Task force joins fight against elder abuse

A task force that includes a local county district attorney, police officer, and daughter of an elderly crime victim continues to review proposed state laws designed to strengthen protections for senior citizens and others living in care facilities.

State Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-27, whose district includes Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and a portion of Luzerne counties, is among those working to review and revive two bills that were introduced last year and received no further action or advancement in the legislative process.

The work of these lawmakers and task force members demonstrates an important commitment to the protection of those who often don’t have the ability to protect themselves. We hope other state lawmakers take notice and help transform these proposals into new laws.

Senate Bill 261, introduced on Jan, 31, 2023, and sponsored by Sen. Culver, and Sens. Doug Mastriano, R-33, of Adams and Franklin counties, and Patrick J. Stefano, R-32, of Bedford, Somerset, Fayette and part of Westmoreland counties, would add crimes committed against non-verbal, care-dependent victims to the list of offenses that could be prosecuted at any time — not subject to statute of limitations constraints. Other crimes not subject to time limits include murder, voluntary manslaughter, violations relating to fatal accidents and crimes against law enforcement personnel or those caught in involuntary servitude, such as sexual trafficking, among others.

“Care-dependent individuals do not always have the cognitive or verbal ability to communicate crimes committed against them, such as rape, sexual assault, simple assault, aggravated assault and abuse or neglect,” Sen. Mastriano wrote in a memo. “In many cases, these crimes are discovered by family members after the statute of limitations has already run out.”

Senate Bill 885 would create a statewide registry of those found to have abused people living in care facilities.

The registry information, which would include the perpetrator’s name, Social Security number, age, sex and address, would not be made public, but would be available for reference by care facility administrators.

Those placed on the list could immediately appeal the decision and could ask to be removed from the list after five years, and annually after that, the bill states.

Sen. Culver said the task force is reviewing the provisions with the goal of making them better, if possible.

“We wanted to discuss the impacts and the consequences that we may not have intended, and then get it back to the task force for review. We will recirculate it (in the Senate) for co-sponsorship and then reintroduce it,” she said. “We really want this to be a comprehensive bill that cleans the language up so that law enforcement has the tools necessary to make arrests and the district attorney offices have the tools necessary to prosecute. Once we get this through, our plan is to look at other ways to strengthen the laws that protect our senior citizens.

“We’re not going to stop until we feel our seniors are adequately protected.”

NOTE: Opinions expressed in The Daily Item’s editorials are the consensus of the publisher, top newsroom executives and community members of the editorial board.

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Task force joins fight against elder abuse

Power of attorney charged with misuse of $125K

HONEY GROVE — A 42-year-old woman is facing charges of exploitation after police said she misused funds while acting as a power of attorney.

Trisha Jean Santos-Villalobo, of Honey Grove, was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Tracy Powell Friday on charges of financial exploitation and theft by deception.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, Santos Villalobo wes power of attorney of an individual between January and September 2022 and caused him more than $125,000 in loss.

During this time, police said she emptied the individual’s savings account, had the victim buy her a vehicle, sold the victim’s vehicle, failed to pay his bills and used the victim’s checking account for personal purchases.

Court documents also state that Santos-Villalobo also failed to pay attorney fees and take the victim to court hearings, causing him to be incarcerated.

In a police interview, the victim said his previous power of attorney passed away and that Santos-Villalobo asked to become the new power of attorney.

The report states that the victim bought her a Dodge Challenger, then eventually traded it in for a truck.

Police said Santos-Villalobo would give the victim $60-100 each week to use and believed the rest was going into his bank account and to pay his bills. Court documents state that Santos-Villalobo had his paychecks switched from direct deposit to being placed onto a debit card he did not have access to.

In the interview, the victim said Santos-Villalobo told him in September 2022 that he was running out of money and had to sell the Dodge Charger to get caught up on bills. The victim also said he lost power to his house and had the water shut off due to Santos-Villalobo not paying his bills.

Santos-Villalobo was held in Mifflin County Correctional Facility, unable to post $50,000 bail. She is awaiting a preliminary hearing set for 11 a.m. Dec. 6.

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Power of attorney charged with misuse of $125K

Tonight on TS Radio with Marti and Coz: WHERE IS DAVID ITALIANO?

"Tonight on TS Radio (at 7:00 pm EST) we are asking that anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of David Italiano, resident of Pennsylvania, who has been seized in an unnecessary guardianship and disappeared in the system, please contact us. David has been isolated in an undisclosed location for unknown reasons.

Send info to tsrad1@outlook.com

PA, like many states, is quick to rush to guardianship vs. less restrictive ways to support a person. We have worked with many groups to find assistance to help David Italiano.

We reached out to the local Ombudsman for help but were told that there was a guardian and there was little that the Ombudsman could do.

We escalated our conversation to Margaret Barajas, the PA State Long Term Care Ombudsman.
We had multiple meetings with her that went nowhere. We met with her supervisor, PA Sec. of Aging, Mr. Robert Torres, to request his office facilitate a meeting with the guardian.

We filed complaints with the PA Office of Civil Rights but with no signed release from David, they would not act.

We had the same response from the Federal Office of Civil Rights,

We have reached out to PA State Rep Jeff Wheeland for help. Like many of the others, he would not get involved due to their being a guardian.

We contacted Senator Robert Casey’s office to request help. Both Senator Casey and his policy person for the Elderly and Disabled population, Michael Gamel-McCormick agree that the guardianship system is badly broken, there was nothing that they could offer in the way of help. Senator Casey is drafting legislation to be introduced to the 118th congress to address systemic changes that are needed to protect people from unnecessary guardianship."

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Court-appointed guardian accused of stealing appears in court

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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.

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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.

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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.

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UPDATE: Private guardian April Parks behind bars in Las Vegas

Former court-appointed guardian accused of theft from wards

LAS VEGAS - A former court-appointed financial guardian in Las Vegas, her friend and her office manager were charged Wednesday with siphoning more than $550,000 out of accounts of people assigned to her business as wards of the court.

A 270-count criminal indictment filed in Nevada state court alleges that more than 150 victims lost money to April Parks, her employee Mark Simmons, and Parks' friend, Gary Neil Taylor, through overbilling for court filings, banking visits and services not rendered by the business, A Private Professional Guardian LLC.

Together, the three are accused of racketeering, theft and exploitation of a vulnerable person — charges that could get them decades in state prison.

"Guardians are appointed to protect ... some of the most vulnerable members of our community," said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, who joined state Attorney General Adam Laxalt and county Sheriff Joe Lombardo to announce the charges after a two-year investigation.

"They are entrusted with every aspect of that person's life, including their health and finances," Wolfson said in a statement. "These defendants took advantage of helpless individuals who did not have the ability to defend themselves."

Laxalt said the indictment "should send a message to court-appointed guardians throughout the state that law enforcement is committed to aggressively protecting our elderly and vulnerable populations."

Parks and Simmons also face perjury charges. In all, Parks faces 212 charges, and Simmons faces 134 counts. Taylor faces seven.

Parks' attorney didn't immediately respond to messages. Officials said she is believed to now live in Pennsylvania.

Simmons' attorney, Julian Gregory, declined to comment. It wasn't clear from officials or the court record if Taylor has a lawyer.

Clark County District Court Judge Jennifer Togliatti ordered the arrest without bail of Parks and Simmons and set bail at $200,000 for Taylor.

Officials didn't say how they believe Parks, Simmons and Taylor spent the money they're accused of stealing from about December 2011 to July 2016.

The indictment alleges they used various schemes to illegally siphon money from the accounts of people they were assigned and entrusted to protect.

One method had Taylor, who prosecutors identified as Parks' boyfriend-turned-husband, serve as a deliveryman to file court papers that could be filed online. Another billed wards for bank deposits made in person rather than by direct deposit.

Wards were billed extra for home visits made to deliver holiday gifts, and one ward was billed $4,800 for services even though he died just two days after Parks filed her petition for guardianship.

The investigation became public with the creation of an enforcement task force in late March 2015, after stories emerged about abuses in the guardianship system. The investigation of Parks began a couple of months later.

The Nevada Supreme Court also created a 25-member commission in July 2015 that still meets monthly to study guardianship abuse.

Officials noted the defendants were affiliated with a private guardianship business, not a Clark County Public Guardian office that serves people legally determined to be incapable of managing their own affairs. The public office also offers a voluntary money management assistance program for people over 60.

The case also led to charges of theft and filing a false instrument against Las Vegas family law, estate planning and tax attorney Noel Palmer Simpson.

Simpson's attorney, William Terry, said his client intends to plead not guilty and will seek to sever her case from the others. Terry said Simpson posted $7,500 cash bail pending a March 22 court appearance.



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Former court-appointed guardian accused of theft from wards

UPDATE: Court records show guardian charged wards for Christmas gifts

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: Court records show guardian charged wards for Christmas gifts

Fugitive Arrested in East Goshen

On March 8, at 4 p.m. the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department was alerted by the FBI that a fugitive was at a local business.

The 52-year-old, identified as April Lynn Parks, was located in the 1300 block of Enterprise Drive in East Goshen Township. Members of the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department and Willistown Township Police Department arrested Parks without incident and confirmed through NCIC that she was wanted on a felony warrant issued by the Clark County District Court in Nevada.

According to the Indictment Warrant, Parks was charged in Nevada with multiple felony counts of racketeering, theft, and exploitation of an older person. She also was charged with offering false instruments for filing felony counts of perjury.

The investigation in Las Vegas concentrated on a business operated by April Lynn Parks that was supposed to provide guardianship to elderly and disabled persons. Parks was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Lori Novak Donatelli, who set bail at $500,000. Parks was remanded to Chester County Prison, pending extradition to Clark County, Nevada.

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Fugitive Arrested in East Goshen