSalle News-Tribune, adding that the situation was "completely unacceptable."

 

"I simply ask the people of La Salle County to reserve judgment until this case is resolved appropriately."

 

According to the indictment, Towne allegedly used SAFE's asset forfeiture fund to fund local youth sports teams, school projects -- and his own lifestyle and re-election campaign. Other funds came from a drunken-driving awareness program.

 

Towne has said he had no problem using confiscated drug money to support youth athletics teams and school trips because it keeps kids occupied and away from drugs. 

 

He also stands accused of using forfeited money on personal expenses, including $21,265 to buy a used SUV and another $2,693 for Wi-Fi at home. The indictment alleges he campaigned from the state's attorney's office; some employees allegedly worked on campaign matters during office hours and used office supplies purchased by the county. 

 

The indictment further alleges that Towne illegally accepted $50,000 in payments from the state of Illinois for teaching at legal conferences and seminars. He also allegedly dipped into forfeited funds to cover airfare, meals and hotel expenses for other conferences in Orlando and Las Vegas. 

 

Some of the 77 motorists who lost property to the SAFE unit have joined a federal class action lawsuit seeking damages for civil rights violations. For some, it was cheaper to just walk away, leaving their money and property in LaSalle County.

 

Stephen Komie, the attorney who filed the suit, said Wednesday that the charges show what can happen when police and prosecutors engage in what he called "contingent-fee law enforcement." He says money should never be tied to arrests, especially if there is little or no oversight on how it is spent.

 

In June, the Illinois Supreme Court decided 5-2 that SAFE was not a valid police agency. The court found that prosecutors overstep their authority when they create their own police squads, and that Towne hadn't shown that police weren't doing a good job at enforcing drug laws.

 

Towne was not arrested; instead, prosecutors mailed him a notice to appear, said Assistant State's Attorney George Mueller, who declined to discuss the charges further. Towne has not entered a plea yet.

 

Before his legal troubles, Towne had been tapped to review the actions of state police and DeKalb County prosecutors who put together the coldest murder case ever tried.

 

The 1957 kidnapping and murder of second-grader Maria Ridulph has haunted the small town of Sycamore, Illinois, for nearly 60 years. Hundreds of suspects were questioned and cleared over the years. And, in the days following the kidnapping, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and President Dwight D. Eisenhower took a personal interest in developments in the case.

 

But the feds came up empty and left the investigation in 1958 when Maria's body was found and it appeared she'd never crossed state lines. And then the case went stone cold. 

 

In 2012, McCullough, a former neighbor, military veteran and ex-cop, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison following an investigation led by Illinois State Police. McCullough, who is 78 and lives in Seattle, was exonerated earlier this year and has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court.

 

His son-in-law, Casey Porter, sought an investigation into police and prosecutorial misconduct. His public records request to Seattle police, which assisted in the arrest, uncovered a videotape of an interrogation that Illinois prosecutors had claimed in court did not exist. The tape contradicted the Seattle officer's courtroom testimony.

 

Porter expressed disappointment.

 

"Over a year later, no one has been charged or brought to trial," Porter said. "The only thing that has happened is further proof of the systemic corruption in the Illinois legal system related to prosecutors."

 

Another special prosecutor has taken over the perjury investigation. A status hearing is scheduled Monday in Sycamore.

Full Article & Source:
Grand jury accuses Illinois special prosecutor of misconduct

Guardianship firm seized by marshals

A Final Four basketball junket. Caribbean cruises and other luxury vacations. Purchases at an Albuquerque RV Center and a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

The alleged lavish spending by the co-founders of one of the state’s largest nonprofit guardianship firms was financed out of the accounts of their special needs clients, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. And on Wednesday, a multiagency federal task moved to put a stop to the alleged decade-old embezzlement scheme involving millions of dollars with the indictment and arrests of the co-founders of Ayudando Guardians, a nonprofit guardian/conservator company based in Albuquerque.

Susan Harris, 70, and Sharon Moore, 62, were taken into custody Wednesday, and both women are to appear at detention hearings today at 9:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

State court records show Ayudando as having been appointed by state district judges to serve as guardian, conservator or personal representative in more than 350 cases since 2000. The company’s publicly available 990 tax form for 2015 said the company provides guardian and conservator services to the elderly, veterans, the disabled and the homeless.

The 28-count federal criminal indictment alleges millions of dollars were embezzled from client accounts since the company was created in November 2006. The charges include conspiracy, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

“This case is all about the victims,” acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney said in a press release. “The victims in this case relied upon Ayudando to manage their finances and meet their needs. If the allegations in the indictment are true, the principals of Ayudando cruelly violated the trust of their clients and looted their benefits. Federal law enforcement has now stepped in to ensure that the looting stops.”

Efforts to reach defense attorneys for Harris and Moore were unsuccessful late Wednesday.

According to the indictment, Ayudando receives government benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Social Security Administration on behalf of many of its clients, and acts as a fiduciary or representative payee for these clients by paying their expenses and maintaining the balances for the benefit of the clients.

The actual number of clients whose accounts have been affected wasn’t detailed in the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, which said the corporation provides services, including financial management, to hundreds of individuals with special needs.

Ayudando also is under contract with the state Developmental Disabilities Planning Council to provide guardianship services to New Mexico residents who are eligible for Medicaid or a similar public benefit and who have been deemed incapacitated.

The company’s 2017 contract with the state was capped at $640,800, according to state records. Under the contract, the company was supposed to purchase a bond for the indemnification of losses and submit to audits.

In addition, court-appointed guardians and conservators are required to submit to the court an annual report and/or financial accountings for each client.

Marshal take over
 
The U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday took control of Ayudando’s business operations to ensure that victims of the crimes charged, who include disabled veterans, continue to receive the “services they deserve and are entitled to,” U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria said in a press release.

Federal authorities also received a court order to take receivership of the corporation, which has its headquarters on Central SE and has an office in Mesa, Ariz., according to its website.

The order authorizes the U.S. Marshals Service to operate the business to ensure assets are not improperly spent or removed, and that the interests of Ayudando clients are protected as the criminal case goes forward.

Ayudando clients or relatives of clients who wish to speak to someone about their accounts or expenses can call Ayudando, which is being operated by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Tax forms filed by the corporation for 2015, the most recent year for which records are available, show Harris earned $138,230 a year as president of Ayudando and Moore was paid $126,720 annually.

Stealing the money

The indictment described some of the ways the two women allegedly stole from clients.

For instance, Harris wrote 12 checks totaling $457,883 on the client reimbursement account from June 2011 to March 2014 for personal purposes, including checks of $50,950 made out to Mercedes-Benz of Albuquerque and $26,444 to Myers RV Center. Harris is accused of using an Ayudando credit card to pay $140,790 to cover luxury vacations for herself and others, including the cruises and a basketball junket, knowing that Moore would pay off the charges using client funds, the indictment alleges.

Harris and Moore allegedly used $392,623 from the Ayudando client reimbursement account to pay off balances on a company credit card used by the defendants and their families for personal purposes.

As part of the alleged scheme, which federal prosecutors described as “sophisticated,” Moore in 2016 allegedly mailed fraudulent documents to the VA that falsely represented balances in 10 client accounts, claiming the accounts had an aggregate balance of more than $1.9 million when the actual value was $72,281.

Ayudando, Moore and Harris also are accused of engaging in aggravated identity theft by using their clients’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and VA file numbers to commit mail fraud.

The federal indictment comes at a time when the FBI is believed to be assisting in the investigation of an Albuquerque trust company operated by CEO Paul Donisthorpe.

State financial regulators have found a minimum of $4 million missing from client trust fund accounts managed by Desert State Life Management. About 70 clients are affected, many of whom are physically or mentally disabled or elderly. The money allegedly went into private companies controlled by Donisthorpe.

No criminal charges have resulted, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a forfeiture petition to seize three of Donisthorpe’s properties, alleging a scheme to defraud vulnerable clients.

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship firm seized by marshals

Michigan Owner of Sixteen Adult Foster Care Homes Indicted on Additional Charges Including Obstructing the IRS and Failing to File Tax Returns

PRESS RELEASE:  A federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Michigan returned a superseding indictment today, charging a Grand Blanc, Michigan owner of adult foster care homes with additional tax crimes including obstructing the internal revenue laws and failing to file tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

Jeremiah Cheff was indicted in October 2016 on 60 counts of failing to collect, account for and pay over employment taxes. According to the superseding indictment, Jeremiah Cheff controlled the financial and business operations of 16 foster care homes that cared for individuals with mental illnesses and developmental and physical disabilities, including Hunter’s Home, Nico’s Place, Harmony Manor, Hilltop Estates and Deerwood Manor. It is alleged that from September 2010 through September 2014, Cheff withheld payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks, failed to timely file employment tax returns and failed to pay over the funds withheld to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The new charges allege that Cheff corruptly endeavored to obstruct the internal revenue laws and failed to timely file his 2013 through 2015 individual returns. According to the indictment, after the IRS informed Cheff it intended to file a lien to collect unpaid employment taxes, Cheff sent an $80,000 fake financial instrument to the IRS and falsely claimed to a revenue officer that he had paid the taxes due. Cheff also allegedly spent money from his businesses for personal benefit instead of paying it to the IRS, falsely classified his employees as independent contractors, provided false information to his return preparer and filed false 2013 through 2015 partnership returns for Hunter’s Home.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, Cheff faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the 60 employment tax counts, three years in prison for obstructing the IRS and one year in prison for each of the failure to file counts. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Jeffrey McLellan and Carl F. Brooker IV of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for its substantial assistance.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

Source:
Michigan Owner of Sixteen Adult Foster Care Homes Indicted on Additional Charges Including Obstructing the IRS and Failing to File Tax Returns

Court-appointed guardian accused of stealing appears in court

Click to Watch Video

LAS VEGAS - A woman accused of scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars from senior citizens and vulnerable adults appeared in court Monday.

April Parks pleaded not guilty. She faces 212 felony counts of racketeering, theft and exploitation over a five-year period.

Some of her alleged victims say this day couldn't have come soon enough.

April Parks, along with her husband and another business partner, ran a private professional guardian LLC.

Guardians take care of wards of the court -- people who are found unable to no longer care for themselves.

A 270-count indictment from the Clark County District Attorney's Office says Parks and her company did everything but take care of the people.

"It had ruined our life," said Rudy North.

North, 80, says he lost everything after April Parks came to his door in 2013.

"Her and her partner called themselves the officer of the court," North said.

Confused, that's what North says he was, when Parks gave him three choices.

"My wife and I go to a psychiatric ward. Two, go to jail or three, to an assisted living facility."

He and his wife chose the third option.

It took their daughter, Julie Belshe, four frantic days to find out where her parents had disappeared to.

"She actually walked into my parents' home and took them out of their house and said she was an officer of the court and took them without notifying me," Belshe said.

During that time, Parks gained control of the couple's assets. It took Julie Belshe nearly two years to get her parents released from Parks' guardianship.

Parks pleaded "not guilty" to 232 felony charges of racketeering, theft, exploitation, perjury and fraud.

The 123-page indictment alleges she was the ringleader of a scam that bilked $550,000 from the Norths and 148 other victims.

In the indictment, Parks is only one on the hook for exploiting about $1,500 in fees for fraudulent services, but North says she stole a lot more.

"She took over a million dollars of my assets, that's cash, gold, silver, and in furnishings and artwork," North said.

Now, Parks is behind bars after fleeing to Pennsylvania last year.

It's a moment many victims thought they would never see.

"She's where she belongs," North said.

District Attorney Steve Wolfson says he will seek restitution for the victims. But, he cautions there is a low likelihood of regaining any significant portion of these families' assets. He says many, if not most, of the victims outlined in the complaint have died.

Full Article & Source:
Court-appointed guardian accused of stealing appears in court

Hearing reset for former court-appointed guardian in Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A court hearing was reset in Las Vegas for a former court-appointed financial guardian accused of siphoning more than $550,000 out of accounts of people assigned to her business as wards of the court.

A court official said Monday that April Parks is due to have another lawyer when she appears again in court on Wednesday.

PREVIOUS STORY: Private guardian April Parks behind bars in Las Vegas

Parks is being held at the Clark County jail following her arrest in Chester County, Pennsylvania, on a massive 270-count criminal indictment filed March 8.

It alleges that more than 150 victims lost money to Parks, her employee Mark Simmons, and Parks' friend, Gary Neil Taylor, through overbilling by her business, called A Private Professional Guardian.

They're accused of racketeering, theft and exploitation of a vulnerable person.

Full Article & Source:
Hearing reset for former court-appointed guardian in Vegas

UPDATE: Private guardian April Parks behind bars in Las Vegas

UPDATE APRIL 5: April Lynn Parks was a private, professional guardian appointed by Clark County Family Court to protect hundreds of vulnerable people.

Parks admitted to Contact 13's Darcy Spears on camera in 2015 that she made major mistakes with her client's money, including in one case, charging an elderly woman $108 for a pair of stretch pants.

Parks was the ringleader of a small group employed by her. They've all been indicted for draining the accounts of those they were supposed to care for while isolating them from their families.

Parks faces more than 200 felony criminal charges for racketeering, theft, exploitation and perjury.

She was arrested in Pennsylvania on March 8, extradited to Las Vegas and booked into Clark County Detention Center Tuesday.

Contact 13's investigation helped lead the way for reform in the guardianship system and the criminal case against Parks.

That came just in time as we uncovered in court documents that Parks was about to expand her business and hire more staff. She'd gotten a contract with Valley Health System's six Las Vegas hospitals, which would make her the first choice to refer patients for guardianship services.  

There's no telling how many of those potential referrals could have fallen victim to the alleged crimes Parks and her associates are charged with. Valley Health Systems declined to comment.

Contact 13 requested an on-camera interview with April Parks at the jail but haven't heard back. And we tried to reach her attorney but his voicemail was full.

UPDATE MARCH 27: Mark Simmons is now behind bars in Las Vegas. Simmons faces 134 felony criminal charges including racketeering, exploitation of the elderly and theft. 

He was extradited from Indiana and booked into Clark County Detention Center this weekend. He is scheduled to appear before a judge on Wednesday. 

UPDATE MARCH 14: Private for profit guardian April Parks is now behind bars. She and three others were indicted last week for running a criminal enterprise involving theft and exploitation.

Court records show Parks disregarded her duty as a guardian, treating the vulnerable as "cash cows."

In one example, Parks and her business partner Mark Simmons profited from a scam where they bought Christmas gifts for their wards, such as popcorn, socks and other small items. When the wards received the gifts, they were charged at a hourly rate of $100 per hour.

Clients were also billed when Parks' husband Gary Taylor drove to the courthouse and waited in line to file papers that could have been submitted online.

UPDATE MARCH 09: April Parks was arrested by local police in East Goshen Township, PA.

The Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department charged Parks with being a fugitive from justice and she was arraigned.  Her bail was set at $500,000 dollars.  Parks was remanded to Chester County Prison pending extradition to Clark County, Nevada.

ORIGINAL STORY

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- What started with a Contact 13 investigation has led to hundreds of felony charges against four suspects for the way authorities say they treated people in their care.

This is the latest move in cases involving more than 150 victims and nearly $560,000 in stolen money.

It's the most significant guardianship exploitation indictment in Nevada's history -- so says Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt in what authorities hope will wipe out a long-standing crime wave in our state.

Cheers and fist pumps erupted in the Regional Justice Center lobby from a crowd of people who haven't had much to celebrate over the last few years.

On Wednesday, they went from victim to victor as April Parks, the woman who they say stole everything from their loved ones, was indicted.

"Today, law enforcement sends a clear message to those who take advantage of our most vulnerable citizens," said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.

Contact 13 first exposed April Lynn Parks in early 2015 when she told Darcy Spears, "I do it because I love it," in reference to her work as a private, professional guardian.

Guardians are appointed by the court to protect and serve their wards. They're entrusted with every aspect of a person's life, including their health care and their money.

"I can't imagine a class of people more susceptible to criminals than wards of a court," said Wolfson.

Parks, her husband Gary Taylor, her attorney Noel Palmer Simpson and her office manager Mark Simmons are together facing 270 felony counts of perjury, racketeering, filing false records, theft and exploitation.

The charges involve more than 150 victims who've lost more than half a million dollars.

Authorities say Parks and her co-defendants used a position of trust and authority to prey on disabled, vulnerable people ranging in age from 40 to 90, and systematically bilk them out of their life savings.

"I've never been so happy in my life! All the thousands of hours and dollars I put into this was not in vain," said Elizabeth Indig, whose mother was one of Parks' wards.

So were Julie Belshe's parents -- Rudy and Rennie North. Contact 13 broke their story in February 2015.

"When I reached out to you I was very traumatized," said Belshe. "I didn't know what to do!"

As for Wednesday's indictments, Belshe says, "It restored my faith in the people, in the justice system -- that there are good people in our system that are working and they're on our side -- the citizens' side. Because you start to think, who's going to believe me? Because you tell these stories and they're unbelievable!"

"I really think this is going to send a very strong message to the other guardians and the attorneys and the judges who aided and abetted her in this," said Indig. "And I think maybe Nevada will be clean of this crime and people can move here and retire without fear of losing everything."

Contact 13 will have more on the Family Court system's role in all this as the report continues on Thursday.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, all four defendants had been arrested in law enforcement actions across the country.

April Parks was arrested by local police in East Goshen Township, PA.

The Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department charged Parks with being a fugitive from justice and she was arraigned.  Her bail was set at $500,000.00 dollars.  Parks was remanded to Chester County Prison pending extradition to Clark County, Nevada.

Full Article & Source:
UPDATE: Private guardian April Parks behind bars in Las Vegas

'Horrifying' Video Shows Former Suffern Nurse Abusing Paralyzed Patient

Dorothea Harvilik

SUFFERN, N.Y. -- "Horrifying images" captured on video show a former Suffern registered nurse slapping and roughing up a paralyzed, ventilator-dependent patient she was hired to care for in his home, authorities said Tuesday.

Dorothea Harvilik, 64, who's since moved to Saddle River, N.J., faces up to 18 months in state prison if convicted of assaulting the 23-year-old patient, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.

Footage of the abuse was captured by a hidden video camera set up by the man's mother, who suspected her son was being mistreated, Porrino said.

The video, and other caught-on-tape examples of patient abuse, led to the creation of New Jersey’s “Safe Care Cam” program, which offers micro-surveillance cameras free on loan to residents who suspect a loved is being mistreated by an in-home caregiver.

“The horrifying images of Nurse Harvilik striking this defenseless patient and wrenching his head as she tended to him, underscored our need to ensure that all New Jersey families, regardless of their income, have access to state-of-the art technology they need to watch over their loved ones,” Porrino said.

Hidden cameras "not only expose patient abuse," he added. "They can provide the ‘smoking-gun’ evidence that helps bring abusers to justice.”

Harvilik is the third caregiver in recent weeks charged with patient abuse by the OIFP.

Harvilik and the others have all been stripped of their professional credentials as a result of their alleged abuse, authorities said.

In November, the State Board of Nursing permanently revoked Harvilik’s nursing license, after viewing the video of her striking the bed-bound patient, Porrino noted.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Grady presented Harvilik’s case to a grand jury, which returned an indictment charging her with assault on Monday.

Detective Sgt. Kevin Weinkauff and Detective Celeste Dowd coordinated the investigation, with assistance from Investigators John Musiello and Catherine Butter of the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

Full Article & Source:
'Horrifying' Video Shows Former Suffern Nurse Abusing Paralyzed Patient