2 arrested for targeting elderly people in distraction thefts: Burbank PD

By Karla Rendon

Two people accused of targeting elderly pedestrians in a distraction theft scheme were arrested after they stole jewelry from them, according to the Burbank Police Department.

Larixon Oinescu, 30, and Maria Grigore, 28, were arrested on suspicion of felony elder abuse after police responded to reported distraction thefts.

The department said officers were called to the 100 block of East Verdugo Avenue on Jan. 11 after an 81-year-old man reported that a man and woman “used deceptive tactics to steal his gold necklace.”

Two days later, they were called to the 2300 block of West Clark Avenue for a report of a man and woman who were approaching elderly people and stealing their jewelry by using distraction techniques.

Officers then located the two individuals, who were positively identified as Oinescu and Grigore by witnesses and victims of the thefts. In addition to elder abuse, the suspects face charges that include forgery, fraud and embezzlement.

It’s unclear if either suspect has an attorney who can speak on their behalf. 

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2 arrested for targeting elderly people in distraction thefts: Burbank PD 

Minnesota Protecting the Professional Predators in Guardianship

There is no Constitutional provision for negating of law into unlawful or illegal statutes.

The only possible way to rectify this assault on the elderly and other vulnerable men and women who have been declared to have suffered a civil death at the hands of these civil tribunals, is to abolish them altogether.


The elderly in Minnesota, as they are across the country, have been, and are, being targeted for exploitation by professional, for-profit guardians. Guardianship has been described as the fastest growing cottage industry in the country. The trafficking of the elderly through the probate system has allowed the theft of estates and the accompanying isolation and abuse of the targeted individual. As a result, the greatest transfer of wealth in this country, is not from the rich to the poor, but rather, from the elderly to professional predators who game this system for profit. It is aledged that 5-10 billion is stolen annually from the elderly by these predators. Generational wealth in the form of inheritance is being stolen from intended heirs.

Its no Different in Minnesota

Minnesota government at all levels has allowed a predatory, for profit system to flourish and, has even colluded with those who profit from the trafficking through a civil tribunal system in order to facilitate the kidnapping, isolation and financial exploitation of the elderly, the disabled and other vulnerable men and women. Allegedly, many of our legislators are connected through business associations to the most virulent of these predators. The business of trafficking the elderly for profit has become so lucrative that large fiduciary corporations who profit from this activity have sprung up across the state.

Probate “courts” are civil tribunals; they are not courts of law, nor are they courts of record. Probate was to become active only upon presentation of the death certificate, and then only to determine if the estate was testate or intestate. (With a will, or without one) The only duty of probate was to determine the distribution of assets to the appropriate heirs. The probate examiner was to have only one clear purpose; fact finding. This was extended to include guardianship and conservator ship of the living man or woman. As it is used today, either of these acts against the living man or woman, causes the civil death of that man or woman. The granting of guardianship petitions is the de facto death certificate. 

Sec. 11. Probate jurisdiction.

Original jurisdiction in law and equity for the administration of the estates of deceased persons and all guardianship and incompetency proceedings, including jurisdiction over the administration of trust estates and for the determination of taxes contingent upon death, shall be provided by law.

Probate jurisdiction has coupled the common law courts, with the equity tribunals. We question how these pseudo “courts” which operate under statute, became combined with the judicial branch which deals only with law. 

The so-called probate “judges” are in fact, only ministerial clerks or, hearing examiners. These individuals are not judges of the law, but merely those who operate under statute, code and regulations. Statute, codes, and regulations are always erected to bypass the common law and state and federal constitutions that would otherwise protect the targeted individual from the predators operating in and with the tribunal. 

These tribunals do not follow the rules of evidence nor the code of civil procedure required in an actual court of law. While due process is said to be followed, it seldom is. Hearings are held without notice to the victim or by extension, family. Ex parte communications between the attorney’s, guardians and the hearing examiner are common-place. 

With these things in mind, we ask that the State Constitution Article IV Section 11 Probate Jurisdiction, be returned to the courts of common law.
 
What must change immediately are these things:

Under whatever title the probate examiner is presenting him/her self, they MUST not:

• Strip the man or woman of their identity or,
• Force the estate to pay the expenses, fees or other charges as a result of being targeted for exploitation by the very individuals or business entities initiating the petitions for guardianship who also intend to profit personally and directly from that guardianship.
• MUST not discard pre-standing legal instruments, including but not limited to,
• Durable Powers of Attorney (DPA)
• Medical powers of attorney (MPA),
• The provisions in estate plans MUST be honored and MUST not be discarded or interfered with by the tribunal, the anticipated guardian or their attorney’s.
• MUST not isolate the targeted man or woman under any circumstances
• MUST not use armed guards, facility staff or other means of intimidating and threatening family and friends who attempt to visit.
• MUST not minimize visitation in order to harass or intimidate family and friends.

Today, probate has become the vehicle for legalized theft of assets and the civil deaths of those targeted. Operating under statutes which can be easily manipulated, the hearing examiner facilitates the identity theft, the theft of assets and the assaults on families and friends of the victim. 

Probate tribunals are described as “courts of equity”. Equity “courts” are the old English Chancery courts run by the church and operated solely for profit. 

A second option as a separate bill

One option would be to abolish these probate “courts” and return the cases of living men and women who are alleged to need a guardian or conservator, to actual courts of law. Under the Minnesota Constitution 

ARTICLE IV 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/constitution/

 

Sec. 11. Probate jurisdiction.

Original jurisdiction in law and equity for the administration of the estates of deceased persons and all guardianship and incompetency proceedings, including jurisdiction over the administration of trust estates and for the determination of taxes contingent upon death, shall be provided by law.


There is no Constitutional provision for negating of law into unlawful or illegal statutes.

The only possible way to rectify this assault on the elderly and other vulnerable men and women who have been declared to have suffered a civil death at the hands of these civil tribunals, is to abolish them altogether. 

Sec. 12. Abolition of probate court; status of judges.

If the probate court is abolished by law, judges of that court who are learned in the law shall become judges of the court that assumes jurisdiction of matters described in section 11.

As it is, hearing examiners in these civil tribunals are not required to have any training in the law.

Summary:

Probate tribunals were were created to avoid courts of law for specific reasons. It allows the stripping of identity, theft of assets, and the human rights violations that are well known and documented. That any judicial system would create, allow or condone forcing the intended victim to finance the actions brought against them is most likely one of the most insidious portions of this predatory system. 

The targeted individual has committed no crime; there are no injuries to others or to property. In most cases, the predator guardian cannot identify the targeted victim, as they have never actually seen them. What they have seen is a list of assets they intend to seize to profit themselves.

In the tribunal, the predator and their accompanying attorney(s) recite a laundry list of supposed dangers to the victim. They are never asked for, nor do they produce any evidence to substantiate their claims. 

As these are not courts of record, the family and/or friends are not allowed to counter these claims. They are not allowed to speak or to present evidence to the hearing examiner which would refute the claims of the predators. If any record of the proceedings is ever produced it reads as if no one objected. 

The victim is seldom allowed to attend the petitioning hearing, but when those rare occasions do occur, most are intentionally drugged beforehand to make them appear to be totally demented. The examiner is fully aware that this is what has happened.

To make matters worse, the taxable profits gained by the guardian from the stolen estate are also paid by the estate. 

Our first goal is to abolish the probate tribunals control over the living man or woman. If you are intent on gifting yourself with the results of someone elses lifes work and assets, do it in a court of law. Prove your case. Reveal why you have targeted this individual and show your verifiable, documented evidence in front of a jury. A trial by an impaneled jury would end many of these cases before they ever got started.

Full Article & Source:
Minnesota Protecting the Professional Predators in Guardianship

From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: You Gotta Have Spunk

By Mary West

Could you fall victim to a financial scam that targets the elderly? Sadly, ruthless phone scammers across the country have an arsenal of schemes to steal from older adults, and the amount taken can involve large sums of money. According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2017, Americans reported 2.7 million cases of financial scams that resulted in fraud losses of $905 million. The evil plots, which can affect low-income as well as high-income seniors, are so prevalent that they have been called “the crime of the 21st century.”

Unfortunately, many cases end tragically with the elderly losing their life savings. Informing oneself concerning scammers and how they work can help protect you from a similar fate. As the adage goes, “forewarned is forearmed.”

In January, a spunky 75-year-old Tennessee woman who was the target of a senior phone scam plot turned the tables on a man who phoned her and said she was the winner of a sweepstakes prize.

Court records show the joke was on him and our feisty 75-year-old ended up exposing a nationwide scam.

This sort of ruse begins when scammers acquire telephone numbers of seniors—something easily facilitated by use of the internet. The scammer then stalks their prey by phoning the targets and endeavoring to con them into revealing their bank information or turn over cash for some nonexistent cause. In this particular scam, the perpetrator used the twist of sending the victim a safe, supposedly filled with money, which could be accessed with a key provided at a later date.

In this case, the Tennessee woman received a call from a man bearing the glad tidings that she was the winner of a sweepstakes. Several phone calls followed, where the scammer pretended to have a personal interest in the woman to gain her trust, then co-conspirator Betty Lou Repka Myers, of Canyon Lake, Texas, shipped the woman a locked safe. At that point, the scammer called his victim and asked her to write two checks that totaled $21,000 and send them to Ms. Myers. He said this would cover the taxes due on her winnings—she complied.

On March 5, Ms. Myers deposited one of the checks into her bank account. One day later, she appeared in Tennessee knocking on the victim’s door and claiming an additional $22,500 was needed. According to a warrant written by Knox County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeff Monroe, Meyers gave instructions to the victim to go to two different SunTrust branch locations to remove money from her account which she was to then give to Myers. With Myers driving, the woman did as she was asked and withdrew the money.

At this point, Myers made a request that aroused the woman’s suspicion. She asked the woman for her cell phone, saying her boss wanted it. Instead of acquiescing to Myers’ demand, the woman called authorities. Knox County deputies retrieved the woman’s money in Myers’s purse, along with one of the checks she had sent to the Texas address. Myers was arrested.

THE ELDERLY ARE COMMON TARGETS OF SCAMMERS  BECAUSE THEY TEND TO BE TRUSTING…..

They grew up in a different era, when people often didn’t lock their doors, and a verbal promise was considered a binding commitment. While their trusting ways are a lovely part of their character, these traits can put them at risk.

Moreover, seniors hail from a time when strangers helped each other, so they are likely to be sympathetic to a hard-luck story and want to help—even at great personal expense. Compounding the problem is the fact that many elderly people are isolated, have amassed considerable savings, and aren’t tech savvy. All of this makes them irresistible to merciless scammers.

How to Protect Yourself

Scammers hook their victims by offering fake prizes, services, or products. The bait they use comes in an array of forms such as sham investment opportunities, charitable causes, and foreign lotteries, in addition to extended car warranties and “free” vacation packages. Another scam involves “free” trial offers that fail to mention that subscribers will be billed every month until they cancel.

The main thing to remember is to never give out any personal information over the phone, including your social security number, credit card number, or baNk account number. If a caller asks you to “confirm” any information, refuse to do so because it is a trick.

One of the most recent scams involves the caller asking the question, “Can you hear me?” Most unsuspecting people will say “yes” and the scammer will record this reply and use it to authorize fraudulent charges. If you hear this question when you answer a call, hang up immediately. And remember—the IRS never calls people.

Be alert for other phrases that are red flags. If you hear one of the following, say “No thank you” and hang up:

• You’ve won a valuable prize or large sum of money.
• You need to pay something to get a free gift.
• We’ll shut off your utilities.
• The investment is low-risk but has a high return.
• You need to decide quickly.
• We just want to verify your information.
• You’ve been specially selected for our offer.
• The IRS is going to arrest you.
• Your grandchild is in a foreign prison or hospital.

Get caller ID, and if you don’t recognize the number of an incoming call, don’t answer it. Scammers are now able to use technology to change the area code and first three digits of the telephone number that appears on caller ID. This will make it look like a local call and increases the probability that the person called will answer. Some of the scammers have even discovered how to use the full name and number of a legitimate business, household, or financial institution with whom the target does business. When these calls are answered, the victim’s number is put on a list called a “sucker list,” which results in more scam calls.

Rather than using your telephone providers answering service, invest $30 or $40 in an answering machine where you can hear the message being left in real time. Pick up only when you hear it is someone you wish to speak to. You will find that most scammers and telephone solicitation callers hang up when an answering machine is on the other end of their call.

Scammers are often convincing and manipulative. They can sound empathetic and are willing to say anything to get what they want—YOUR MONEY. Alternatively, they can play upon your sympathies in an attempt to get your “help.” Therefore, as a general rule, don’t talk to a stranger on the phone. Though not as efficient as one would hope, you can lower the number of unwanted calls by putting your phone number on The National Do Not Call Registry, at 1-888-382-1222. It can help to get an unlisted phone number, but they are not always as unlisted as we are told.


Full Article & Source:
From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: You Gotta Have Spunk

See Also:
From The Silver Standard’s Elder Abuse Reform Now Project: "YOU HAVE NO MORE AUTHORITY THAN A HORSE'S ASS" - said the guardian with a chuckle

Evelyn Schwartz, Gone Too Soon

The Elder Abuse Reform Now Project (EARN) Presents: The Unforgivable Truth: How We Have Turned America's Greatest Generation into America's Abused Generation

JOIN The EARN Project