Court grants motion to sever exploitation cases

by  Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree

A motion to sever the cases of two Morgan County women facing charges of unlawful exploitation of an elderly person was granted Thursday via a Zoom conference.

Court hearings for Joyce Gill, 64, and her daughter, Jewell Maul, 39, have, until now, been joint hearings.

The women are accused of making $39,449 in transactions from the bank account of Norma Notson, who was 88 and in their care at the time.

On Thursday, Gill’s attorney, Tom Piper, asked the judge to approve a motion filed June 24, requesting that the cases be separated for trial purposes.

“We believe it is necessary and in the best interest of the court and justice to sever these cases for trial,” Piper said. “Evidentiary issues might come up during a joint trial that are prejudice for one client and not the other.”

In his motion, Piper argues that, though the charges are similar, evidence will be different.

“The defendant’s defense herein is antagonistic to the defense of Jewell Maul in that defendant will assert, as one of her defenses, diminished capacity due to advanced age, mental health concerns and psychotropic medications which defendant was administered,” the motion states.

The motion also argues that Gill will be presenting evidence of “substantial domestic abuse by Robert Gill, her husband, and at whose directions and orders the defendant acted.”

Neither Special Appellate Prosecutor Matt Goetten or Maul’s attorney, Carrie Magerl, objected to the motion, agreeing that the cases should be handled separately if the cases go to a jury trial.

If the cases go to a bench trial, they could be heard as one.

Also during Thursday’s hearing, hints were made about a potential resolution to the case.

Piper suggested continuing the case as the parties continue to work on it.

“I think we could be close to a resolution in this case and can come to some agreement,” Piper said.

The case has been scheduled for a status hearing at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Morgan County Courthouse.

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Court grants motion to sever exploitation cases

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two arrested in possible elderly exploitation

THOMASVILLE — Two individuals were arrested after both were suspected of elderly exploitation, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

LaRoy and Eunice Scruggs, both 67, 109 Crestwood Drive, were arrested after a GBI investigation into possible elderly exploitation.

The two are suspected of taking approximately $85,000 from a  family member who resides in Thomas County, according to the GBI.

The exploited money is a fluid number and could change through the course of the investigation, the GBI said.

Eunice Scruggs was arrested Feb. 15 and charged with exploitation of a disabled adult and false swearing. Arrested on Feb. 19, LaRoy Scruggs was charged with exploitation of a disabled adult. 

The case is active, according to the GBI. 

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Two arrested in possible elderly exploitation

Housing Authority coordinator charged with swindling elderly man

A woman who coordinates senior services for the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority was indicted Wednesday on charges that she and her husband swindled more than $100,000 out of an elderly man they befriended at a karaoke bar.

A Clark County grand jury returned the indictment charging Yvette Mendes-Hayes and Lawrence Paul Hayes with exploitation of an elderly person and theft. The charges follow an investigation into allegations of exploitation of Peter Antonucci, who was 87 when he met the married couple while out doing karaoke in 2015.

Mendes-Hayes earned a taxpayer-funded salary of $55,000 last year in her role providing housing services to senior citizens. In that same year, she is accused of defrauding an aging but lucid man of the wealth he had left by, among other things, persuading him to sell his home.

According to the arrest warrant filed in the case, Antonucci developed a friendship with the couple after meeting them. Antonucci told authorities that Hayes told him to sell his townhouse, so “they could buy a bigger house and he and Yvette would take care of Peter.”

Antonucci obliged and sold his Summerlin townhouse for $150,000, with the help of a real estate agent who is a friend of the Hayes couple. The arrest warrant said that Hayes and Mendes-Hayes used the proceeds of the townhouse to purchase a North Las Vegas home but that Antonucci’s name was not listed in any title documents for the new house. The three of them moved into the house in the summer of 2015.

“Peter said that he was told to stay in his room and had to ask for permission to leave the house,” the arrest warrant said. “He now believes that he was defrauded by the Hayes and they had planned to exploit him.”

Antonucci told authorities that Hayes told him he could not be on the deed because his only income is Social Security benefits. He also told police that Hayes took the $2,200 in monthly Social Security payments and transferred it into his own account to use the money for mortgage payment, living expenses, and house furnishings.

Hayes collects disability benefits and is not employed. He has a criminal record that include fraud offenses in Michigan.

Filings in the case accuse the couple of belittling Antonucci, who told police “he would stay in his bedroom most of the time because every time he came out he was ordered away or criticized by Paul (Hayes).”

Court filings indicate that Antonucci left the house in May 2016, taking only his clothes, guitars and two handguns. He left furniture and other belongings with the Hayes, who authorities say changed all the locks after Antonucci left.

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Housing Authority coordinator charged with swindling elderly man