EXCLUSIVE: Former Mrs. Florida, sentenced to jail for stealing her mother's Social Security checks, blames the nursing home for her mom's death saying she spent the money on private care because the center 'neglected' her

• WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
• Karyn Turk, 47, was sentenced this month to jail time and house arrest after she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Social Security Insurance fraud
• Turk was Mrs. Florida in 2016 and works as a conservative commentator having rubbed elbows with the likes of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani
• She confessed to taking the money from her dying, bed-ridden mother's Social Security but tells DailyMailTV it was to pay for a private full-time aide
• 'I made mistakes,' she said. 'Legally, I should have automatically forwarded the checks to the nursing home. I just didn't like how they were treating her'  
• She claims the West Palm Beach nursing home is responsible for her 83-year-old mother's death and says the staff neglected her  
• Turk provided photos to DailyMailTV of horrifying bed sores her mother had  and other wounds which she says 'speaks for themselves'
• She is expected to report to prison on March 2 in Florida and then serve five months on house arrest and serve 100 hours of community service

Mrs. Florida is headed to prison for stealing her dying, bed-ridden mother's Social Security checks - crushing her dream of becoming a Real Housewife.

It's a sexy headline, says ex-beauty queen Karyn Turk, mom-of-four and socialite wife of a well-known lawyer, but she tells DailyMailTV that her upcoming sentence doesn't reflect what really happened.

Turk, 47, who along with being Mrs. Florida 2016 is also a conservative political commentator who rubs elbows with the likes of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, tells DailyMailTV that she only stole the checks to pay for her mother's private full time aide. 

Turk pleaded guilty in September to stealing $17,320 worth of Social Security checks from her mother. Turk paid back $46,000 and is expected to spend most of the month of March in a prison camp located in the swampy Everglades. 

The checks should have been going to the Finnish-American Village, a nursing home in the West Palm Beach suburb of Lake Worth, where Turk's mom, retired New Jersey housewife Ilse Schafer, spent four years until her death June 10, 2019 at the age of 83. In December, Finnish-America filed a lawsuit against Turk that claims she still owes them $220,000 for her mother's care.

But now Turk is hitting out against the nursing home in a lawsuit, claiming they neglected her mother and are responsible for her death and says that's why she refused to pay the home for their services.

Former Mrs. Florida Karyn Turk, 47, was sentenced this month to jail time and house arrest after she pleaded guilty to Social Security Insurance fraud for stealing from her mother

Turk is seen with her adoptive mother, Ilse Schafer, who died in June at the age of 83

Turk is seen with her adoptive mother, Ilse Schafer, who died in June at the age of 83

Turk was Mrs. Florida in 2016 and works as a conservative commentator having rubbed elbows with the likes of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani

In an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV in her Boca Raton dockside condo, Turk said there's a back story to her descent from conservative talk-show personality and potential reality TV star to bottom-of-the-barrel nickel-and-dime thief. 

And at times, that story makes her sound like her political hero, President Donald Trump.

Turk is a conservative commentator who is often pictured with Republican figures in Palm Beach, such as this 2018 photo with President Donald Trump

'It's a conspiracy and a witch hunt,' she says. 'The story on how I could end up in prison – I just filed my appeal, by the way – started when I complained about my mother's treatment in her nursing home.

'The nursing home administrators knew my mother's death was going to be a problem, so they figured they'd discredit me and create a false narrative to save themselves from scrutiny.' 

A court-appointed guardian accused Turk of using her mother's Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Palm Beach' and to garner publicity.

The guardian accused Turk of using the money to rent large homes and buying tables at fancy equestrian events. 

At 83, Turk's adoptive mother Ilse Schafer suffered from a series of ailments, including respiratory problems and dementia, and she was bed-ridden.

But degenerative diseases that couldn't be blamed on anyone, Turk says, is just a part of what killed her.

'What killed her is neglect,' Turk says, 'Neglect that caused nine bed sores on her back and legs.

'One of the bed sores on her back got so bad that you could see the vertebrae from her spine through a gaping hole in her flesh.

'They were gaping holes that the nursing home staff just filled with cotton.

'My mom was in excruciating pain when she died, and folks at the nursing home didn't lift a finger. They actually tried to hide it by attempting to have her cremated. But I managed to get the body and an autopsy by a private doctor.'

Turk provided photos to DailyMailTV of her mother's wounds taken about a month before she died, saying 'they speak for themselves.'

According to the private autopsy that Turk paid for, Schafer died of respiratory failure caused by pneumonia and bronchitis. The report also mentions 'infected decubitus ulcers (bed sores) and dementia' were 'contributing causes.'

Turk filed a lawsuit against the nursing home in early September, according to Palm Beach County court records, alleging that the staff failed to monitor her mother's health properly and neglected her care as bed sore developed into open wounds that made her body more vulnerable to infections.

Bed sores, according to Florida health regulators, can be 'very painful' and 'extremely difficult to heal.'

They're usually caused by breakdowns in the skin that touches bed sheets in the same way for long periods of time.

They're also avoidable, and the number of patients with such injuries is used by regulators to judge the level of care in a nursing home.

Turk claims the West Palm Beach nursing home is responsible for her 83-year-old mother's death and says the staff neglected her. Sheprovided pictures showing her mother with a mark on her head and deep bed sores

Turk claims the West Palm Beach nursing home is responsible for her 83-year-old mother's death and says the staff neglected her. Sheprovided pictures showing her mother with a mark on her head and deep bed sores

'My mom was in excruciating pain when she died, and folks at the nursing home didn't lift a finger,' Turk said. She provided this photo of her mother at the nursing home hunched over

'I made mistakes,' she said. 'Legally, I should have automatically forwarded the checks to the nursing home. I just didn't like how they were treating her' She provided this photo of her and mother from childhood

Turk claims the Finnish-American Village, a nursing home in the West Palm Beach suburb of Lake Worth, neglected her mother who lived there for four years

Finnish American was on the state's nursing home watch list since July 2017, according to the Agency of Health Care Administration, because, in some instances, it didn't meet the minimum standards of elderly care, according to the agency's website.

She is expected to report to prison on March 2 in Florida and then serve five months on house arrest and serve 100 hours  of community service

Records show 'pressure ulcers,' or bed sores, were found on a randomly checked resident. State regulators fined Finnish-American $2,500 and placed the home on administrative probation.

State inspectors gave the nursing home a one-star overall rating, out of a possible five stars. They gave one star for its quality of care, two for quality of life and one star for 'pressure ulcers.'

'It's false,' said Daniel Benson, the facility's executive director and chief financial officer, when asked about the low ratings and probation. 'We're not commenting on anything that has to do with Karyn Turk.'

Later, Benson emailed a statement that read: 'The 2017 citation was for an isolated incident which has no bearing on this case, but unfortunately still affects our star rating. Mrs. Turk is again attempting to redirect attention from the crime she committed. Due to ongoing litigation, we cannot comment any further.'

The nursing home, by the way, received five stars for the nutrition and hydration of its 45 residents, and five stars for the residents' dignity.

As bad blood festered between Turk and the nursing home's administration, she said Benson even took to writing a letter about her to local U.S. Congresswoman Lois Frankel. 

His email to Democrat Frankel obtained exclusively by DailyMailTV shows Benson asking for further investigations into Turk after she copped the plea to a misdemeanor. 

Daniel Benson, the facility's executive director sent an email to Democrat Frankel obtained exclusively by DailyMailTV that shows Benson asking for further investigations into Turk after she copped the plea to a misdemeanor

DailyMailTV obtained court documents filed in September by Turk against the nursing home which she says neglected her mother

Benson wrote he worried that Turk benefited from her Republican connections and that 'the sentence will not equate to the magnitude of the crime.'

According to news reports, six employees of the nursing home attended Turk's sentencing on January 10.

'They were actually lobbying the federal government to discredit me when I was already down,' she said.

Turk, meanwhile, doesn't dispute the facts that are likely to land her in prison camp despite her lack of a criminal record.

She is also scheduled to serve five months on house arrest and serve 100 hours of community service.

'I made mistakes,' she said. 'I was using my mother's checks to pay for a private full-time aide to be with my mom at the nursing home. That stuff is expensive.

'Legally, I should have automatically forwarded the checks to the nursing home. I just didn't like how they were treating her.'

Turk and Don Trump Jr strike a pose in 2018. She was accused of her mother's Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Palm Beach'

Turk and Roger Stone are seen at an October 2018 event. She is a staunch supporter of the former Trump campaign advisor, who awaits sentencing on federal convictions

Turk poses with Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani at an event last February

She said she's paying for the crime in more ways than her sentence.

In December, Finnish-America filed a lawsuit against Turk that claims she still owes them $220,000 for the care of her mother.

Her social standing that made her a regular at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's private club, is now in question.

Several reality TV opportunities have since vanished.

And people who recognize her from the media coverage of her sentencing look at her with a hint of disgust.

'In my neighborhood and my condo building, I can see little old ladies looking at me sideways,' Turk said. 'One even clutches her purse when I walk by.

'I guess I can't blame her.'

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EXCLUSIVE: Former Mrs. Florida, sentenced to jail for stealing her mother's Social Security checks, blames the nursing home for her mom's death saying she spent the money on private care because the center 'neglected' her

Port Ludlow financial guardian pleads guilty to defrauding clients

A Port Ludlow man who is accused of stealing as much as $280,000 from clients he served as a financial guardian pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Friday to Social Security fraud.

Wayne Jerome Houston, 61, owned Cross Point Services LLC, a guardianship organization for disabled and vulnerable adults, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Brian Moran. 

As part of his business managing the financial affairs of 15-20 clients a month, Houston  had access to the clients’ bank accounts so he could pay rent, utilities and other bills for them. Beginning in 2010, Houston began writing checks from his client's accounts to himself, to Cross Point Services, or to cash, and he used ATMs to withdraw money from client accounts for his own expenses, according to Moran's office.

He continued withdrawing money through 2018. The amount stolen is still under investigation, the office said, but it is estimated between $150,000 and $280,941.   

“This defendant stole from those he was supposed to protect at least 240 separate times,” Moran said in the press release. “He betrayed the clients who needed his help, as well as the Kitsap County Superior Court judges who appointed him, believing he could be trusted to make sure disabled and vulnerable adults were protected.”

Houston targeted clients who had significant income so that the theft was less likely to be detected, the press release said. 

Social Security benefits were paid into the accounts of at least 13 clients who required a representative payee to manage their benefits. Approximately $83,000 of what Houston is accused of stealing was Social Security Administration benefit funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.  

The charges are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend no more than 40 months in prison. The judge, Ronald Leighton, is not limited by the recommendation, however, and Houston's sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, according to the press release.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.  

Houston is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17. 

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Port Ludlow financial guardian pleads guilty to defrauding clients

Conservative commentator admits to stealing mom’s Social Security

Karyn Turk

Instead of using $17,300 in government checks to pay for the care of her mother who was ravaged by dementia, Karyn Turk used the money for herself, a federal attorney said.

WEST PALM BEACH — Fresh from hosting a fund-raiser for the legal defense of Republican operative Roger Stone, conservative media commentator Karyn Turk on Friday admitted she stole her 83-year-old mother’s Social Security checks.

Looking relaxed and unperturbed, Karyn Turk pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single charge of Social Security fraud. Turk, who was crowned Mrs. Florida 2016 and touts her involvement in charities, faces a maximum one-year jail term and possible $100,000 fine when she is sentenced on Dec. 13.

Because the charge is a misdemeanor, the 47-year-old Highland Beach woman who uses social media and her radio and television shows to defend all things Republican would not lose her ability to vote - a right she described as “very important to me.”

Instead of using $17,300 in government checks to pay for the care of her mother who was ravaged by dementia, Turk used the money for herself, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rabinowitz.

Turk didn’t dispute the prosecutor’s description of her crime. While she and her attorney, Guy Fronstin, declined comment as they left the courthouse, both said additional information would surface that would explain her actions.

The criminal charges stemmed from an ugly fight in probate court that began when she didn’t pay for her mother’s expenses at the American Finnish Nursing Home in Lake Worth, records show.

Suspecting Turk was using her mother’s Social Security checks to bankroll her upscale lifestyle, the administrator of the home in July 2018 asked Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Janis Brustares Keyser to appoint a guardian to represent Turk’s mother, a retired school teacher who was born in Austria.

The court-appointed guardian confirmed nursing home administrator Daniel Benson’s suspicions.


In court papers, guardian Amy Nicol accused Turk of using her mother’s Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on “The Real Housewives of Palm Beach” and to garner publicity.

As evidence, Nicol’s attorney Brian O’Connell accused Turk and her husband of renting large homes in Wellington, where they then lived, and buying tables at equestrian events that they could ill-afford.

Their financial stretch was compounded because Turk’s husband, Boynton Beach lawyer Evan Turk, is supporting his children from his first marriage, O’Connell claimed. Court records show Evan Turk has to pay nearly $2,000 a month in child support. In October, he was $32,500 in arrears, records show.

O’Connell claims Turk took her mother’s money so she and her husband could live beyond their means.

“Karyn took the Social Security monies ... and improperly diverted such monies and used same for her and/or her families benefit ... including, but not limited to, supporting her lifestyle,” O’Connell wrote.

In response, Evan Turk challenged O’Connell, saying he offered no proof to back up the claims. Further, he said, the information O’Connell was seeking was protected by attorney-client privilege because he represented his wife in the proceedings.

Turk’s mother died in July. Since then, the legal battle has intensified.

Earlier this month, Turk filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home.

Nicol and O’Connell on Wednesday challenged Turk’s appointment as the administrator of her mother’s estate. In their challenge, they said her role conflicts with the terms of the bond she posted to get out of jail after being arrested in August.

As part of her bond package, Turk was ordered to “avoid all contact with victims or witnesses to the crimes charged except through counsel,” O’Connell wrote. “Karyn has an unavoidable conflict serving as personal representative.”

The ongoing litigation and Turk’s appearance before U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart caps a busy year for the woman who trumpets herself on social media as “a constant source of information regarding business, technology, politics and the modern woman.”

This week alone, she has been feted at the Boca Raton Resort as a Best Buddies Champion of the Year for raising money and awareness about the group that mentors teens with disabilities.

And, on Thursday, less than 14 hours before her court appearance, she and her husband were at the Bull Bar in Delray Beach, hosting the fund-raiser for Stone, who lives in Fort Lauderdale.

It is one of several the couple has held to help Stone, whom they describe as their “patriotic friend.” The events are designed to help Stone build a legal war chest to defend himself on charges of lying to Congress and obstructing the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia probe.

In the meantime, Turk also has served as a spokeswoman for Cindy Yang, a Wellington woman who was accused of peddling Chinese influence in Republican circles. Yang’s habit of taking selfies with Trump and her alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party of China made national news when she also was identified as the former owner of a Jupiter day spa where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was caught in a prostitution sting.

Turk’s position as spokeswoman for Yang came as her husband signed on as Yang’s lawyer. In May, he sued the Miami Herald for defamation in connection with its coverage of Yang’s activities. The newspaper has defended its reporting.

The controversy swirling around Turk’s handling of her mother’s money hasn’t curbed her devotion to social media.

In a tweet and Facebook post on Wednesday, she referred to her mother to promote a charity fund-raiser for Alzheimer’s research.

“My mom is no longer with us but this video is a great reminder of why finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and dementia is so important for all of us,” she wrote.

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Conservative commentator admits to stealing mom’s Social Security