Detroit judge among four charged with exploiting vulnerable adults

By Elyse Apel

(The Center Square) – Four Michiganders, including a sitting judge, have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with embezzlement-related charges.

All four are residents of Detroit and allegedly conspired to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from incapacitated individuals.

United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. made the announcement recently, which U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi applauded over the weekend.

“No one is above the law – judges included,” Bondi said. “Using the power of the bench to allegedly take advantage of vulnerable people is a particularly vile crime. Thank you to our great prosecutors in Eastern Michigan.”

Nancy Williams, Avery Bradley, Andrea Bradley-Baskin and Dwight Rashad were all charged in a federal indictment. The indictment came as part of an investigation by the FBI and the IRS.  

Full Article & Source:
Detroit judge among four charged with exploiting vulnerable adults 

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Feds Turn Up Heat On Detroit Judge As Guardianship Scandal Widens

Feds: Stealing from dead gave judge a luxe life in auto exec's home

Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people

Press Release: Sitting Judge and Three Others Charged with Scheme to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable and Incapacitated Wards 

Detroit News: Detroit Judge Teamed With 2 Criminals to Help Buy And Sell Homes of the Vulnerable

FBI probe of Detroit probate court could lead to indictment

Feds Turn Up Heat On Detroit Judge As Guardianship Scandal Widens

By Javier Rodriguez

Federal prosecutors signaled in today's court filing that the corruption probe into suspended 36th District Judge Andrea Bradley‑Baskin is far from over and could soon grow larger, with the possibility of new charges on the horizon. The filing comes on top of a Jan. 30 indictment accusing Bradley‑Baskin and three Detroit residents of conspiring to siphon money and property from vulnerable wards in Wayne County's probate system. The case has reignited scrutiny of how guardians handle estates for people who are elderly, incapacitated or otherwise unable to manage their own affairs.

According to reporting by The Detroit News, prosecutors asked the court for more time to work through a growing pile of discovery and warned that additional defendants or criminal counts could surface as the investigation continues. The outlet reviewed filings and public records that it says add detail to an alleged pattern of asset‑stripping involving wards who were elderly, mentally incapacitated or already deceased. If prosecutors pursue a superseding indictment, it would be unsealed and added to the public docket once filed.

What prosecutors allege

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan says an indictment unsealed Jan. 30 charged Bradley‑Baskin, her father Avery Bradley, Nancy Williams and Dwight Rashad with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The filing also includes multiple money‑laundering counts and a false‑statement charge against Bradley‑Baskin. Prosecutors say Williams’ firm, Guardian & Associates, was appointed fiduciary in more than 1,000 probate cases and that funds intended for wards were diverted to the defendants. "This state judge and her cronies allegedly abused that high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court," U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon said in the release.

What reporters found

Investigative work by The Detroit News and court records outline a series of transactions in which homes and bank accounts belonging to wards were allegedly sold or drained, with the proceeds routed to associates. Prosecutors, as cited by the outlet, point to specific examples: about $70,000 allegedly pulled to buy a stake in a bar, withdrawals used to lease a Brush Park townhouse valued at roughly $900,000, and tens of thousands of dollars for a two‑year lease on a luxury SUV. The government also highlights property transfers and rental payments tied to a co‑defendant’s group‑home business that, prosecutors allege, billed for residents who never actually lived there.

Court action and next steps

Chief 36th District Judge William McConico approved an administrative removal of Bradley‑Baskin from her docket in an effort to preserve public confidence while the federal case plays out, according to CBS Detroit. In the March 10 filing, prosecutors told the court the probe remains active and that additional charges could be necessary. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has also stressed that an indictment is an accusation, not proof of guilt. Should a superseding indictment be filed, it would be unsealed and the defendants would be arraigned on the expanded set of charges.

Legal implications

The federal counts listed in the indictment, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money‑laundering allegations and an alleged false statement to investigators, carry significant potential penalties if they result in convictions. They can also trigger state disciplinary proceedings that affect a judge’s law license and ability to remain on the bench. At the same time, families of alleged victims may pursue civil remedies while FBI and IRS criminal investigators continue to develop the case. Authorities have asked anyone with information about wards handled by Guardian & Associates or Tri‑State Guardian Services to contact investigators as the probe moves forward.

Taken together, the January indictment and the March 10 filing outline what federal officials characterize as a years‑long scheme. The next big public marker would be any superseding indictment, followed by fresh arraignments that could pull even more details about the alleged operation into open court.

Full Article & Source:
Feds Turn Up Heat On Detroit Judge As Guardianship Scandal Widens 

See Also:
Feds: Stealing from dead gave judge a luxe life in auto exec's home

Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people

Press Release: Sitting Judge and Three Others Charged with Scheme to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable and Incapacitated Wards 

Detroit News: Detroit Judge Teamed With 2 Criminals to Help Buy And Sell Homes of the Vulnerable

FBI probe of Detroit probate court could lead to indictment

Feds: Stealing from dead gave judge a luxe life in auto exec's home

by Robert Snell

 

Suspended 36th District Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin helped loot dead people's bank accounts during a conspiracy involving more than $2.9 million, helped her husband acquire a dead person's home and lived a life of luxury in an automotive executive's luxury townhouse after years of financial problems, federal court records show.

A fuller picture of the scale and scope of an alleged conspiracy to steal money from incapacitated people in Wayne County's probate court system emerges from a review of state and federal court records two weeks after Bradley-Baskin was indicted alongside her father, attorney Avery Bradley, and two others.

A review of court records also helps to identify victims who are referred to by initials in the indictment and shows how Bradley-Baskin and others are accused of targeting the elderly and the ill, the isolated, the wealthy and the dead. Many of the 18 victims identified in the indictment had fat bank accounts, homes that were liquidated and flipped for profit, while others were charged rent at group homes where they never lived, which are owned by a member of the alleged conspiracy.

"Everyone is out for greed. It's just apropos for what goes on in this day," St. Clair County resident Bruce Affelt told The Detroit News after learning his late cousin, retired Ford Motor Co. engineer William Kamin, was one of the alleged victims. "It's wrong, and I think people should be held accountable."

There have been immediate repercussions. Last month's indictment led to Bradley-Baskin being booted off the bench and suspended with pay from her $186,164-a-year job. The case also threatens to strip Bradley-Baskin of her law license and send her to federal prison for 45 years if convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Bradley-Baskin, 46, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The alleged conspiracy spanned from January 2017 to July 2024, a timespan that predates Bradley-Baskin's tenure as a judge. The case portrays her as conspiring with others to enrich herself by embezzling money and using false pretenses to keep money and property belonging to multiple incapacitated wards of the probate system.

The victims of the alleged conspiracy were easy targets, suffering from dementia, old age and health problems with no support system.

Lawyer worth $5M targeted

Kamin, 92, is one of the wealthiest victims in the case. The retired bachelor, who died in 2021, had no spouse, children or immediate family, but was worth millions of dollars.

Kamin, like all victims in the case, is referred to in the indictment by initials, “W.K.” But dates and dollar amounts in the indictment match details from Kamin’s file in the Wayne County Probate Court, including May 25, 2022, the date Avery Bradley was appointed to represent the estate. 

Kamin died in January 2021 and spent his whole life in his childhood home, a brick bungalow 20 blocks west of his alma mater, the University of Detroit Mercy. When he died, he had more than $5 million in assets, mostly investments and life insurance proceeds, court records show.

Avery Bradley, a veteran lawyer in the probate court system, is accused of stealing more than $161,000 of the dead man's money.

Bradley was appointed by the Wayne County Probate Court to gather Kamin’s assets, pay bills and disburse money to his heirs as prescribed in Kamin’s will.

In December 2022, Bradley cut checks to more than 30 of Kamin's heirs. The payouts ranged from $8,079 to $49,549 and, in all, the heirs split $743,000 — a detail from Kamin's probate court file that matches the federal indictment.

Those heirs included Affelt, 75, a distant cousin.

“He was kind of a loner,” Affelt told The News about Kamin. “I never got to know him or meet him.”

Kamin's alma mater was supposed to receive a much larger piece of Kamin’s estate. For starters, Bradley cut a $17,437 check to the university in June 2023.

“Bradley never dispersed the funds for the benefit of the estate of W.K.,” the indictment reads.

Instead, Bradley deposited the money in his law firm’s account at Comerica Bank, prosecutors allege.

That same month, Bradley transferred $60,000 from Kamin's estate to his law firm's bank account, according to the government.

"Bradley never dispersed any of these funds for the benefit of the estate of W.K.," the indictment reads.

The same day, Bradley transferred $261,072 from Kamin's estate to the attorney's law firm, according to the government.

Bradley sent $185,964 to Detroit Mercy, consistent with Kamin's will. But the attorney never dispersed the rest of the money, more than $75,100, the indictment alleged.

Bradley, 72, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. If convicted, he faces more than 20 years in prison. Bradley did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Feds: Bradley directs widow's cash to daughter

The federal investigation into the finances and treatment of Kamin and others in the probate court system surfaced in July when The News obtained sealed FBI documents and search warrant records. The records showed FBI agents had raided multiple locations in Metro Detroit and seized more than $580,000 while targeting the judge, her father and others.

In September, an investigation by The News revealed Bradley-Baskin teamed with two criminals to help buy and sell homes belonging to vulnerable people in the probate court system for far less than the properties' market value.

In several instances, those homes were sold to the boyfriend of a probate court guardian after Bradley-Baskin proposed the sale or drafted the deeds. That includes a Dearborn Heights ranch that was flipped in less than a month for a 72% profit.

The News reporting from five months ago and details about alleged victims, including the late Ethel Ciotti and her son, Curtis Ciotti of Lincoln Park, are mirrored in last month's indictment.

Ethel Ciotti was a 92-year-old widow who worked at an insurance company, at a Lincoln Park bowling alley and as a greeter at Meijer before dying in 2018. Ciotti, who is referred to in the indictment as "E.C.," left behind an estate worth more than $493,000, including almost $385,000 in the bank and a bungalow. 

A judge appointed the firm Guardian and Associates to serve as the elderly woman's guardian in early 2017. The firm is headed by Nancy Williams, a probate court veteran and criminal convicted of trying to influence the 2020 general election.

Williams and her boyfriend, group home owner Dwight Rashad, are charged alongside Bradley-Baskin and Avery Bradley.

During the conspiracy, Williams placed court wards in homes owned and operated by her boyfriend, prosecutors allege. She also authorized payments from the wards' bank accounts of up to $6,000 a month to Rashad's firm, Empowerment Homes.

In all, Empowerment Homes was paid approximately $2 million, the indictment alleges, which includes money for legitimate services.

Since last year, FBI agents have seized at least $69,981 from Williams, Rashad and their companies. Prosecutors also slapped a lien on residential and commercial properties linked to Williams and Rashad in Oakland County.

Bradley, meanwhile, was appointed to manage Ethel Ciotti's finances in April 2018.

One year later, Bradley cut a $4,460 check from Ciotti's bank account and gave the money to a landlord who owned a home in Westland rented by Bradley-Baskin, according to the government.

"The $4,460 check was not used for the benefit of (Ethel Ciotti)," the indictment reads. "Bradley fraudulently issued the check to benefit Bradley-Baskin."

Williams took $25,000 from another victim and Bradley-Baskin used the money to pre-pay a year's worth of rent at the Westland home, prosecutors allege.

Judge had money problems

During the alleged conspiracy, Bradley-Baskin's fortunes changed dramatically.

Before prosecutors said Bradley-Baskin started stealing people's money, she had big cash problems.

Bradley-Baskin and her ex-husband filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013, listing more than $278,000 in liabilities and $6,550 in assets, according to court records. The debts included $17,644 owed on the future judge's new Mercedes-Benz.

The money woes continued in 2020, when she was sued in the 36th District Court for more than $9,400 by an automotive lender.

Bradley-Baskin overcame the financial problems by stealing from the vulnerable, prosecutors alleged.

That included Frankie James, a 70-year-old, incapacitated woman with health problems from Detroit. Her finances were being handled by Williams' firm, Guardian and Associates, in 2019.

Frankie James died May 11, 2020. Three days later, Williams gave the elderly woman's stately brick Colonial-style home to Bradley-Baskin's half-brother, prosecutors alleged.

The deed was drafted by Bradley, according to the indictment. 

In December 2020, seven months after James died, Bradley-Baskin took $26,500 from various wards' bank accounts and bought the dead woman's home, according to the indictment.

In March 2024, the home was transferred for $1 to CAB Realty, a company owned by Bradley-Baskin's husband, Corey Baskin, prosecutors alleged.

"A little more than a year later, on or about April 25, 2025, CAB Realty sold the property for $140,000," the indictment alleged.

Corey Baskin did not respond to messages seeking comment. 

Judge travels abroad, feds say

The judge's personal life, meanwhile, was improving.

Bradley-Baskin traveled the world in recent years, including jaunts to the Caribbean, Spain, France and Cancun, a court official said during the judge's arraignment. She bought a dive bar in Detroit and reaped an insurance windfall.

And in March 2024, Bradley-Baskin withdrew $54,250, and the money was used to lease a $900,000 Brush Park townhouse, according to the FBI.

 The property is owned by Felix Weller, the former vice president of Cadillac in China, according to public records.

The 2,425-square-foot, three-story City Modern townhouse, across Woodward from Little Caesars Arena, has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a private rooftop terrace and a one-car garage for Bradley-Baskin, who leased a new 2023 Ford Expedition King Ranch SUV with more than $20,000 stolen from another victim, prosecutors allege.

The judge’s life in the townhouse soured last fall as prosecutors prepared to indict the judge.

Landlord Greythorne Management LLC sued Bradley-Baskin and her husband on Oct. 15 and accused the couple of failing to pay $8,650 in rent.

The lawsuit, since dismissed, was filed in the 36th District Court in Detroit — the judge's own courthouse. 

Full Article & Source:
Feds: Stealing from dead gave judge a luxe life in auto exec's home

 See Also:
Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people

Press Release: Sitting Judge and Three Others Charged with Scheme to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable and Incapacitated Wards 

Detroit News: Detroit Judge Teamed With 2 Criminals to Help Buy And Sell Homes of the Vulnerable

FBI probe of Detroit probate court could lead to indictment

Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people

Andrea Bradley-Baskin is a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court

By Greg Norman-Diamond 

A Detroit judge and three other residents were charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in a "years-long scheme" to embezzle money from incapacitated and vulnerable individuals. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, who is a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court, is alleged "to have used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar" and "money embezzled from the estate of a ward to pay a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for herself." 

"We respect the authority that covers a black robe. This state judge and her cronies allegedly abused that high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court," U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. "This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust." 

"Regardless of a person’s position in society, no one is above the law. These four defendants allegedly conspired to steal from some of our most vulnerable citizens — looting bank accounts, exploiting legal authority, and profiting off those who relied on them for care and protection," added Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.

The Attorney’s Office said Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Dwight Rashad, 69, and Bradley-Baskin, all Detroit residents, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.   

"The indictment also charges Bradley with one count of wire fraud, Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad with several counts of money laundering, and Bradley-Baskin with a single count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement agent," it added. 

Lawyers representing Bradley-Baskin did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The Attorney’s Office, citing the indictment, said "probate courts regularly appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults, known as wards, who have been found by the court to lack the capacity to do so themselves."

U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin "and her cronies allegedly abused" her "high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court." (Brian A. Jackson/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

"The indictment alleges that Nancy Williams owned Guardian and Associates, an agency that was appointed as a fiduciary by the Wayne County Probate Court for incapacitated wards in over 1,000 cases. Avery Bradley is an attorney, who, along with his daughter (and fellow attorney) Andrea Bradley-Baskin, operated a law firm that often represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court and otherwise practiced regularly in that court," it continued. "Dwight Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards, who needed support and care." 

"The indictment alleges that the four defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards, and to obtain and retain money for themselves that rightly belonged to the wards and the wards’ estates," it also said.  

Prosecutors described how in one case, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad allegedly took around $203,000 in funds from a ward’s legal settlement, with "none of the money being used to benefit the ward."

"Williams is alleged to have paid Rashad rent for wards who did not live in one of Rashad’s homes," they said.  

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations.  

Full Article & Source:
Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people 

Press Release: Sitting Judge and Three Others Charged with Scheme to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable and Incapacitated Wards

Friday, January 30, 2026 

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan

DETROIT - Four Detroit-area residents, including a sitting judge and a local attorney, were charged for their roles in a years-long scheme to embezzle money from incapacitated individuals, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced today.

Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Detroit Field Office, and Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Detroit Field Office.

Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, and Dwight Rashad, 69, all Detroit residents, were charged via indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment also charges Bradley with one count of wire fraud, Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad with several counts of money laundering, and Bradley-Baskin with a single count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement agent.

According to the indictment, probate courts regularly appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults, known as wards, who have been found by the court to lack the capacity to do so themselves. Guardians and conservators are fiduciaries who are obligated to act in the best interests of their wards. The indictment alleges that Nancy Williams owned Guardian and Associates, an agency that was appointed as a fiduciary by the Wayne County Probate Court for incapacitated wards in over 1,000 cases. Avery Bradley is an attorney, who, along with his daughter (and fellow attorney) Andrea Bradley-Baskin, operated a law firm that often represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court and otherwise practiced regularly in that court. Bradley-Baskin is currently a district judge on Michigan’s 36^th District Court. Dwight Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards, who needed support and care.

The indictment alleges that the four defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards, and to obtain and retain money for themselves that rightly belonged to the wards and the wards’estates. The indictment sets forth numerous examples of the co-conspirators working together to misappropriate money belonging to wards. In one instance, Bradley-Baskin is alleged to have used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar.  In another, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad are alleged to have taken for themselves some $203,000 in funds from a ward’s legal settlement, with none of the money being used to benefit the ward. Williams is alleged to have paid Rashad rent for wards who did not live in one of Rashad’s homes.  Bradley-Baskin, in yet another case, is alleged to have used money embezzled from the estate of a ward to pay a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for herself.

“We respect the authority that covers a black robe. This state judge and her cronies allegedly abused that high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court. This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon.

“Regardless of a person’s position in society, no one is above the law. These four defendants allegedly conspired to steal from some of our most vulnerable citizens — looting bank accounts, exploiting legal authority, and profiting off those who relied on them for care and protection," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "Let me be clear: if you prey on the vulnerable, we will find you and bring you to justice. Finally, I want to recognize our FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force, alongside our partners at the IRS Criminal Investigations Detroit Field Office, for their dedicated work on behalf of these victims, as well as the Wayne County Probate Court for bringing this matter to our attention and assisting the investigation."

“No matter who you are, or what your position is, it is entirely unacceptable to help yourself to money that is not yours. What makes these allegations so disturbing is that the victims are part of very vulnerable population and trusted the accused to act in their best interest,” said Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS-CI is proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners to protect the financial well-being of the vulnerable and root out those who threaten their security.”

If you have information concerning a ward of Guardian & Associates or Tri-State Guardian Services, please visit the FBI website at

— Seeking Information Concerning Wards of Guardian & Associates and Tri-State Guardian Services

 An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert A. Moran and John Neal.

Updated January 30, 2026

Source:

Press Release:  Sitting Judge and Three Others Charged with Scheme to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable and Incapacitated Wards

 

Detroit judge, 3 others charged in federal guardianship case

A 36th District Court judge is among four people facing federal charges in connection with what officials call "a years-long scheme to embezzle money from incapacitated individuals." 

Source:
Detroit judge, 3 others charged in federal guardianship case 

Complaint: Probate judge used position to raid estate

By Katy Barnitz / Journal Staff Writer

In her role as a deputy field investigator with the state Office of the Medical Investigator, Pamela Smith was sent on March 9, 2017, to look into the death of 82-year-old Dominic Domingo. Then, in her role as Sierra County probate judge, she appointed her own husband as special administrator to his estate.

Randy Smith went on to move nearly $300,000 from Domingo’s accounts into their own, ignoring “living heirs entitled to the estate.”

That’s according to criminal complaints filed Tuesday by the state Attorney General’s Office against the Truth or Consequences couple. The criminal charges come more than a year after Pamela Smith resigned as probate judge in lieu of further disciplinary proceedings by the Judicial Standards Commission.

Asked Tuesday about Pamela Smith’s employment status at OMI, a spokesman for the UNM Health Sciences Center said, “We are not able to answer due to pending litigation.”

The complaints allege that the probate court records granting authority to a special administrator were “filed and altered unlawfully by Pamela Smith,” to give Randy Smith access to Domingo’s bank accounts. The couple used the money to pay their mortgage and other debts, and to improve Randy Smith’s boat repair and consignment sale business, among other things, according to the complaint.

“Pamela Smith, as a probate judge in Sierra County, had a fiduciary responsibility of presiding over an orderly administration of justice,” a special agent wrote. “… Instead, Mrs. Smith committed criminal acts of willful misconduct while serving in office.”

The Smiths could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. It’s not clear who is representing them in the case.

Pamela Smith wrote in her OMI report that the chief of TorC police indicated Domingo had no next of kin. But in a recorded interview, the chief said he knew Domingo and knew he had family in New York. She also claimed that she received the same answer from a pension fund administrator, the complaint alleges. In fact, that company had sent a condolence letter to Domingo’s sister and nephew.

And Domingo’s nephew, Joseph Paone, told an investigator that he once met Randy Smith as he repaired his uncle’s car.

“Mr. Smith was misrepresenting himself as the special administrator by knowing there were living heirs that should have prevented him from accessing the estate of Dominic Domingo,” his complaint says.

Paone says the Smiths later hired an investigator who offered him a $192,000 “payoff settlement,” which he pointed out to investigators was less than the amount taken from his uncle’s accounts. Domingo’s family learned of his death through a letter from his pension administrator.

Pamela Smith is charged with crimes including engaging in an official act for personal financial gain, tampering with public records, forgery, fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. Her husband, Randy, is accused of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.

Paone has filed a civil suit against the Smiths, OMI, the Sierra County Board of Commissioners, and the state of New Mexico.

Frances Crockett Carpenter, the Albuquerque attorney representing him, said Tuesday that along with the missing money, the Smiths still have Domingo’s remains.

She said her client’s hope is that no other families find themselves in this position.

“They want to make sure this never happens to anyone again,” Crockett Carpenter said. “That a person that has been given the permission and the privilege to hold office will never see that as anything but that, and that they won’t use their powers of office to commit fraud and steal and do all the awful things that they did.”

Asked whether the Attorney General’s Office believes other families were targeted, a spokesman for the office said he could not comment.

Full Article & Source:
Complaint: Probate judge used position to raid estate

New Mexico judge accused of stealing from dead man's estate

Judge Pamela Smith

By: KRQE Media

SIERRA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) - A former New Mexico judge is now facing charges for stealing from a dead man.

Sierra County probate judge Pamela Smith resigned in 2017 after an investigation revealed she abused her power as a judge and OMI field investigator.

Smith is accused of responding to Dominic Domingo's death and identifying her husband as Domingo's next of kin, to gain access to his estate. In all, the couple is accused of stealing more than $280,000 from Domingo.

Smith is charged with "engaging in an official act for personal financial gain," fraud, and forgery.


Full Article & Source:
New Mexico judge accused of stealing from dead man's estate

Trial of Sebring judge to begin earlier

AKRON, Ohio - At the requests of a former judge in Mahoning County's Sebring court and her husband, a federal judge has moved up the date of their trials on federal crimes.

Fifty-year-old Vettori-Caraballo and Ismael Caraballo have been granted a motion filed in U.S. District Court asking their trials, which had been set to begin on Monday, March 4, to start Friday, March 1 instead.

According to their motion, their defense attorney Gerald Ingram has a prior commitment beginning March 9, and they question whether a trial can be completed by then.

Vettori-Caraballo was indicted late last year by a federal grand jury alleging that she stole at least $100,000 from a former client. She and her husband are also charged with one count of filing a false tax return and have rejected offers for plea agreements.

In October, Vettori-Caraballo was suspended from the bench while she was being investigated for allegations that in early 2016 she took between $100,000 and $328,000 in cash that was in the home of her deceased client.

Vettori-Caraballo also drafted Robert Sampson's will, on November 20, 2015, Vettori-Caraballo filled an application in Mahoning County Probate Court to administer Sampson's estate. The application stated that Sampson died without a will.

Robert Sampson died in 2015, and his closest living relative was his sister, Dolores Falgiani. Vettori-Caraballo helped Falgiani prepare Sampson's will.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, sometime in October or November 2015, Falgiani stated that she had several shoeboxes fo cash stored at her residence. Falgiani was found dead in her apartment on March 10, 2016.

Authorities say that Vettori-Caraballo reported having found cash in Falgiani's residence and depositing the $20,000 into the estate. According to the indictment, Vettori-Caraballo filed a notice fo newly discovered assets with the court and each time failed to disclose the cash she allegedly had stolen.

Vettori-Caraballo allegedly made 22 deposits of cash into five different banks within four weeks to avoid regulations that require banks to report cash transactions over $10,000 to the IRS, according to the indictment.

Vettori-Caraballo is also named in a civil action case in probate court on behalf of the victim's family.
A proposed settlement has been offered up in that case, in regards to two other defendants.

Vettori-Caraballo was elected to become the Sebring Court Judge in Mahoning County Court #3 in 2002, and she was reelected in 2006 and 2012.

Full Article & Source:
Trial of Sebring judge to begin earlier

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UPDATE | Mahoning County judge charged with stealing

Mahoning County judge charged with stealing over $96K from client

Mahoning Co. judge indicted on charges, accused of stealing from dead client

(WKBN) - Mahoning County Judge Diane Vettori-Caraballo has been indicted in federal court, accused of stealing at least $100,000 from a former client.

The 50-year-old faces one count of mail fraud, one count of structuring cash deposits, one count of making false statements to law enforcement and one count of filing a false tax return.

Her husband, 60-year-old Ismael Caraballo, is also charged with one count of filing a false tax return.

Investigators said Vettori-Caraballo stole between $100,200 and $328,000 in cash from the home of a client after that client died in March of 2016.

The indictment says she provided estate planning services for Robert Sampson, including drafting his will. The man died without a will, according to the indictment.

Sampson's closest living relative was his sister, Dolores Falgiani. Vettori-Caraballo also helped her with her will, which made requests to give the money to friends, relatives, Animal Charity and Angels for Animals, the indictment says.

Falgiani mentioned she had shoeboxes of cash stored at home and then a few months later in March of 2016, she was found dead in her home.

Vettori-Caraballo found the shoeboxes, which contained $20,000, in May, the indictment says.

According to the indictment, Vettori-Caraballo found new money on two other occasions in 2016 and 2017.

Investigators said she made 22 deposits into five different banks within four weeks and lied to the FBI when confronted about it.

Vettori-Caraballo was elected the judge of Mahoning County Court #3 -- Sebring Court in 2002. She had jurisdiction over criminal and traffic charges in Sebring, Beloit, Berlin Township, Green Township, Goshen Township, Ellsworth Township, Smith Township and Washington Township. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2012.



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Mahoning Co. judge indicted on charges, accused of stealing from dead client

Walton County lawyer, judge faces 12 child porn, enticing children charges

A Walton County lawyer, part-time judge and ex-special assistant attorneys general (SAAG) faces 12 charges of sexual exploitation of children, Channel 2 Action News reported.

George Randolph Jeffery, who goes by Randy, was arrested Friday amid a joint investigation by the GBI and FBI, Channel 2 reported.

Documents obtained by the news station indicate that most of the charges Jeffery faces involve photos or videos of child pornography, but one charge alleges that he used an email account to entice a child for indecent purposes.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Chris Carr sent Channel 2 a statement that said Jeffery had been appointed to serve as a SAAG, representing the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Child Support Services in Walton and Newton counties.

“Attorney General Carr opposes any and all forms of child exploitation and abuse,” the statement said. “We hold our Special Assistant Attorneys General to very high standards. Given the circumstances, we terminated Mr. Jeffery’s appointment as a Special Assistant Attorney General immediately upon getting word of the arrest.”

Walton County Probate Judge Bruce Wright told the news station that he inherited Jeffery as an associate probate judge from the previous administration. He said Jeffery handled about one estate case for him a year for the past six years.

“A GBI agent and an FBI agent made me aware of (Jeffery’s charges) prior to the morning of his arrest,” Wright told Channel 2. “I was sad, I was hurt and I was mad all at once.”

Wright said he won’t assign Jeffery any cases while the charges are pending, and he’ll refer Jeffery to the Judicial Qualifications Commission for his removal as a judge if he pleads guilty or is found guilty of any of the charges, the news station reported.

Attorney Robbie Ballard told Channel 2 his firm represents Jeffery, and he intends to plead not guilty. He wouldn’t comment further on the case.

Because of his connections to the Walton County judicial system, Jeffery was taken to the Barrow County Jail, where he’s being held without bond, the news station reported.



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Walton County lawyer, judge faces 12 child porn, enticing children charges

Town Court Judge Charged With Stealing $4M From Trusts Agrees to Resign

Richard Sherwood

An Albany County town justice who is facing grand larceny charges for participating in a scheme to steal $4 million from a trust fund that he oversaw has agreed to resign from the bench. 

Town of Guilderland Justice Richard Sherwood, a former Guilderland town attorney who was elected to the bench in 2013, is charged with two counts of grand larceny, one count of first-degree scheme to defraud and two counts of first-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Sherwood, 58, 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 court papers.

In the years following Bruggeman’s death, Sherwood and Lagan handled the distribution of Bruggeman’s estate for his widow, Pauline Bruggeman; and her two sisters, Anne Urban and Julia Rentz, who were to be taken care of with sub-trusts. 

According to a news release from the New York Attorney General’s Office, the attorneys diverted $2 million from one of the sub-trusts into an irrevocable trust established in Urban’s name for which the two men were named as trustees.  
  
In February, Sherwood admitted to an investigator with the New York Attorney General’s Office that the irrevocable trust established in Urban’s name was intended as a mechanism to steal estate funds, and that he and Lagan conspired to deceive an Ohio attorney assisting Rentz into wiring another $2 million into the irrevocable trust.

That same month, the Court of Appeals suspended Sherwood, an attorney with Mazzotta, Sherwood & Vagianelis who served on the bench part time, with pay. His resignation is effective March 5.

In a news release, Robert Tembeckjian, administrator and counsel for the Commission on Judicial Conduct, said public confidence in the courts is “undermined” when a judge is arrested.

“While the felony charges against Mr. Sherwood have not been adjudicated and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, by resigning he spared the judiciary and the courts from the spectacle of a judge as criminal defendant,” Tembeckjian said. 

William Dreyer of Dreyer Boyajian appeared for Sherwood in both the commission proceedings and Sherwood’s pending criminal matter. He declined to comment.

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Town Court Judge Charged With Stealing $4M From Trusts Agrees to Resign

South Texas Judge Charged With Accepting Bribes for Favorable Rulings

The FBI has charged a South Texas judge with accepting bribes after a lawyer working as a confidential informant helped agents record the jurist allegedly accepting $6,000 in cash in exchange for favorable rulings.

Federal agents arrested 93rd State District Judge Rodolfo “Rudy” Delgado of Edinburg on Feb. 2.  Delgado was charged with “bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds,” and released on $100,000 bond. The criminal complaint filed against Delgado alleges the FBI worked with an unnamed lawyer, who confessed he had a history dating back to 2008 of bribing Delgado.

The lawyer-turned-informant, listed in the complaint under the initials CHS, worked with the FBI for over a year and participated in numerous recorded phone calls and meetings with Delgado.

The attorney provided Delgado with pre-recorded government funds on two occasions, according to the complaint. In each instance, Delgado allegedly accepted a bribe to place the attorney’s clients on bond.

The attorney wore a recording device as he met with Delgado at a restaurant to hand off an envelope containing the bribery money on Jan. 17, according to the complaint. Delgado allegedly accepted the bribe and then asked for the client and case number. Delgado placed the attorney’s client on bond the next day.

However, on Jan. 29, Delgado sent a text message to the attorney, which stated, “Good evening, please call me. The campaign contribution needs to be by check. I need to return that to you so you can write a check. Sorry about the confusion, I though you knew and I did not open the envelope till today.”

The complaint alleges the text message was an attempt by Delgado to cover up the bribe.

“Delgado had solicited contributions from CHS in the past, but when CHS offered Delgado the bribe, he did not say that it was a campaign donation. Furthermore, CHS offered and Delgado accepted a thick white envelope full of prerecorded government funds,” the complaint alleges. Delgado did not return a call for comment. Neither did his attorney, Adolfo “Al” Alvarez.

Eric Vinson, executive director of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, said Delgado will automatically be suspended from the bench upon indictment.

The commission normally suspends judges without pay automatically if they are indicted for a felony or a misdemeanor involving official misconduct. Judges are allowed to petition the commission to resume their pay or to return to the bench after an indictment, Vinson said, but the commission has historically not allowed indicted judges to sit in Texas.

“The Feds have 30 days to indict and we’re going to kind of watch and see what happens and go from there,” Vinson said.

Delgado has a history with the commission. He was suspended from the bench in 2005 after a grand jury indicted him in connection with a driving while intoxicated incident. That suspension was later lifted by the commission in 2007 after the criminal charges against Delgado were dismissed by a visiting judge—a decision that was later upheld by Corpus Christi’s 13th Court of Appeals.

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South Texas Judge Charged With Accepting Bribes for Favorable Rulings

More charges expected after surprise not guilty plea by Mahoning County judge

WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioCLEVELAND, Ohio - A Mahoning County Area Court Judge who was expected to plead guilty to federal charges for allegedly stealing from a dead client scraps the deal at the last minute.

Judge Diane Vettori-Caraballo walked into a federal courtroom and said hello and then told 21 News "I did not do this."

Vettori-Caraballo is charged in a federal criminal information and accused of stealing cash from two shoeboxes from a dead client's home.

The FBI says the crime happened in early 2016 and Vettori-Caraballo allegedly stole between $96,200 and $328,000.

It's money the deceased woman intended for the charities Angels for Animals and Animal Charity.

Vettori-Caraballo who has reigned over the Sebring Court since 2002 was arraigned on the criminal charges today in Cleveland, and when Federal Judge Dan Aaron Polster asked her, "How does she plead?" There was a long pause.  Then after consulting with her attorneys in a surprise move Vettori-Caraballo said not guilty.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan McDonough told the judge, "The government had anticipated a guilty plea today.  So they'll be filing a superceding indictment with additional charges."

More charges Vettori-Caraballo will have to defend herself against at trial, now scheduled for March 26th.

The judge has told Vettori-Caraballo she has until March 5th if she decides she wants to change he plea.

She will be held on a $20,000 unsecured bond.

The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended her from hearing cases on the bench.

But the Judge has not resigned.

Vettori-Caraballo's attorneys J. Gerald Ingram and John Juhasz did not wish to comment on a pending case.

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More charges expected after surprise not guilty plea by Mahoning County judge

See Also:
UPDATE | Mahoning County judge charged with stealing

Mahoning County judge charged with stealing over $96K from client

UPDATE | Mahoning County judge charged with stealing

Diane Vettori-Caraballo

Judge Diane Vettori will not be able to hear cases at the Mahoning County Area Court in Sebring while criminal charges against her are pending.

A spokeswoman for the Ohio Supreme Court cited a rule which states that judges are disqualified from acting as a judge while there is an indictment or information charging them with a crime punishable as a felony.

An information filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court charges Vettori, 49, of Canfield with stealing at least $92,000 from a former client’s home after the client died. 

Vettori-Caraballo, 49, of Youngstown, was charged via criminal information with one count of fraud, one count of structuring cash deposits and one count of making false statements to law enforcement.

She was charged in federal court with stealing at least $96,200 from a former client, said U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony.

Vettori-Caraballo stole between $96,200 and $328,000 in cash that was in the home of a client when that client died in March 2016, according to the information.

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 reelected in 2006 and 2012, according to the information.

She also provided estate planning services to Robert Sampson, including drafting his will. 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 closest living relative his sister, Dolores Falgiani ,as the administrator three days later, according to the information. 

Sampson died in 2015.

Vettori-Caraballo prepared Falgiani’s will on Nov. 3, 2015. The will made 16 specific 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 information.

Sometime in October or November 2015, Falgiani stated she was in possession of several shoeboxes of cash stored at her residence. Falgiani was found dead in her home on March 10, 2016, according to the information.

Vettori-Caraballo filed an application in Mahoning County Probate Court to probate Falgiani’s estate on March 24, 2016. On May 2, she reported having found cash in the residence and depositing the $20,000 into the estate, according to the information.

On several subsequent occasions in 2016 and this year, Vettori-Caraballo filed a notice of newly discovered assets with the court. Each time, she failed to disclose the cash she had stolen, according to the information.

The information also charged Vettori-Caraballo with structuring 22 deposits of the cash she stole into five different banks within four weeks to avoid regulations that require banks to report cash transactions over $10,000 to the IRS. In addition, the information charges that Vettori-Caraballo lied to the FBI when she was confronted about the theft and the structuring of cash deposits.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian McDonough and Ann C. Rowland. 

If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An information is a charge and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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UPDATE | Mahoning County judge charged with stealing

Mahoning County judge charged with stealing over $96K from client

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – A Mahoning County judge is facing federal charges, accused of stealing at least $96,200 from a former client. The accusation is a violation of public trust but the money was also left in someone else’s will — to benefit two animal advocate groups.

Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Ohio disqualified 49-year-old Diane Vettori-Caraballo, of Youngstown, as a judge while her case is pending.

She was charged with one count of fraud, one count of structuring cash deposits and one count of making false statements to law enforcement.

Vettori-Caraballo stole between $96,200 and $328,000 in cash that was in the home of client Dolores Falgiani after Falgiani died in March of 2016, according to investigators.

“Anytime an attorney steals client funds, that’s unacceptable. Attornies have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and in a case where you have an elected official do this, it certainly violates the public’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney Brian McDonough.

Investigators said Vettori-Caraballo drafted the will for Dolores Falgiani’s brother in 2015 but reported that he didn’t have a will. Falgiani was appointed an administrator of her brother’s estate and Vettori-Caraballo helped her to close the man’s safe deposit boxes.

The will made 16 bequests to relatives and friends, including Animal Charity in Boardman and Angels for Animals in Canfield.

At some point, investigators allege that Falgiani told Vettori-Caraballo about shoe boxes of cash she had stored in her home.

Vettori-Caraballo reported finding $20,000 cash in Falgiani’s home and depositing it into the estate. The government says she structured 22 deposits of cash she stole into five banks to avoid it being reported to the IRS. She told investigators that the money came from her father’s estate, according to court records.

“She’s being charged and they’re serious charges involved in taking money from clients, and then depositing those stolen monies and then lying about the deposits to law enforcement themselves,” McDonough said.

The bill of information outlines 33 allegations against what Vettori-Caraballo was doing, saying she devised and intended to defraud the Mahoning County Probate Court but then denied having “received a nickel” from the woman’s estate to investigators.

“A public official owes the community the highest level of integrity and honesty in all things,” McDonough said.

Vettori-Caraballo was elected to the position of judge in Mahoning County Court #3 – Sebring Court — in 2002. She serves over misdemeanor criminal and traffic charges for Sebring and Beloit villages and Berlin, Green, Goshen, Ellsworth, Smith and Washingtonville townships.

She was reelected in 2006 and 2012.

Vettori-Caraballo is due in a Cleveland courtroom at 2 p.m. on January 17.

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Mahoning County judge charged with stealing over $96K from client