'Who steals from the sick and the poor and the dying?': Woman pleads guilty in fraud scheme

While her victims lived with HIV and depended on social security, Paige Bohall enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. The once trusted financial manager of the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association — or Four A's — is now the bad actor behind what one of the nonprofit's board members calls a "profound betrayal."

Bohall, 38, embezzled more than $105,000 from the nonprofit organization between 2013 and 2017, court records state. She not only misused her company credit card but also took money from individual client accounts to pay her personal bills.

According to its website, the statewide organization provides a range of services to AIDS patients ranging from health care to housing and also manages a needle exchange program.

Thursday, Bohall admitted to scheming to defraud and theft in exchange for a 90-day jail sentence and three months of probation, however, she'll receive credit for time served on an ankle monitor. She's also paid $120,000 in restitution.

Bohall took her friends out to dinner. She bought furniture. Her dogs wore fancy collars — It's knowledge Sarha Shaubach, a dedicated fundraiser for Four A's, says she wanted the court to consider before accepting the plea deal.

/>"I'd like [the judge] to think of how long it has been since Miss Bohall took over $120,000 from social security clients that have HIV and the type of lifestyle that she was living while she was doing that. I was very aware of that," said Shaubach.

She believes that Bohall should have to spend some time in jail.

"Paige has never even been handcuffed during this. The time that she did spend on ankle monitor was spent down in Vegas with her mother-in-law, while she has not had to face her local community at all," said Shaubach.

Candace Bell, a Four A's board member, spoke on behalf of the organization at Bohall's change of plea hearing. (Photo: Rachel McPherron)

Four A's board member Candace Bell addressed the court on behalf of the organization.

"Who does that, your honor?" she asked. "Who steals from the sick and the poor and the dying?"

Bell detailed the extensive fallout from the embezzlement. She said while the restitution is helpful, the measurable cost to date is closer to $160,000. Bell said more than 500 staff hours have been spent dealing with the fraud instead of supporting clients. They've had to trace every instance of theft to try to make things right and pay thousands of dollars in the process for things like forensic audits.

"I would be remiss if I did not admit to the fact that the lightness of the sentence stings," said Bell, "but Four A's as an organization is more inclined toward restoration than retribution and, therefore, we acquiesce to this plea agreement."

Bohall told the judge she is sorry.

"I never meant to hurt anyone with my recklessness," she said, "and I know returning the money that was owed doesn't solve everything, but I do hope the process of healing for the agency does begin with the clients that have had to wait for me to get this back to them."

Paige Bohall, 38, appeared in court for a change of plea hearing on May 17, 2019. (Photo: Rachel McPherron / KTVA)

Unfortunately, for some of her victims, the money can't help them now.

"Some of those clients are no longer living and they will never receive the benefit of the return of the money stolen from them," Bell told the judge.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Erin Marston accepted plea agreement.

"It's especially painful because it was from a charity and people relied upon that money," he said. "On the other hand, she has paid a large amount of restitution. Often I'm in this position where almost nobody gets any money back and it's just kind of a sad tale all the way around."

Bohall pleaded guilty to a class B felony count of scheme to defraud and a third degree theft charge.

As for Four A's, Bell says the organization continues to help those in need, even if it is still recovering from the impact of Bohall's crimes.

"Our mission is alive and well," she said.

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'Who steals from the sick and the poor and the dying?': Woman pleads guilty in fraud scheme

25 Investigates: Nonprofit manager suspected of stealing tax dollars meant for disabled kids

HELMSFORD, Mass. - Police are investigating a Lowell woman suspected of stealing tax dollars meant for kids with disabilities, 25 Investigates has learned.

Investigative Reporter Eric Rasmussen has been looking into the case for months and confirmed Amy Young, former director of family support at Chelmsford-based LifeLinks, is under investigation – suspected of helping herself to taxpayer money under the guise it was going to families in need.

LifeLinks is a nonprofit state contractor that passes along funding from the Department of Developmental Services to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Greater Lowell area.

A DDS spokesman confirmed LifeLinks alerted the state to the suspected theft by an employee in September, but 25 Investigates obtained Chelmsford police log records showing the nonprofit waited until November to report “embezzlement at LifeLinks over many years.”

Another four months passed before parents got a letter from LifeLinks in March that a “member of the staff inappropriately used funds.”

Parents looking for answers

Lisa Puccia and Joan Levasseur, two mothers who told 25 Investigates Young was assigned to help their children take on the challenges of autism, say they feel betrayed.

“That's just the same as walking in someone's house and stealing from them,” said Levasseur.

Puccia said, “I'm actually taken back that she could even do this, at all, to any of us.”

When 25 Investigates asked LifeLinks about Young, the nonprofit’s CEO, Jean Phelps, declined an interview request but wrote in an email, “The staff person was terminated immediately.”

Now Puccia and Levasseur want to know if Young used their accounts in the suspected embezzlement – by billing for bogus services – but said they still can’t get answers.

“I couldn’t access the information to find out if the two checks a year I was getting for the social skills group were the only two checks against my account,” said Levasseur.

Phelps insisted in an email to 25 Investigates that the stolen money “did not directly impact any services received by individuals and families.”

Mom says no funding available

But Puccia isn’t convinced. She says her daughter stopped receiving help from LifeLinks in 2010.

“I approached LifeLinks, our family service provider, and she said that there was no funding available at that time and that when there was funding available they would actually get in touch with us and they never did,” said Puccia. “I thought she was looking out for my kid and she obviously wasn't. She was looking out for herself.”

Young declined an interview request. She instead sent us an email citing the “ongoing investigation” and added, “I have been advised to not make a statement.”

Meanwhile, parents tell 25 Investigates they became suspicious about recent social media posts from Young and her family documenting frequent vacations.

“(She’s taking) trips to Disney, trips to Las Vegas... and more than one trip to Disney in a year. I mean, really?,” said Levasseur.

LifeLinks receives millions in state tax dollars

Neither Chelmsford Police nor LifeLinks would say exactly how much money Young is suspected of embezzling or how long the theft had been going on.

But public records reveal the nonprofit contractor took in more than $15 million from the state in just fiscal 2016 alone.

The Chelmsford Police called the theft “a serious case” and said the case “will likely be presented to the grand jury” after the investigation is complete.

In an emailed statement to 25 Investigates, a spokesman for the Department of Developmental Services said the agency “treats the appropriation of taxpayer funds very seriously and is working with state officials to ensure any misused state funds are returned to the Commonwealth.”

The agency also told 25 Investigates, “DDS required that Lifelinks retain an independent accounting firm to conduct a review of their internal controls. No new individuals have been referred to LifeLinks for services.”

Full Article & Source:
25 Investigates: Nonprofit manager suspected of stealing tax dollars meant for disabled kids

Recommended Website: CANHR

Since 1983, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a statewide nonprofit 501(c)(3) advocacy organization, has been dedicated to improving the choices, care and quality of life for California’s long term care consumers.

Through direct advocacy, community education, legislation and litigation it has been CANHR’s goal to educate and support long term care consumers and advocates regarding the rights and remedies under the law, and to create a united voice for long term care reform and humane alternatives to institutionalization.

Source:
CANHR.org

Nonprofit takes long look at senior transportation

DOWNTOWN — A recent survey released by WISE & Healthy Aging suggests that Santa Monica may need to alter the way it provides transportation to its most senior residents to get them out of the house and remain active in the community.

The survey, conducted between Aug. 27 and Nov. 5 with 369 respondents, asked seniors aged 80 and above how often and for what purpose they used Dial-a-Ride, a service that allows seniors to arrange for rides to the grocery store, medical appointments or other necessities.

It also queried how often seniors used the after-hours taxi, a service that picks up after Dial-a-Ride ends for the day.

Results showed that many seniors don’t use local transportation options like Dial-a-Ride or the after-hours taxi as much as they could, largely because they’re unfamiliar with the programs.
Instead, they end up taking public transportation, driving their own car or getting a ride from someone else.

Over half of Santa Monica’s octogenarians didn’t know that the after-hours option was available, and just under 50 percent of those above the age of 90 were unaware that they could arrange for a cab at night twice a month if need be.

That was huge for staff at WISE & Healthy Aging, who plan to ramp up efforts to familiarize aging Santa Monicans with the transportation options that are available to them, said Grace Cheng Braun, president and CEO of WISE & Healthy Aging.

Snagging a spot in a Dial-a-Ride van or the after-hours taxi takes some advance preparation. The person setting up the ride has to be a member, and in many cases the request must be made at least two days in advance for either service.

Trips also cost 50 cents one-way for the Dial-a-Ride van to city meetings, and $3 each way for the taxi service, according to a flyer.

While it’s important for seniors to know their options, where and when those modes of transportation are available make a huge difference in the likelihood that a resident will take advantage of them.
Most of the almost 400 seniors polled reported that they would like to use the services to attend daytime group activities like movies or communal meals, Braun said, and many chose not to use the taxi service because they had no desire to go out that late at night.   

Full Article & Source:
Nonprofit takes long look at senior transportation

FL: Wards of the State Depend on Their Guardian Angels

A decades-old photo of Santa Claus and a child in winter clothing sits on the dresser in a holiday-bedecked bedroom.

That little girl, who was developmentally disabled and had cerebral palsy, lived with her parents in Massachusetts.

Now, at 62, with no family left to see to her needs, Kathy lives in a Space Coast group home as a legal ward of the state’s Statewide Public Guardianship Office. At the request of her guardian and because of privacy concerns, FLORIDA TODAY agreed not to publish her last name.

Along with 82 other adults in Brevard who’ve been declared incapacitated, all aspects of Kathy’s care falls to Aging Solutions, a nonprofit appointed by the state as the Office of the Public Guardian here and in three other counties.

The often-sad stories of these wards are highlighted annually over the holidays through Aging Solutions’ “Elves for Elders” campaign, which provides basic gifts for the organization’s charges.

But how do these Floridians, most older than 60, land in guardianship in the first place? And how are their needs met the rest of the year?

Wards, many cognitively and physically impaired, wind up under state guardianship for diverse reasons. Some were exploited financially by caretakers or family. Some living in dangerous, unhealthy situations were referred by the Department of Children and Families; others by hospitals or neighbors. Those with sufficient assets often are put in a private guardian’s care. Those who are indigent can fall under the state’s protection.

All share a bond: They no longer can care for themselves and have no family or friends to step up and take the lead. For example, Kathy’s parents and brother are deceased, and though she has one aunt in Brevard County, the older woman is unable to look after her niece.

Full Article and Source:
Wards of the State Depend on Their Guardian Angels

CEDA Fires Robert Wharton!

Robert Wharton, leader of one of the state's largest nonprofits, has been ousted from the community assistance organization he steered for more than a decade, the agency's board said Thursday.

The move follows a Tribune report earlier this week about how Wharton, as chief executive officer of the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, had fallen behind in payments a Cook County judge ordered him to make to his former secretary.

The Cook County public guardian had alleged that Wharton financially exploited onetime employee Dorothy Hork, who is 91 and has dementia, by coaxing her over several years to write him checks for tens of thousands of dollars.

"(The board) decided to seek quick and decisive action and Bob has been relieved of all of his duties," said CEDA spokesman Abe Thompson. "He is no longer with the organization."

Full Article and Source:
Cook County Nonprofit Ousts Besieged Leader

See Also:
Robert Warton, CEO of Community and Economic Development of Cook County, IL (CEDA) Defaults

The (Elderly) Mob Rules

"If it's hot, there's a lot of booze and somebody named Big Daddy. You're on pretty firm footing."

Perhaps not what you'd expect to hear walking into the Santa Monica Senior Center on Ocean Avenue, but professional actor Brian Hamill is not emceeing Tuesday afternoon bingo.

Most Tuesdays between the hours of 12:30 and 2 p.m., Hamill transforms the northern end of the center into an improvisational comedy workshop for one and a half hours of mind-bending activities that keeps his troupe of senior actors on their toes.

Hamill, and other dedicated volunteers like him, do their work through the nonprofit organization Mob Rule, Inc., a loosely-bound coalition of community-minded individuals who run free workshops throughout the Los Angeles area.

The beauty of Mob Rule, Inc. is that anyone with an idea and some energy can get a class going with all the tax benefits of working through a nonprofit and none of the overhead.

Full Article and Source:
The (Elderly) Mob Rules

Guardians Needed

The need for legal guardians for people with disabilities and for the elderly is on its way to a crisis point, with more than 100 people who once lived in the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center or another state institution on a state-funded guardianship program waiting list. Add to that the number of young adults with disabilities each year who reach 18 and must have a court-appointed guardian.

The nonprofit Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana and Easter Seals Arc are hosting a free informational meeting at the Allen County Public Library for parents and caregivers of teens or adult children with disabilities. It is an educational outreach of VLP's Volunteer Advocates for Seniors and Incapacitated Adults, which finds volunteer guardians for adults with no family or friends able or willing to oversee services such as housing or health care. A guardian of the estate may also be appointed.

Although Tuesday's forum is targeted at families with adult or soon-to-be adult children with disabilities, training for volunteer guardians for older adults and others through VLP-VASIA will be offered later this year. In some cases, an incapacitated person may have medical or other urgent issues requiring intervention but even when family is found, “They will not step up because they're afraid of being financially responsible,” said attorney Catherine Christoff with Christoff & Christoff, also active with VLP-VASIA.

Although no one denies the guardianship need is significant, just how serious of a problem it is remains uncertain, said Julie Cameron, coordinator of Mental Health in America in Allen County's Adult Guardianship Services. There is no good tracking in Indiana's public or private guardianship programs of how many people on waiting lists may die before a guardian is found or perhaps a distant relative accepts the role. The guardianship process needs to be deliberate and taken very seriously, Houk said, noting “We're talking about suspending people's civil rights. It's important there are barriers.”

Full Article and Source:
Needed: Guardians for Indiana's disabled, elderly

Withholding of Consent Case

Below is a summary of an important new decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court regarding whether, and under what circumstances, a guardian has the authority to refuse treatment for an incapacitated person who does not have an end-stage medical condition or is permanently unconscious. In brief, the court held as follows:

1. A court order that appoints a person as a plenary guardian does not authorize that person to refuse life-sustaining treatment for incapacitated persons who do not have end-stage medical conditions or who are not permanently unconscious. In other words, a guardianship order by itself does not authorize the guardian to make such a decision.

2. A guardian must secure a special court order to allow him to refuse life-sustaining treatment for an incapacitated person who does not have an end-stage medical condition or who is not permanently unconscious. The guardian has an "extraordinary burden" to prove by clear and convincing evidence that death would be in the incapacitated person's best interests, i.e., that extending life would be inhumane under the circumstances. The guardian must present specific medical evidence about the incapacitated person's diagnosis, prognosis, pain, etc. and, if at all possible, evidence concerning the incapacitated person's wishes either prior to or during the treatment. The individuals cognitive disability should generally not be considered.

This decision will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a guardian to secure an order that would allow him to refuse life-sustaining treatment when an incapacitated person does not have an end-stage medical condition or is not permanently unconscious.

Full Article and Source:
DRN Offers Summary of New Guardianship/Withholding of Consent to Treatment Case

Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (DRN) is a statewide, non-profit corporation designated as the federally-mandated organization to advance and protect the civil rights of adults and children with disabilities.

Volunteer Guardianship Program

Volunteers are being sought to assist elderly residents of area nursing homes who have no family.

The Full Life Center Inc., a nonprofit organization led by New Philadelphia attorney Karen Dummermuth, has developed a volunteer guardianship program. Dummermuth, who serves as a guardian for several area residents, said there is a great need for more guardians of the elderly and legally incompetent.

Dummermuth: “The volunteers would befriend these people and provide them with a friend on the outside. As these people, who must meet the legal definition of a ‘ward,’ have no family, the guardian could be making medical decisions for them."

Full Article and Source:
Non-profit organizations seeks volunteers to serve as ‘guardians’ for residents of nursing homes

The Child's Advocate (TCA)

A group of attorneys and mental health professionals have launched The Child's Advocate (TCA), a nonprofit which aims to ensure that every child who comes into contact with the courts has access to high quality (free) legal representation—and to ensure his or her psychological needs are met during the process.

In addition to full-time and trained pro bono attorneys, TCA will also have mental health workers with experience in child development and family dynamics on staff. This team will be able to represent the child in the most constructive manner and be able to determine whether additional services are needed. The organization expects to serve 100 to 300 children each year. It also hopes to be a model for other communities across the state and nation to replicate and to serve as a "think tank" on children's legal issues, as well.

Full Article and Source:
New Project Aims to Ensure Wake Children’s Voices Are Heard

Opposition to Adoption Legislation

Senate Bill 68, sponsored by Shelby County Gary Tapp, would prevent unmarried couples from adopting children in Kentucky. Gatewood, a family court attorney who works on cases where abused and neglected children are looking for permanent homes and is also openly gay, said he believes the bill's intent is to prevent gay couples from adopting and is similar to legislation already filed in states.

Gatewood: "They're essentially creating a 'Catch 22.' They're arguing that we shouldn't be allowed to be parents because we're not married and they pass a law that says we can't be married...Senator Tapp wants to send the Cabinet for Health and Family services into people's bedrooms. Instead of looking at whether people are appropriate placements, have an acceptable home, or whether they have a criminal record, let's see if they're having sex."

Gatewood said the bill would have unintended consequences that would limit the number of homes where abused and neglected children could go.

David Edmunds, with the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said his nonprofit educational group supports the bill.

Edmunds: "This bill is about children's needs, not adults desires. All the statistics show that children do better in a married home. Unmarried homes are more likely to break up, more likely to foster abuse, and the statistics bare that out pretty consistently."

Edmunds rebuffed the idea that SB 68 was specifically targeting gays and lesbians.

Full Article and Source:
Opposition Grows To Kentucky Adoption Legislation

Rise in Elder Abuse

Physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse incidents involving elders in Massachusetts are on the rise partly due to the difficult times residents face.

Dale Mitchell, executive director of Ethos, a nonprofit agency based in Boston, explained that the bulk of cases they have witnessed are linked to overload. As residents lose their jobs, witness their investments shrinks and suffer from foreclosed homes, they often take out on senior citizens who live with them the stress these situations have created.

To make matters worse, programs that help families deal with crises similar to what they are going through such as home care and stress management for caregivers in the family are going through budget reductions.

Full Article and Source:
Massachusetts Reports Rise In Elder Abuse

Trust Fund for Tortured Teen

A Sacramento judge gave a nonprofit law firm the go-ahead to start a trust fund for a teenager who in December escaped from a central Tracy home where he said he had been held prisoner for more than a year.

Donors from around the world have helped raise $34,000 for the boy identified in court records as Kyle R., who made headlines when he appeared bloodied, emaciated and shackled at In-Shape Health Club begging for help.

Sacramento County took protective custody of the 16-year-old boy, who has been a ward of the state since his mother died several years ago. His former legal guardian is one of his four alleged captors, who police say drugged him, beat him and chained him to a fireplace for as many as 18 months.

The teen is now one of 5,000 children in the care of Child Protective Services in Sacramento County.

Full Article and Source:
Fund OK'd for tortured teen

See also:
2008 Top Stories

Nursing Home Neglect

Inspector General's Report Finds 92 Percent of Nursing Homes Cited for Deficiencies

A government report found extensive problems in America's nursing homes. According to the study, nearly one in five of the nearly 15,000 nursing homes examined were cited for violations that put patients in immediate harm in 2007. A total of 92 percent were cited for some type of deficiencies during each of the last three years.

From treating bed sores to preventing urinary tract infections, the quality of care in nursing homes was usually the focus of those deficiencies, the report found. Experts also found that on a typical day, far too many residents waited too long to get the help they needed.

Despite the report's findings, critics said just issuing "deficiency citations" won't change anything.

Wes Bledsoe, founder of A Perfect Cause, a non-profit group that advocates for the reform in long-term care said: "Very few of these deficiencies ever result in a financial penalty, And if they do, they are not collected. The system has no teeth."

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General issued new voluntary guidelines to help nursing homes improve the quality of their care. According to HHS, the guidelines will address staffing issues, the management of medications and resident safety, among several other concerns.

Full Article and Source:
Are Nursing Homes Neglecting Mom and Dad?

Alternative to Trillium - Volunteer Guardians

With scarred minds and unwilling bodies, 1,400 "wards" live in nursing homes, houses and hospitals in Stark County.

They're called wards for short, as in wards of the court. They're people, often senior citizens, who can no longer make good decisions for themselves. They've been declared legally incompetent in probate court. A guardian has been appointed for each to handle his or her affairs.

Most wound up in the care of Trillium Family Solutions, a local nonprofit agency that charges fees to wards and nursing homes for its professional guardianship services.

Stark County Probate Judge Dixie Park said "There were some issues there."

Some of those issues were outlined in a series of stories critical of Trillium's services:

* An agency that is legal guardian for hundreds of area senior citizens should do a better job, according to an independent review committee’s report.
Guardianship agency needs to improve

* On the same day Trillium Family Solutions released a review of its guardianship program, a judge removed the agency as guardian of an 84-year-old woman because it did a poor job.
Trillium removed as woman’s guardian

* An agency that’s guardian for more than 200 incompetent people in Stark County must change the way it does business, says the judge who controls those guardianships. And the agency itself has formed a committee to review how it does its guardianship business.
Trillium aims to improve

* The Repository began this year with an outstanding reporting effort by staff writer Tim Botos. It was his series of stories on the guardianship program at Trillium Family Solutions, a local social service agency. Botos looked at hundreds of cases in which Trillium was handling the affairs of incompetent adults. What he found raised several important questions about how Trillium and Stark County Probate Court were looking after the well being of men and women who had no one else to protect them.
Report from Bittle committee will help Trillium continue to improve

Botos has done a thorough job of looking into Trillium’s work

Tim Botos REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER


Trillium made changes in an effort to improve, and still regularly takes on new cases. The judge revamped the way the court handles guardianship cases. The judge also sought out local elder law attorney Sandra Watkins-Cleaver for ideas to provide an alternative to Trillium. Watkins-Cleaver created Guardian Support Services, a stand-alone nonprofit. Its sole mission: Find volunteer guardians for indigent wards.

Full Article and Source:
Volunteer guardians in demand