Scammers told elderly Sandy Springs woman her late husband missed jury duty, so she’d be arrested

By Michael Seiden

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs police have arrested two people in connection with what investigators describe as a jury duty scam that targeted multiple victims, including an 80-year-old widow who lost more than $40,000.

Bryan Jesean Jackson, 21, was arrested Feb. 16 and charged with theft by extortion, exploitation of an elderly person and impersonating a public officer, according to police. Jaell Draughn, 19, was also arrested and faces the same charges. Jail records show Draughn was booked Sept. 28 and later released on bond.

Police told Channel 2’s Michael Seiden that a third suspect, Nicolas Lo, remains on the run. 

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Scammers told elderly Sandy Springs woman her late husband missed jury duty, so she’d be arrested

Warrant: Ex-Ansonia mayoral candidate stole $23K from 'vulnerable' elderly woman with dementia

By Jesse Leavenworth

ANSONIA — A city public works employee and former mayoral candidate stole more than $23,000 from an elderly woman who was diagnosed with progressive dementia, according to a warrant for his arrest.

Harry Danley, 55, a petitioning candidate in the three-way race for the executive seat in 2023, is charged with first-degree larceny for cashing numerous checks the 85-year-old woman wrote, including a total of $10,000 over two days in April 2024, police said.

The woman's lawn care provider for many years, Danley told police the funds were loans from one friend to another, but he has paid back only a small fraction of the checks he cashed from January 2020 to February this year, the warrant said.

City officials could not be reached Friday about Danley's employment status.

The vicim's daughters complained to police in March after noticing irregularities in their mother's checking account, Detective Richard Esposito wrote in the arrest warrant affidavit. One daughter is her mother's financial conservator and the other is her conservator for medical needs, Esposito wrote.

A letter from a physician's office dated March 19 says the elderly woman was being treated for progressive dementia, "which impairs her ability to problem-solve and increases her vulnerablity for financial exploitation," the warrant says.

Danley told Esposito in an initial interview on March 27 that "he didn't do anything wrong," the warrant says.

"He said he has cut (the victim's) lawn for the last thirty years and the money/checks she gave him was a loan," the warrant says.

Danley told Esposito that he was having financial troubles when he took the loans, including the foreclosure of a house he owned in Ansonia, the warrant said. He said he owed the woman $20,000, but provided only two transaction receipts signed by her, one for $2,000 and another for $100, Esposito wrote. Asked if he knew the woman had dementia, Danley said he had no idea, the warrant says.

Danley admitted he had not repaid the loans as he should have, but he told police he intended to sell the house he owned on North Cliff Street and pay the woman back with proceeds from the sale, the warrant says. City property records, however, showed an outstanding tax bill of $5,066 on the property and the owner listed as Sachem Capital Corp., the warrant said.

"It appears that Harry Danley exploited (the elderly woman's) vulnerability and gave her false promises and misrepresentations of being able to pay her back... plus telling her about selling his home that technically is not even his to sell," Esposito wrote.

Danley was released after posting a $35,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Derby on June 18, police said. 

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Warrant: Ex-Ansonia mayoral candidate stole $23K from 'vulnerable' elderly woman with dementia

Judge Orders Guardianship Firm to Return Thousands It Took From an Elderly Woman for Services It Never Provided

New York Guardianship Services had billed Judith Zbiegniewicz $450 a month for court-ordered care, but a judge found the company provided “minimal services, if any” for years, including at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

by Jake Pearson

A New York judge has ordered one of the city’s most prominent guardianship companies to return thousands of dollars to an elderly woman for the court-mandated care and oversight it failed to provide her.

Supreme Court Justice Lee Mayersohn wrote in an Aug. 8 decision that the company, New York Guardianship Services, billed Judith Zbiegniewicz monthly but provided “minimal services, if any” for years, including at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

During that time, Zbiegniewicz, who was living under guardianship for depression and anxiety, said she and her husband spent a night on the streets, moved into a city shelter and finally found affordable housing on their own.

Zbiegniewicz and her decade-long journey through the state’s broken guardianship system were the subject of a ProPublica investigation earlier this year. The reporting showed how that system, which is plagued by chronic delays, lax regulation and minimal oversight, has failed to protect thousands of aging and sick New Yorkers who judges have declared incapable of managing their own affairs.

The people most affected are poor wards like Zbiegniewicz who have no friends or family willing to look after them — a group dubbed “the unbefriended” in industry parlance. To care for this group, the city relies on a network of nonprofits. New York Guardianship Services represented itself as one such group and was assigned by the court to be Zbiegniewicz’s guardian.

Despite its representations, NYGS, which serves hundreds of wards, is not actually registered as a nonprofit with state and federal authorities, ProPublica found.

For roughly a decade, the company paid itself from Zbiegniewicz’s bank account, even as she complained about deteriorating living conditions. The problems that she described — living with bedbugs, rats and no heat — persisted for years, and NYGS did little or nothing to fix them while it collected monthly stipends from her limited funds. She said that she eventually tried to reach Mayersohn to flag the neglect and hold NYGS accountable but that her attempts were unsuccessful. The judge’s secretary, she said, simply referred her calls back to the guardianship company.

That changed in June though, after Zbiegniewicz attended a hearing to formally dispute NYGS’ accounting — protests she had previously articulated in a letter to the judge. During a court appearance, she complained to Mayersohn about her time as a ward of NYGS. She said she told him that there was “no excuse for what they put me through.”

Mayersohn’s decision, informed by that hearing, requires the company to return $5,400 to Zbiegniewicz for some of the fees it took between January 2019 and July 2022, a stretch in which she effectively lived on her own outside the guardianship.

The order separately requires the bank that owned the rat-and-bedbug-infested Queens home where NYGS placed Zbiegniewicz to honor a prior housing court settlement, which it has yet to pay. Under the deal, the bank owes Zbiegniewicz $5,000. If it doesn’t pay, she can seek to reclaim the money in court, though Zbiegniewicz said she was skeptical that the effort and cost of doing so would be worth it. An attorney for the bank didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

In an interview, Zbiegniewicz said that she was pleased with the ruling, but that she was more happy that Mayersohn finally heard directly from her. She also said that she wanted NYGS to be held to account for its actions.

“I got some kind of justice, but the justice would be if they would be taken out of guardianships completely because they do not do anything for the people,” she said.

As part of its reporting, ProPublica identified more than a dozen cases like Zbiegniewicz’s in which NYGS failed to meet the needs of those entrusted to its care. In one case, a woman who’d had two strokes was placed in a nursing home where she was left to sit in soiled diapers, a family member said. In another case, the company continued to collect payments for a man’s care even after he left the country and later died.

Brothers Sam and David Blau, who run NYGS, and a lawyer for the group did not respond to an email seeking comment on the judge’s decision. In response to ProPublica’s previous reporting, Sam Blau, the group’s chief financial officer, said that “we are accountable to the Court” and emphasized that the group’s financial paperwork was scrutinized by examiners who had the power to raise issues. He called the reporting “misguided, without full and proper context, filled with omissions and less than accurate information” but wouldn’t specify what his concerns were when asked. He declined to comment on any specific cases.

Zbiegniewicz credited ProPublica’s investigation for the judge’s action in her case — an uncommon occurrence in New York’s troubled guardianship system. But she also noted it took years of sustained protest on her part, a level of persistence that many ailing and elderly New Yorkers in guardianship cannot manage.

“I’ve done what I could, I feel good about it, the judge heard, you wrote things,” she said. “Maybe somebody will see and maybe somewhere, down the line, somebody will do something about it.” 

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Judge Orders Guardianship Firm to Return Thousands It Took From an Elderly Woman for Services It Never Provided

5 people tasked with helping Alabama woman — as live-in caretakers, cleaners and hairdressers — instead allegedly stole more than $200K from her in elder fraud scheme

by Serah Louis

An elderly woman who received full-time care in her Birmingham, Alabama home due to medical issues was allegedly defrauded of more than $200,000 by the people supposed to care for her.

Fed officials recently announced five individuals, including the woman’s caretakers, house cleaner and hairdresser, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The perpetrators are accused of scheming to swindle the woman using her credit card information, with the crimes taking place between December 2020 and February 2022.

The conspirators ran up the victim’s credit cards

The Birmingham woman’s caretakers, Mykia Henderson and her mother, Cynthia Mixon — along with Henderson’s husband, Corey Webb — are accused of stealing and using her credit card information.

Based on financial records, the family appears to have helped themselves to over $40,000, reports the Miami Herald. They used business banking services like Square and Stripe to charge the woman’s credit cards, as well as issue checks to themselves using her bank accounts and transferring those funds to their personal bank accounts.

Two other women in the victim’s orbit are implicated in the fraud. Whitney Wallace, a house cleaner, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in March, after she stole the victim’s credit card information and continued using the card to make purchases even after she stopped working for the woman.

Wallace spent about $43,227 on purchases from Amazon, Target and DoorDash — which included a commercial-grade bounce house, a 75-inch TV and pricey shoes, the Miami Herald discovered.

And the woman’s hairdresser, Shakira English, used her Square account to charge her client’s credit cards over $130,000, moving the funds to her personal bank account. English has been charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft.

Elder fraud is becoming a major problem in the US

Financial elder abuse is harming older adults across America and their perpetrators can be friends, family, neighbors, or even caregivers and other professionals.

A 2022 AARP report says the rate of elder financial exploitation has more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

And an April analysis from the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) says filings show roughly $27 billion in suspicious activity related to elder financial exploitation in just one year between June 2022 and June 2023.

In some cases, the scammers may bleed funds from credit cards and bank accounts, fail to repay money they owe, make exorbitant charges for their services or not do what they were already paid to do. They might make calls pretending to be from the IRS, Social Security  Administration or Medicare, or send phishing emails and texts.

If you suspect you or someone you know has been scammed, contact your bank or financial services provider right away. In certain cases, your bank can cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions or monitor your accounts. You can also report a scam to the Federal Trade Commission and call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311.

There are Adult Protective Services agencies across the country that you can reach out to as well if you suspect someone you know might be a victim of elder abuse.

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5 people tasked with helping Alabama woman — as live-in caretakers, cleaners and hairdressers — instead allegedly stole more than $200K from her in elder fraud scheme

‘She was heavily medicated’: My cousin forced my elderly mother to sign over her share of the family home. What can we do?

by Quentin Fottrell

My grandfather passed and left his four kids each a one-quarter share of the family home. My cousin moved in and later threatened to sue my elderly mother for the repairs he made while living there or, he said, she could sign over her share of the house to him.

She signed out of fear and after she had just gotten out of the hospital, so she was heavily medicated, but mostly afraid. This man has since tried to force the other three family members to do the same thing. They all stood strong and didn’t sign.

They didn’t even know about my mom selling until he inadvertently let slip that she had deeded him her share. Does he actually own one quarter of this house or should his share revert back to my family? The property, if it matters, is in West Virginia.

The Good Cousin

“Unfortunately, in many cases of financial exploitation or of elder financial abuse, the victim is too afraid to speak up and tell friends or loved ones what happened.” - MarketWatch illustration

Dear Cousin,

Your mother did not have any protection when she was bullied, coerced and abused by your cousin, who forced her to sign over her share of the family home, but she does have protection under the law. His strategy for acquiring property, in an ideal world, should collapse like a house of cards.

Section 61-2-29b of the West Virginia legislature deals with the financial exploitation of an elderly person, protected person or incapacitated adult. “Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall, in addition to any other penalties at law, be subject to an order of restitution.”

If the sum of money embezzled is more than $1,000, they are also guilty of a felony “and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $10,000 and imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than two nor more than 20 years,” the statute states.

A “protected person” is any adult 18 years or older who is found by a court, because of mental impairment, to be unable to process information effectively or to respond to such an extent that the individual lacks the capacity, according to the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia.

As always, it is imperative to act swiftly. Unfortunately, in many cases of financial exploitation or of elder financial abuse, the victim is too afraid to speak up and tell friends or loved ones what happened. In some cases, they may not even be fully aware.

The statute of limitations varies by state; in West Virginia, the statute of limitations for cases of fraud is two years from the date on which the alleged crime was discovered or should have been discovered, and there is a 10-year cap from the date the alleged fraud occurred.

Unlikely perpetrators

In 2022, James Lindsay, a financial-exploitation attorney for Legal Aid of West Virginia and a leader in a statewide task force combating elder financial abuse, addressed the Children and Families Committee at the state legislature, as reported by WV Public Broadcasting.

He said that approximately half of the state’s 16,000 elder-abuse and elder-neglect cases involved financial exploitation by bad actors. “We’ve had engineers, bankers. These are trusted agents, consumers, friends, family, people who the elderly trust with their finances,” he said.

It’s vitally important to store documents and passwords — life-insurance policies, bank-account details, mortgage documents, etc. — in a safe place to prevent an abuser from accessing these accounts should your loved ones become incapacitated.

Perhaps most heartbreaking of all, as this study suggests: “Unlike physical abuse and neglect, financial abuse is more likely to occur with the tacit acknowledgment and consent of the elder person and can be more difficult to detect and establish.”

Signs of elder abuse

Typically, if you suspect someone of elder abuse — emotional, physical, psychological or financial — you should report them to adult protective services, or call 911 and report them to local law-enforcement authorities or your district attorney’s office.

It’s a big problem: The National Center on Elder Abuse, a government agency affiliated with the U.S. Administration on Aging, says that one in 10 people over the age of 60 in the U.S. experienced some form of abuse in the prior year. Research still lags all the new forms of financial abuse.

There are red flags to watch out for, however. Financial signs of elder abuse include fraudulent signatures on documents, overdue bills and “unusual or sudden changes in spending patterns, will or other financial documents,” according to the nonprofit National Council on Aging.

It may seem unthinkable, but caretakers, friends and family members are among the most common perpetrators of elder financial abuse. Such crimes cost elderly people up to $28 billion annually, researchers say, although official estimates may not reflect the true cost.

“Isolation is a red flag and many studies of elder abuse say a lack of a good support system and physical and psychological isolation are hallmarks of the problem,” according to the National Adult Protective Services Association. But as you discovered, it can also happen in plain sight.

Elderly people are vulnerable to villains like your cousin. I hope it’s not too late to undo this quitclaim — but I also hope that your story about this cousin moving in with your mother, with the offer of helping to do repairs around the house, serves as a warning to others.

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‘She was heavily medicated’: My cousin forced my elderly mother to sign over her share of the family home. What can we do?

Wildwood Flower Sylvia O'Brien, Tom King

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Wildwood Flower Sylvia O'Brien, Tom King

Caretaker accused of stealing real estate from elderly woman

A woman from Tallahassee faces charges for stealing real estate from her 81-year-old boss.

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Caretaker accused of stealing real estate from elderly woman

Defendant in exploitation case rearrested

By CJ Baker

While facing criminal allegations that she financially exploited an elderly woman, Victoria L. Hertz Ruelas was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim. However, authorities say Hertz instead resumed living with the woman in Powell and took her on multiple trips out of state.

At a Friday hearing, a prosecutor asserted that Hertz had committed a “flagrant violation” of her prior bond conditions. Meanwhile, her defense attorney suggested it was a misunderstanding amid a complicated case that was previously dismissed.

Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah ultimately raised Hertz’s bond to $5,000 cash or surety, which was up from a signature bond. After spending roughly two days in jail, the 42-year-old made bail on Saturday and was released pending further proceedings.

The felony charge of exploitation of a vulnerable adult stems from Hertz’s time working as a CNA at an assisted living facility in Cody, where she helped care for the 88-year-old resident at the center of the case. The Park County Attorney’s Office alleges that Hertz abused her position to borrow $12,000 from the woman and ultimately have the resident move in with her.

While working night shifts at Absaroka Senior Living, the CNA reportedly spent extensive amounts of time with the woman. The woman’s son later told police that he believed Hertz had tugged at the woman’s heartstrings and crossed ethical lines to get the loans, which were indefinite.

Last spring, the woman announced her intention to move in with Hertz. Cody Police Detective Rick Tillery said the woman was set to pay Hertz $800 a month in rent while helping to cover the cost of some improvements and food.

Absaroka Senior Living fired Hertz for violating company policies and barred her from the facility in May, Tillery said. The detective and the woman’s son felt Hertz’s split-level home on Powell’s Eighth Street was ill-suited for her walker, but despite their opposition, she moved in with Hertz.

Prosecutors filed the exploitation charge in June, but Darrah dismissed it later that month. While indicating that he saw Hertz’s alleged conduct as concerning, the judge said he didn’t think it broke the law, as the elderly woman didn’t meet the definition of a vulnerable adult. In his view, the Wyoming statute only applies to adults who can’t manage their affairs as a result of a disability, and the alleged victim is fully competent.

Darrah added that he thought the Legislature probably meant to address situations like this and that dismissing the case was “not an easy decision.”

Deputy Park County Attorney Jack Hatfield quickly refiled the charge with the intent of making another attempt at clearing a preliminary hearing. At a July court appearance, Hertz was released on a $5,000 signature bond — meaning she wasn’t required to post any money — and given orders to have no contact with the elderly woman. 

During the July 7 hearing, Hertz mentioned that the woman wanted to speak to the judge, but given the no contact order, Darrah cautioned that, “I think you need to work through your attorney to get that accomplished.”

However, just 10 days later, Tillery received a report that Hertz had traveled to South Dakota. About a week later, Tillery received a third-hand report that a hairdresser believed the woman’s health was deteriorating. 

The detective and personnel from the Department of Family Services were unable to contact the woman over the next couple of weeks. Tillery ultimately pinged the woman’s phone on Aug. 9 and used the location data to find the woman living with Hertz at a multi-level rental on North Ingalls Street.

Hertz appeared to be “totally dependent on … the victim in this case, for complete and total financial support,” Tillery later reported in an affidavit, “which is precisely the core reason for this bond condition and the ability to provide additional protection of the victim in this case.”

Hatfield filed to revoke Hertz’s bond on Aug. 11, asking that she also be ordered to forfeit $5,000 to the state. Hertz was arrested Thursday and appeared in court Friday.

“Ms. Hertz is not even remotely complying with this court’s order,” Hatfield argued, expressing concern that Hertz’s home “is wholly unsuitable” for the elderly woman.

Hertz’s defense attorney, however, said “there may have been some confusion” about the bond conditions given that the initial charge was dismissed.

“I do know that this case has been somewhat complicated because [the elderly woman] has expressed the desire to have contact [with Hertz], and so I think that is sort of a complicating factor,” public defender Sarah Miles added. “But ultimately the bond condition is what it is and my client is not to have contact. And hopefully she understands that clearly at this point in time.”

A bond revocation hearing is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, with another preliminary hearing set for Sept. 29.

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Defendant in exploitation case rearrested

Elderly woman taken from Illinois, financially exploited after being brought to Conyers

Author: Thais Ackerman

 

CONYERS, Ga. — A Conyers woman is accused of taking an elderly woman from Illinois then neglecting her for months while using her cards to finance a hair salon business.

Conyers Police said the 45-year-old woman traveled to Illinois in November 2021 once she learned her family friend of over a decade, an elderly woman, fell ill. She then secured a limited power of attorney and took the woman back to Conyers with her, claiming she was the 81-year-old's granddaughter.

For nearly four months, she allegedly subjected the elderly woman to finical exploitation and neglect, police said. According to investigators, the 45-year-old was using the victim's cards to finance her hair salon business. 

When detectives finally contacted the victim, she told investigators they were the first people she had been allowed to speak to since arriving in the Peach State. 

She told police reuniting with her family was one of the "happiest days of her life."

The woman is now facing felony charges, including exploitation and intimidation of elder persons and forgery.

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Elderly woman taken from Illinois, financially exploited after being brought to Conyers

Southwest Virginia woman sentenced in elder fraud case

by Robert Sorrell

A Southwest Virginia woman will serve prison time for stealing more than $17,000 from an elderly woman she was supposed to be taking care of, according to Wise County's chief prosecutor.

Rendy Eva Hale, 38, of Dante, previously pleaded guilty to five counts of credit card forgery and five counts of credit card fraud, Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp said in a news release Thursday. Hale received a five-year sentence, with three years and eight months suspended. As a result, she’ll serve one year and four months in prison.

Slemp said Hale was hired as a caregiver around Thanksgiving 2019 to aid an older woman who needed help because of some extensive medical issues. Instead of caring for the woman, Hale stole more than $17,000 of her employer’s retirement funds in just a few short months and hid the theft by intercepting mail from her employer’s bank.

In Wise County Circuit Court, the judge also ordered Hale to complete probation and pay $17,313 in restitution.

“Elder abuse refers to crimes of violence, instances of neglect, and fraud or financial exploitation targeting older adults,” Slemp said. “Elder abuse is a growing epidemic in our area that deserves our attention.”

The National Council on Aging estimates that up to 5 million older Americans are abused every year, and the annual loss by victims of financial abuse is estimated to be at least $36.5 billion. The organization says one in five Americans ages 60 and older has experienced some sort of elder abuse.

Virginia seniors may be losing $3 billion a year, according to data. The Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services reports that more than 12,000 cases are reported each year.

“My office remains dedicated to raising awareness in hopes of preventing elder abuse, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute any and all crimes against the elderly,” Slemp said.

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Southwest Virginia woman sentenced in elder fraud case

Boca Raton caregiver charged with stealing $75K from elderly woman

by Ana Espinosa

Click to Watch Video

BOCA RATON, Fla. — A Boca Raton caregiver is behind bars Wednesday after allegedly stealing more than $75,000 from an 87-year-old woman.

Boca Raton Police said Maria Soriano worked as a live-in health aid for the victim for over a year.

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According to court documents, back in March, the victim’s family fired Soriano because they believed she was stealing and fraudulently cashing checks.

After months of investigating, Boca Raton Police said they have video surveillance and bank documents linking her to the case.

“You’ve got some serious charges,” said Judge Charles Burton. “Exploitation of elderly, $50,000 dollar bond.”

The investigating officer said Soriano stole more than $78,400.

Checks dated between December 2019 and February 15, 2021, were made out to ‘cash.’

In April, police failed to locate Soriano, but she was extradited from California yesterday.

“Ten-thousand dollar extradition fees -- so how long have you been here? You just got booked in from California?” asked Burton.

“Yesterday,” Soriano responded.

Soriano is facing four charges, including money laundering, organized scheme to defraud, fraudulent use of personal identification information and exploitation of an elderly person.

She is due back in court on July 15.

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Boca Raton caregiver charged with stealing $75K from elderly woman

Monica Krebs Faces Elder Abuse Charge For Allegedly Using Bank Accounts Of Elderly Woman With Dementia

FOUNTAIN VALLEY (CBSLA) — A Hawthorne woman faces charges of elder abuse for allegedly using the accounts of an elderly woman living at the Fountain Valley retirement where she was working at the time.

 

Monica Krebs, 48, was arrested Wednesday, according to Fountain Valley police. Jail records show she is no longer in custody.

 

Krebs was arrested as the result of an investigation into the Wells Fargo account of a 79-year-old woman suffering from severe dementia. Investigators believe Krebs charged about $2,000 in unauthorized purchases over several weeks in 2019, police officials said.

 

Fountain Valley police say the elderly woman was a resident of the Seaside Terrace Retirement Community, where Krebs was employed at the time.

 

Anyone who believes they may also be a victim of Krebs can contact Fountain Valley police at (714) 593-4485.

 

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Monica Krebs Faces Elder Abuse Charge For Allegedly Using Bank Accounts Of Elderly Woman With Dementia

"I Care A Lot"

“I Care A Lot” (February 19)

Peter Dinklage and Rosamund Pike in “I Care A Lot.” —Netflix

Following positive reviews out of the Toronto International Film Festival, Netflix purchased the rights to “I Care A Lot,” a dark comedy filmed in Massachusetts in 2019 about Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”), who cons her way into legal guardianship of senior citizens and drains them of their savings. After assuming guardianship of another elderly woman, Marla finds out that the woman she’s trying to swindle has someone in her life (Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”) who is as ruthless and unscrupulous as Marla herself. “I Care A Lot” was filmed in Boston, Braintree, Dedham, Medfield, Millis, Natick, Rockport, Watertown, Wayland, and Wellesley, and debuts on Netflix on Feb. 19.

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I Care A Lot

Treasure Coast Nursing Assistant Accused of Sexually Assaulting Elderly Woman

by Sabrina Lolo

A 25-year-old certified nursing assistant was arrested Monday for reportedly sexually assaulting an elderly woman at a nursing home.

Christopher Alan Lacau, of Vero Beach, is facing three counts of lewd and lascivious battery on an elderly person, according to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office.

Lacau forced the woman to perform oral sex three times between Dec. 16 and Dec. 20, 2019, according to the sheriff's office. The woman is wheelchair-bound and fully paralyzed from the waist down due to being a victim of attempted murder. She was also diagnosed with PTSD because of the incident.

The woman told deputies she didn't report it right away because of Lacau's physical size and her past experiences with domestic violence.

The Department of Children and Families was later contacted and Lacau was suspended, per policy procedure, the sheriff's office said. He had been working at the facility since February 2019 and had no previous complaints against him.

When detectives interviewed Lacau, he became emotional and told them it was all consensual, according to the sheriff's office. However, the woman said everything was forced.

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Treasure Coast Nursing Assistant Accused of Sexually Assaulting Elderly Woman

A Utah woman refused to sell her vacant house to a neighbor. Police say he moved in anyway.

By Scott D. Pierce

A Salt Lake City man who refused to take no for an answer when a woman declined his lowball offer to buy her house faces multiple charges after he claimed the property as his own.

In charges filed last week, prosecutors wrote that police first were called to the house at 737 E. Roosevelt Ave. on Aug. 30 when someone reported a “belligerent person” was inside and was taking things without the owner’s permission. The officer told the man not to reenter or make modifications to the house.

The next day, police were called again and found tools and an open window at the house; prosecutors wrote that the same man admitted he had opened the window, that he did not have permission to be there and that he had previously been warned by police. He was given another warning.

On Sept. 11, police again were called to the home when a neighbor reported a possible burglary. Again they found the man on the property, prosecutors wrote. He admitted he had cut down trees, shrubs and bushes; removed a refrigerator from the house; and installed new deadbolts, police wrote. According to police, items had been removed from the home.

The man told police he’d written to the homeowner offering $90,000 for the house — “an amount which is not reasonable for that area and that market,” prosecutors wrote. According to Salt Lake County assessor’s records, the market value of the home is more than $363,000.

When the man did not receive a response to his offer, he went to the woman’s current home, prosecutors wrote. She refused to sell him the house and later told police the man threatened her and told her “he would forge any document needed to get the property from her,” the charges state. She told police she had removed nothing from the house and that her keys no longer worked in the locks, prosecutors wrote.

“The victim in this case, who is an elderly woman, has expressed fear to the police about what the defendant may do,” police wrote.

Police once again told the man not to enter the house and sent him a follow-up email with the same warning. In an email reply that day, the man admitted he’d locked the gate to the house with his own chain and lock.

A day later, the man sent the officer another email, writing that he wanted to remove more plants from the yard “just as long as it builds my case to gaining title to the house,” according to the charges. He also admitted he removed the contents of the home; removed the wood covering a broken window; and “upgraded” the deadbolts.

The man also asked for the police officer’s help to get the water turned on at the house, “complaining … that they wouldn’t turn the water on until he could prove that he owned the property,” prosecutors wrote.

On Sept. 20, he sent an email to police admitting he left the lights on at the house; put mulch in the yard and put air in the tires of the vehicles in the driveway, according to the charges.

Other neighbors told police they had seen the man coming and going from the house, removing items and working in the yard — and that he claimed to have bought the house for $5,000, charges state. One neighbor said he helped remove the refrigerator after the man convinced him he owned the house. Another said the man showed her “a large collection of CDs in his own house … that he had taken from the 737 residence,” prosecutors wrote.

According to neighbors, the man said he had contacted Rocky Mountain Power and gotten the electricity turned on to an account he controls, and he was “thinking about finding a way to get the water” turned on “by forging a note” from the owner, prosecutors wrote.

According to the charges, the man signed an application Aug. 30 for water service in which he “purports to be the owner” of the home.

The man was charged with burglary and forgery, both third-degree felonies; class A misdemeanor stalking; and theft, criminal mischief and three counts of criminal trespass, all class B misdemeanors. A warrant for the man’s arrest was issued on Friday; as of Monday morning, he was not in custody.

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A Utah woman refused to sell her vacant house to a neighbor. Police say he moved in anyway.

AG: 'Unscrupulous' nursing home agent convinced elderly woman to leave her entire estate

The Michigan Attorney General's Office stepped in to stop what it called a case of "financial exploitation" in St. Clair County Probate Court.

"The Office of Michigan Attorney General filed objections in a St. Clair County probate case after Lisa Tramski, a nursing home leasing agent who became a guardian, convinced an 85-year-old woman to make her the sole beneficiary of the woman’s estate," according to a press release.

"Pauline Runyon, who had no living heirs, was a resident at a nursing home where Tramski befriended her. Within five months,Tramski was able to obtain large monetary gifts from Runyon for herself and her son."

The Attorney General's Office said following an accident that caused Runyon to lose most of her memory, Tramski became her guardian. Two months following the accident and only days before Runyon's death, Tramski had a friend provide a will to the woman, making Tramski the sole beneficiary of her estate, according to the Attorney General's Office.  

"St. Clair County Probate Court Judge John D. Tomlinson agreed with the Attorney General’s Office that Runyon lacked the capacity to sign the will and that Tramski exerted excessive influence on Runyon in her role as the guardian," the Attorney General's Office said.

As a result of this ruling, a new representative was appointed and a prior will from 2009 that leaves a portion of Runyon's estate to the Leader Dogs for the Blind and a local domestic violence shelter will be used to distribute her remaining assets and fulfill her wishes.

“What this guardian did is exactly the kind of financial exploitation of seniors that everyone worries about,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel.  “Ms. Runyon did not have any living relatives to watch out for her, so my office stepped in to protect her interests from this unscrupulous nursing agent who befriended her for the sole purpose of lining her pockets.”

Tramski did not immediately respond to messages sent to her on Facebook and left on a number listed for her on Thursday. 

When asked if there were any further investigations into the matter, Dan Olsen, the attorney general's spokesman, said, "We do not comment on who we are and are not investigating."

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AG: 'Unscrupulous' nursing home agent convinced elderly woman to leave her entire estate

Local family says guardianship cost elderly woman $123K for 3 months of care

By: Heather Catallo

(WXYZ) — More than $123,000. That’s what a local family says a guardianship cost their elderly mother for three months of care. It was a huge chunk of her life savings.

It’s the same guardianship company that 7 Investigator Heather Catallo exposed back in May when they were accused of cutting off family contact with an elderly couple.

The family in this case originally didn’t want to talk to us on camera, but when they saw the fees that Caring Hearts Michigan is asking a judge to approve – they agreed to speak out.

Piera Franklin is 90 years young and still loves working in her yard.

• 'I just want my parents back.' Woman says company imprisoned her parents in their own home

After she had some health issues in February, Macomb County Probate Judge Kathryn George appointed Caring Hearts Michigan Inc. as Piera’s temporary guardian and conservator. That means Caring Hearts had total legal control of Piera. As her conservator, they also had total control of her money.

Caring Hearts Michigan Inc. is owned by Cathy Kirk. Court records show, Kirk used her husband’s law firm to bill the estate. Kirk also used one of her companies, Executive Care, to provide 24/7 in-home care for Piera.

Please note: Caring Hearts Homecare of Southfield is not affiliated in any way with Cathy Kirk’s Caring Hearts Michigan Inc.

Piera said that she didn’t need that. She cooks, cleans, washes her clothes and didn’t want that kind of 24/7 help.

In May, the 7 Investigators were in the courtroom when the judge took Caring Hearts off the case and granted guardianship and conservatorship of Piera to her son , John. But the Franklin family was stunned when they recently got the final accounting from Caring Hearts.

For only 91 days of care, Caring Hearts wants the court to approve:

• $10,5224.37 for guardianship services
• $19,369.90 in legal fees for Cathy Kirk’s husband’s law firm
• $86,304 for home care charged by Executive Car

• Caring Hearts Michigan backs out of disputed guardianship case in wake of 7 Action News report
• Michigan AG opens investigation into Macomb Co. probate case following 7 Action News report

“Is more than $86,000 for 91 days of care reasonable,” asked 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.

“Not in my opinion,” said John Perrin, an attorney hired by Piera’s son, John Franklin. “Based on the invoices themselves, there’s clearly overcharges here.”
“Do you feel like they earned that money?” Catallo asked Piera.

“No! No way no way! Because they didn’t do anything. No help for me, no bath, nothing, nothing,” Piera responded. “I make my own bed. I clean up the house. I did everything! Was nothing done. They sit there with their book and watching TV. That’s it!”

• Why did a Macomb Co. judge put strangers in charge of an elderly couple instead of family?
• Family awarded guardianship of Macomb Co. couple after 7 Action News Investigation

This is 90-year-old Piera Franklin talking about the caregivers from Caring Hearts MI Inc. On ⁦@wxyzdetroit⁩ at 6, I’ll show you why her family is objecting to $123k in legal, guardianship, & care fees for 91 days. ⁦⁦@MIAttyGen⁩ ⁦@MISupremeCourt⁩ #probate pic.twitter.com/q2ZPzmkXyh

— Heather Catallo WXYZ (@HeatherCatallo) August 13, 2019

Piera said she did like some of the home aides, but she says one caregiver had a fight with her boyfriend in the driveway of Piera’s home. She said it made her feel scared, like she did during the war in her childhood in Italy.

“I was raised in the war time, and I remember when the bombs coming, I would get stomach problem, and I felt the same anxiety in my stomach,” said Piera.

In court filings, Perrin argues Caring Hearts Michigan Inc. “engaged in serious conflicts of interest that resulted in waste and dissipation of Ms. Franklin’s savings.”

“There’s one particular occasion where I see 48 hours billed for one caregiver in a single day,” Perrin said. “The cumulative time in that single day wound up being almost $2,500.”

Other fees include:

• Hours of overtime for what Perrin says are non-skilled caregivers charging above-market rates of $45 per hour;
• $1,760.50 to change the locks on Piera’s home (family members say they don’t know why the locks needed to be changed);
• $1,129.81 for correspondence with banks and closing Piera’s accounts so they could be moved to First State Bank where Cathy Kirk’s husband, Robert, is a board member.

Now, Piera has less expensive caregivers for fewer hours in the day. She says now she is worried about how much money she was charged by caring hearts.

“I worked hard to save, 10 hours a day,” said the mother of five.

The 7 Investigators spoke with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and they say their financial crimes unit is aware of this case, but they can’t confirm or deny if they are investigating.

The Attorney General is investigating a different probate case first exposed by the 7 Investigators that also involves Caring Hearts Michigan Inc.

Lawyers for Caring Hearts Michigan Inc. deny any wrongdoing, and they have told the court they will review some of the billings. They say the relationship between Kirk’s companies while serving Piera did not violate any law or court rule.

Kemp Klein Attorney Ed Nahhat sent the 7 Investigators this statement late Tuesday:

“Caring Hearts disclosed in writing to Court Administrator John Brennan on April 4, 2018, its common ownership of Executive Care. This was many months before the Court’s "related persons" policy was issued. The policy assures disclosure upon the annual account.

In these cases, all interested persons, and the court, had disclosure; they knew that the companies had common ownership as intended by the policy.

Neither Caring Hearts nor Executive Care did anything wrong when doing what the court ordered them to do: care for someone according to their needs and preferences. Mrs. Franklin was very grateful to Caring Hearts, as she wanted her care to be at home, extensive and high quality, and she wanted only certain persons to take care of her. In fact our Executive Care’s service was so valued that her son rehired them at one point, and his mother specifically asked for their employees to continue serving her, even after Caring Hearts was replaced. Simply put, she liked her care at home, and that is always more expensive.

Caring Hearts and Executive Care are ready and willing to be examined for all that they did and the fees they charged. That’s what trials are for.

It’s about money.

While family are entitled to challenge fees, we fear Mrs. Franklin is now being scripted to create an inaccurate public image of Caring Hearts. It’s sad to see a good company get publicly attacked when the family already has a court of law available to them, where both parties have a fair chance to present their case."

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Local family says guardianship cost elderly woman $123K for 3 months of care