Butler faces 28 counts

Former senior living director indicted on fraud, drug charges

 

Former owner of Senior Lifestyles, Stephanie Butler, has been indicted on 28 charges by the Putnam County Grand Jury.

The indictment also lists Brian Fitzhugh Richey, a licensed nurse practitioner. Richey turned himself into the Putnam County Jail this morning.

According to a release from District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, the investigation began in February, following multiple reports of criminal behavior.

Butler faces charges of conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud, obtaining controlled substance by fraud, conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable adult, financial exploitation, 11 counts of financial exploitation (A only), theft over $2,500 (A only), 4 counts of identity theft, 6 counts of money laundering and tampering with evidence.

According to the indictments, Butler obtained or acquired possession of residents' controlled substance medication by misrepresenting that the medication would be destroyed.

The count of committing financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable adult reportedly happened between December 2017 until May 2018, when Senior Lifestyles was initially raided by TBI agents.

Charges date back to 2016, alleging that Butler reportedly deprived patients of property, medication and knowingly financially exploited them while acting as their caregiver.

Butler also reportedly violated the Identity Theft Victim's Rights Act of 2004, and used, possessed, bought or obtained the personal information of numerous patients. After knowing an investigation was pending, Butler reportedly destoyed or concealed prescription medication packages.

The investigation discovered a total of 16 victims. Butler is now in the Putnam County Jail with a $150,000 bond.

Richey has charges of conspiracy to obtain controlled substance, obtaining controlled substances by fraud, conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable adult and financial exploitation of an elderly/vulnerable adult.

According to the indictment, Richey used his professional license as a way to provide and prescribe excessive amounts of controlled substances. Richey also reportedly prescribed victims controlled substances to numerous residents at Senior Lifestyles.

Richey reportedly became aware that Butler was diverting medication from patients and did not act to intervene, and continued to prescribe controlled substances.

Butler, on at least one occasion, provided Richey with controlled substances, from a resident of Senior Lifestyles, for his personal use.

Richey had a bond of $40,000.

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Butler faces 28 counts

Man arrested for numerous financial crimes, exploiting the elderly

WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) – A man has been arrested on numerous counts of financial card theft, identity fraud, and financial exploitation of the elderly.

On Monday, The Columbus Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit arrested 40-year-old Jeremy Pritchett and charged him with 17 counts of financial transaction card theft, 14 counts of identity fraud, and 10 counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person.

An investigation conducted revealed 14 victims in this case. The majority of the victims were over the age of 65 and were living on a fixed income.

Columbus Police say the two-month investigation began in September when a woman who identified herself as a member of Hurricane Irma evacuees seeking shelter in Columbus, visited the Wells Fargo bank on 13th Street in Uptown Columbus.

Police say the woman asked for her savings account balance, listed at $90,000, but explained Pritchett was said to be the only person who could give her the account statement. Further investigation led police to the discovery of the alleged crimes connected to Pritchett.

We spoke to Financial Managing Partner Tyler Townsend, of Townsend Wealth Management, who says people should always be cautious with their finances and credit.

"We need to think our information is already out there," says Townsend. "What that means is we need to freeze our credit now. That way no one can take a loan in your name."

Pritchett will make his first Recorder’s Court hearing on November 9 at 9 a.m. ET.

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Man arrested for numerous financial crimes, exploiting the elderly

Guardianship firm seized by marshals

A Final Four basketball junket. Caribbean cruises and other luxury vacations. Purchases at an Albuquerque RV Center and a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

The alleged lavish spending by the co-founders of one of the state’s largest nonprofit guardianship firms was financed out of the accounts of their special needs clients, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. And on Wednesday, a multiagency federal task moved to put a stop to the alleged decade-old embezzlement scheme involving millions of dollars with the indictment and arrests of the co-founders of Ayudando Guardians, a nonprofit guardian/conservator company based in Albuquerque.

Susan Harris, 70, and Sharon Moore, 62, were taken into custody Wednesday, and both women are to appear at detention hearings today at 9:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

State court records show Ayudando as having been appointed by state district judges to serve as guardian, conservator or personal representative in more than 350 cases since 2000. The company’s publicly available 990 tax form for 2015 said the company provides guardian and conservator services to the elderly, veterans, the disabled and the homeless.

The 28-count federal criminal indictment alleges millions of dollars were embezzled from client accounts since the company was created in November 2006. The charges include conspiracy, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

“This case is all about the victims,” acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney said in a press release. “The victims in this case relied upon Ayudando to manage their finances and meet their needs. If the allegations in the indictment are true, the principals of Ayudando cruelly violated the trust of their clients and looted their benefits. Federal law enforcement has now stepped in to ensure that the looting stops.”

Efforts to reach defense attorneys for Harris and Moore were unsuccessful late Wednesday.

According to the indictment, Ayudando receives government benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Social Security Administration on behalf of many of its clients, and acts as a fiduciary or representative payee for these clients by paying their expenses and maintaining the balances for the benefit of the clients.

The actual number of clients whose accounts have been affected wasn’t detailed in the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, which said the corporation provides services, including financial management, to hundreds of individuals with special needs.

Ayudando also is under contract with the state Developmental Disabilities Planning Council to provide guardianship services to New Mexico residents who are eligible for Medicaid or a similar public benefit and who have been deemed incapacitated.

The company’s 2017 contract with the state was capped at $640,800, according to state records. Under the contract, the company was supposed to purchase a bond for the indemnification of losses and submit to audits.

In addition, court-appointed guardians and conservators are required to submit to the court an annual report and/or financial accountings for each client.

Marshal take over
 
The U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday took control of Ayudando’s business operations to ensure that victims of the crimes charged, who include disabled veterans, continue to receive the “services they deserve and are entitled to,” U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria said in a press release.

Federal authorities also received a court order to take receivership of the corporation, which has its headquarters on Central SE and has an office in Mesa, Ariz., according to its website.

The order authorizes the U.S. Marshals Service to operate the business to ensure assets are not improperly spent or removed, and that the interests of Ayudando clients are protected as the criminal case goes forward.

Ayudando clients or relatives of clients who wish to speak to someone about their accounts or expenses can call Ayudando, which is being operated by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Tax forms filed by the corporation for 2015, the most recent year for which records are available, show Harris earned $138,230 a year as president of Ayudando and Moore was paid $126,720 annually.

Stealing the money

The indictment described some of the ways the two women allegedly stole from clients.

For instance, Harris wrote 12 checks totaling $457,883 on the client reimbursement account from June 2011 to March 2014 for personal purposes, including checks of $50,950 made out to Mercedes-Benz of Albuquerque and $26,444 to Myers RV Center. Harris is accused of using an Ayudando credit card to pay $140,790 to cover luxury vacations for herself and others, including the cruises and a basketball junket, knowing that Moore would pay off the charges using client funds, the indictment alleges.

Harris and Moore allegedly used $392,623 from the Ayudando client reimbursement account to pay off balances on a company credit card used by the defendants and their families for personal purposes.

As part of the alleged scheme, which federal prosecutors described as “sophisticated,” Moore in 2016 allegedly mailed fraudulent documents to the VA that falsely represented balances in 10 client accounts, claiming the accounts had an aggregate balance of more than $1.9 million when the actual value was $72,281.

Ayudando, Moore and Harris also are accused of engaging in aggravated identity theft by using their clients’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and VA file numbers to commit mail fraud.

The federal indictment comes at a time when the FBI is believed to be assisting in the investigation of an Albuquerque trust company operated by CEO Paul Donisthorpe.

State financial regulators have found a minimum of $4 million missing from client trust fund accounts managed by Desert State Life Management. About 70 clients are affected, many of whom are physically or mentally disabled or elderly. The money allegedly went into private companies controlled by Donisthorpe.

No criminal charges have resulted, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a forfeiture petition to seize three of Donisthorpe’s properties, alleging a scheme to defraud vulnerable clients.

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Guardianship firm seized by marshals

Employee blows whistle on guardian embezzlement case

For more than a decade, one of the state’s largest guardianship firms was routinely appointed by the courts to protect clients whose disabilities left them unable to handle their money or pay their bills.

Behind the scenes, federal officials say, Susan Harris and Sharon Moore were allegedly running up the company credit card of Ayudando Guardians to the tune of $4 million by living the life of luxury and paying the American Express bills with client trust money.

Then last June, according to court testimony Thursday, one of Ayudando’s employees assigned to pay and manage the bills walked into the office of an unidentified federal law enforcement agency and blew the whistle – alleging that supervisors were embezzling client money.

“It’s difficult to imagine a greater betrayal of trust,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Pena on Thursday just before federal magistrate Steven Yarbrough released Harris and Moore pending trial under certain conditions, including that they put up their homes as security.

Both women pleaded not guilty during the detention hearing.

Moore’s attorney, Fred Jones, told the magistrate she couldn’t afford any amount of bond for her release. “She has no money … She has no credit cards. No line of credit,” he said. Moore, according to Ayudando’s most recent 990 tax form, had a salary of $126,720 for 2015.

Harris’ attorney, Robert Gorence, said Harris should be released because she has been in the community for 40 years and has significant family ties here.

The 28-count indictment unsealed this week charges the women and the company with mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.

Their arrests were the product of a year’s worth of investigation by the FBI, IRS, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Social Security Administration, according to federal law enforcement officials who appeared at a news conference Thursday.

The indictment alleges that Ayudando, which was set up to act as a fiduciary or a representative payee for individuals needing assistance, was run by Harris as president and Moore as secretary. Part of the alleged embezzlement scheme involved Ayudando concealing the theft from some clients’ accounts by replacing the missing money with funds taken from other clients, the indictment states.

IRS Special Agent Ismael Nevarez Jr. at the news conference made reference to the company’s name.

“This contains the word ayudando, which in Spanish means, help or to help others and is especially troubling,” Nevarez said, adding that instead of helping people, the “defendants were greedy and helped themselves to their clients’ money.”

Acting U.S. Attorney for New Mexico James Tierney said the investigation was ongoing. He said authorities don’t yet know how many Ayudando clients lost funds, but prosecutors in the indictment focused on the federal violations involving 10 veterans whose Ayudando account totals were inflated when reported annually by law to the VA.

The indictment alleged the two women enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of travel with client funds.

Harris, in the indictment, is accused of writing checks from the company client reimbursement account or using the credit card for a $21,852 payment to All World Travel, and more than $17,000 for two Celebrity Cruise trips to the Caribbean isles in 2013 and 2014. Moore charged a $8,958 vacation to a resort in San Diego in 2015 and used the charge card to spend $3,479 for a 13-person vacation to San Diego last December, the indictment alleges.

Tierney said the maximum prison sentence they faced under the charges was 30 years.

The U.S. Marshals Service is managing Ayudando operations, so clients with questions or concerns can call the company at 505-332-4357. The U.S. Attorney’s office can be reached via email at USANM.Ayudando@usdoj.gov or at 505-346-6902.

New Mexico FBI assistant special agent-in-charge Derek Fuller said he and the other agents involved in the Ayudando case want to deliver a message.

“If you are managing funds for people who depend on you for your honesty and you decide to help yourself to the till,” Fuller said, “we will come after you.”

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Employee blows whistle on guardian embezzlement case

Ayudando exec testified for industry before arrest

When the new state Supreme Court commission studying guardianship reform met in May, the person who testified on behalf of professional guardians in New Mexico was Sharon Moore from Ayudando Guardians.

The same Sharon Moore appeared last week before a U.S. magistrate in Albuquerque to plead not guilty to federal charges of embezzling millions of dollars from Ayudando clients to finance a “lavish lifestyle.”

Alongside her in the courtroom was her “business partner” at Ayudando, Susan Harris, who – along with the company itself – is also charged in the 28-count indictment with criminal violations.

The indictment accuses the two women of charging up to $4 million in personal expenses, including travel, on the Ayudando company credit card and using funds from special-needs clients to pay the bills as they financed everything from cruises to luxury vehicles.

Two months earlier, Moore told the special commission that those employed by Ayudando adhered to a “model code of ethics,” and that the company had the trust of district judges who appointed it to act as guardian for clients in need of services.

According to the indictment, Ayudando receives government benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Social Security Administration on behalf of many of its clients, and acts as a fiduciary or representative payee for these clients by paying their expenses and maintaining the balances for the benefit of the clients.

The indictment contends that Moore, the chief financial officer, filed fraudulent reports from January to November of last year with the VA involving about 10 veterans who are Ayudando clients.

An attorney for Moore, 62, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Since the indictment was unsealed last Wednesday, the state Office of Guardianship, which contracts with Ayudando to represent indigent clients, has not responded to Journal questions about the company – such as whether audits were conducted or bonds were required as a condition of receiving annual contracts.

The state sunshine portal shows that since July 2009, the state has contracted to pay Ayudando more than $5.7 million to act as court-appointed guardian for clients who are indigent or are otherwise eligible for a state-paid professional company to manage their living and other expenses.

The state Office of Guardianship, which approved Ayudando’s most recent annual contract, for $640,000, has offered no explanation for its silence related to its oversight of Ayudando.

But Moore, in her testimony to the Supreme Court commission on May 12, offered some details about Ayudando’s operations.

‘We do have standards’

Moore said the company has about 185 clients, but she didn’t provide a breakdown as to how many are indigent and therefore qualify for state-paid guardianship services, and how many are private.

Moore said her company, which she said has been in existence for about 14 years, employs nationally certified guardians. Both she and Harris are on the list of New Mexico guardians certified by national Center for Guardianship Certification in Harrisburg, Pa.

Such certification isn’t required by state law but is mandated in Ayudando’s contract with the state.

Moore said state district judges in New Mexico put their trust in Ayudando when appointing the company to act as guardians or conservator or both.

“And therefore, we don’t just run amok. We do have standards,” Moore told the 16-member group in May.

The commission, which includes judges, lawyers, representatives for the aging, Governor’s Office appointees and a member of the public, was appointed by the Supreme Court in April after concerns were raised in the Journal and elsewhere that courts in New Mexico needed more oversight of the guardians, who typically operate under the public radar because such cases are deemed confidential and are sealed by law.

The checks and balances provided by the current guardianship system rely heavily on judges, who by law are supposed to review annual reports submitted by guardians as to the welfare of the “incapacitated person” under guardianship.

Additional oversight
 
In the case of Ayudando’s work for the state, there was another layer of oversight, Moore told the commission.

“We do a lot of work for the Office of Guardianship,” she said. “We are audited for sure once a year, and if there is a problem they (the office) get called in on, they come to us.”

She said the caseload for each of the 12 guardians who work for the Albuquerque-based company, can be as many as 30 clients under the Office of Guardianship contract.

But Moore added, “I try not to overwhelm them. Some might get to 30 if they have nursing home clients.”

In contrast to family members who say they have been left out of the process when a professional guardian is appointed for a loved one, Moore said her company actually helps clients or their families write letters to the judges overseeing the case if there are concerns about a guardian’s conduct.

Federal prosecutors say it wasn’t a judge or a state audit that prompted the investigation that led to the FBI, IRS, VA and Social Security Administration investigation of Ayudando. It was an unidentified Ayudando employee who contacted a federal law enforcement agency with the embezzlement allegations.

The indictment prompted one former Ayudando employee to contact the Journal via email, saying in part, “Though I am sad for some really good people working at Ayudando Guardians, I am glad to know justice is being served against this heinous agency that duped so many vulnerable adults.”

The U.S. Marshals Service, meanwhile, has assumed control of the business operations of the firm.

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Ayudando exec testified for industry before arrest

Perryville couple arrested for alleged identify theft, exploiting the elderly

KFVS12 News
PERRY COUNTY, MO (KFVS) - A Perryville couple has been arrested after allegedly exploiting an elderly person.

Authorities say Terry and Wendy Farless are accused of financial exploitation of the elderly, and identity theft.

Both are in jail on $15,000 cash bond.

According to the probable cause statement, at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, two people from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Senior Disability Services, reported financial exploitation of an elderly/disabled person to the Perry County Sheriff's Office.

They say the victim had given power of attorney to Wendy Farless on July 16, 2014 without allegedly having seen, heard from or had any contact with her for numerous years.

The department employees said the victim moved to the Perry Oaks Nursing Home around Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, and was discharged on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015.

While in the nursing home, they say Farless was advised not to worry about taking care of the victim's financials due to him still being able to take care of them.

However, they say while the victim was in the nursing home, Farless allegedly used credit cards in the victim's name to buy numerous items, which the victim did not benefit from, nor did he give Farless permission to charge to the credit cards.

According to the probable cause statement, on Dec. 30, 2014, Wendy Farless withdrew $10,000 from the victim's financial account, which she allegedly did not have permission from the victim to do.

The court documents say the $10,000 was deposited into the victim's checking account and Farless allegedly used the money to make payments on the credit card accounts she was allegedly charging amounts to.

From Dec. 23, 2014 to Jan. 29, 2015, Wendy and Terry Farless allegedly spent about $10,184.86 at a Cape Girardeau casino.

Court documents say Wendy Farless used credit cards at the casino for 15 different transactions.

Wendy Farless allegedly transferred $8,876.99 using Western Union and $1,210 using Moneygram.

Due to the above transaction being completed online, court documents state that a credit card had to be used to complete the transaction.

Wendy and Terry Farless allegedly completed the transactions using the victim's credit cards, and both allegedly took some of money.

According to subpoenaed information received from Western Union and Moneygram, the majority of the transactions were completed and received by Wendy Farless.

The victim revoked the power of attorney for Wendy Farless on Feb. 6, 2015.

The victim's attorney stated he contacted Wendy Farless by telephone on Feb. 7, 2015 and advised her to bring property back that belonged to the victim. On Feb. 10, Wendy Farless returned the requested property and was officially advised that her power of attorney over the victim had been revoked.

After her power of attorney was revoked, Wendy Farless allegedly continued to use the victim's credit cards, checking account and savings account.

Wendy and Terry Farless allegedly spent about $21,494.77 using the credit cards.

According to the probable cause statement, Wendy Farless allegedly bought numerous different items with the victim's checking account and credit cards.

The victim's wife is also in a nursing home, and according to court documents, has been for some time.

According to the probable cause statement, the victim had completed a transaction for some property he sold and there were two checks from the sale of the property. Both checks were written out to the victim and his wife's joint revocable trust, which Wendy Farless did not have authority over.

Wendy Farless allegedly signed the victim's name twice to both checks. One check was in the amount of $151,425 and the other was for $65,679.51.

The probable cause states that Farless allegedly signed her name to the checks saying she had power of attorney.

The checks were issued on Jan. 28, 2015.

According to court documents, when Wendy Farless presented the checks to be cashed, U.S. Bank and the Bank of Missouri denied the checks due to the checks not being properly endorsed.

After a request, the victim was reissued new checks.

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Perryville couple arrested for alleged identify theft, exploiting the elderly