Final defendant in $1.2 M guardian embezzlement case sentenced

One day in prison, but hefty restitution ordered

By Alex Rose

The final defendant in an embezzlement scheme involving wards of court-appointed guardianships was sentenced Thursday to one day in prison with three years of supervised release.

Alesha Mitchell, 44, of Suffolk, Va., was also ordered to pay $85,974 restitution and a $100 special assessment under the sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mitchell, represented by defense counsel Heather Mattes, was charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to bank fraud by federal indictment in June 2021. She pleaded guilty in March 2022 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for her role in the scheme.

Co-defendants Carlton Rembert, 70, of Hampton, Va., and Gloria Byars, 63, of Aldan, were likewise charged with bank fraud and conspiracy at that time, as well as five counts of wire fraud. Byars faced an additional charge of money laundering, but she died in August before she could be sentenced.

Byars was originally charged in 2019 with former Democratic candidate for county council Keith Collins and his wife, Carolyn Collins — Byars’ sister — as part of the same scheme. Byars had been facing hundreds of state counts before the eight-count federal indictment came down.

Keith and Carolyn Collins, of the first block of Princeton Avenue in Ridley Park, were facing 18 state counts each of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property, and three conspiracy counts.

The married couple, who serve as pastors at the Church of the Overcomer in Trainer, pleaded guilty before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan to one consolidated count of theft by unlawful taking in March. They were each sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to repay more than $54,000.

According to information from the indictment and affidavits in the state charges:

Byars, who was also Rembert’s sister, had worked from 2008 to October 2016 at a Havertown business that cares for wards appointed by the state. In her position, she assisted the company’s owner in managing wards’ assets, and had access to their checkbooks and bank accounts.

Byars was appointed guardian of several wards in 2015, granting her access to their assets as well. She set up her own corporation in August 2016, called Global Guardian Services LLC, shortly before leaving the Havertown company.

Byars, Rembert and Mitchell fraudulently obtained more than $1.2 million of unauthorized checks from 120 incapacitated wards and deposited them into accounts they opened with local banks, then split the proceeds.

Byars opened business bank accounts for Global Guardian and “ICU Records & Billing,” while Rembert and Mitchell opened accounts for shell corporations “CWR Medical Services,” and “ACC Medical Billing LLC.” Rembert also opened business bank accounts in the name of a business he previously operated called Grace Home for Children.

Byars stole money from the wards’ accounts by writing unauthorized checks payable to ICURB, Global Guardian, ACC Medical Billing, CWR Medical and Grace Home in order to make the transactions appear to be legitimate medical expenses incurred by the wards.

According to a prior release from U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, Rembert deposited more than $695,000 in checks into the shell business bank accounts, then withdrew more than $388,000 in cash.

He also obtained $217,082 in certified checks that he sent to Byars, while keeping a portion of the stolen ward money for himself.

Byars pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false income tax return. The Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office later reported the cause of death was the “combined toxic effects of different drugs” and that the manner was suicide.

Rembert, representing himself with Bala Cynwyd attorney Vernon Chestnut, was convicted at trial last year on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud. He was later denied motions for acquittal and a new trial.

Rembert was sentenced earlier this month to 5½ years in federal prison with five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $400 special assessment and $534,335 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiwana Wright and Samuel Dalke prosecuted the case.

“The greed and callousness here are off the charts,” Romero said in a release when Rembert was sentenced. “It’s vile that criminals target the elderly and infirm specifically to take advantage of their vulnerability. My office and our partners will continue to do all we can to hold these crooks responsible and protect our elders from such greed, fraud, and abuse.”

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Final defendant in $1.2 M guardian embezzlement case sentenced

Va. woman pleads in $1.2M embezzlement scheme

By Alex Rose

PHILADELPHIA – A Virginia woman pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud for her role in a million-dollar scheme to embezzle from wards of court-appointed guardianships and funnel the money through a series of shell companies.

Alesha Mitchell, 41, of Suffolk, Va., entered her plea before U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who has set sentencing for July 21.

Mitchell was indicted last year with Gloria Byars, 61, of Aldan, and Carlton Rembert, 67, of Hampton, Va., for allegedly defrauding elderly, incapacitated people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Byars was originally arrested in 2020 with former Democratic candidate for county council Keith Collins and his wife, Caroline Collins – Byars’ sister – as part of the same alleged scheme.

Byars, of the first block of Woodlawn Avenue, had been facing hundreds of state charges, but now faces eight counts in federal court for conspiracy, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting bank fraud and money laundering.

Keith and Carolyn Collins, of the first block of Princeton Avenue in Ridley Park, are still facing 12 state counts each of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property, six misdemeanor theft counts and three felony conspiracy counts. The married couple, who serve as pastors at the Church of the Overcomer in Trainer, are scheduled for a hearing before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan April 18.

According to the indictment and the affidavit of probable cause filed in the state charges last year, Byars had worked from 2008 to October 2016 at a Havertown business that cares for wards appointed by the state. In her position, Byars assisted the company’s owner in managing wards’ assets and had access to their checkbooks and bank accounts, the indictment says.

Byars was appointed guardian of several wards in 2015, granting her access to their assets as well, according to prosecutors. She set up her own corporation in August 2016, called Global Guardian Services LLC, shortly before leaving the Havertown company.

The indictment alleges that Mitchell, Byars and Rembert fraudulently obtained more than $1.2 million of unauthorized checks from incapacitated wards and deposited them into accounts they opened with local banks, then split the proceeds.

Byars allegedly opened business bank accounts for Global Guardian and “ICU Records & Billing,” while Rembert and Mitchell opened accounts for shell corporations “CWR Medical Services,” and “ACC Medical Billing LLC,” the indictment says. Rembert also allegedly opened business bank accounts in the name of a business he previously operated called Grace Home for Children.

The indictment claims Byars stole money from the wards’ accounts by writing unauthorized checks payable to ICURB, Global Guardian, ACC Medical Billing, CWR Medical and Grace Home in order to make the transactions appear to be legitimate medical expenses incurred by the wards.

After depositing the checks, Rembert and Mitchell obtained cashier’s checks, which were then deposited into Byars’ ICURB and Global Guardian accounts as her cut of the take, according to the indictment.

Tucker has ordered a presentence report ahead of sentencing for Mitchell. Conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Wright. Mitchell is represented by defense attorney Heather Mattes.

Rembert, represented by Vernon Chestnut, is scheduled for a jury trial June 21. Byars’ former attorney was granted a motion to withdraw as counsel earlier this month. An order entered Monday indicates she has 60 days from that date to retain new counsel or proceed pro se. A request for appointment of alternate counsel was denied.

 

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Va. woman pleads in $1.2M embezzlement scheme

Charlotte Woman And Her Co-Conspirator Are Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $300,000 From An Elderly, Dementia-Afflicted Victim

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Western District of North Carolina

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

 

Charlotte Woman And Her Co-Conspirator Are Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $300,000 From An Elderly, Dementia-Afflicted Victim

 

June 15th Is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced that a Charlotte woman and one of her two co-conspirators were sentenced to prison today for their involvement in a $300,000 embezzlement scheme perpetrated on an elderly, dementia-afflicted victim.

Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer is joined in making today’s announcement by Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in North Carolina, Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which oversees Charlotte, and Chief Joseph Hatley of the Mint Hill Police Department.

U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced Donna Graves, 58, to 97 months in prison and two years of supervised release. On October 2, 2020, a federal jury convicted Graves of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Grave’s co-conspirator, Gerald Maxwell Harrison, 54, of Mint Hill, N.C., was ordered to serve three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Harrison pleaded guilty in May 2020, to wire fraud conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property, and money laundering conspiracy. In addition to the prison terms imposed, Judge Cogburn also ordered Graves and Harrison to pay $298,407.85 as restitution, jointly and severally.

A third co-conspirator, Elizabeth Robin Williams, previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property, and money laundering conspiracy and is currently awaiting sentencing.

According to filed court documents, evidence presented at Graves’ trial and witness testimony, including testimony provided by Harrison, from January 2015 through September 2019, Graves, who was the ringleader of the criminal conspiracy, conspired with Williams and Harrison to engage in a scheme to defraud a victim identified in court documents as “K.T.” The victim was an elderly widow who lived alone and suffered from dementia and other physical and mental challenges. During the relevant time period, Graves and her co-conspirators exploited K.T.’s vulnerabilities and defrauded the victim through a web of forged documents, lies, and deceptions.

According to evidence presented at Graves’ trial, beginning in 2014, Graves and Williams provided housekeeping services for the victim through a business owned and operated by Graves. Over the course of the scheme, the co-conspirators isolated the victim from her friends and family, induced the victim to give them power and control over her personal affairs, and fabricated a power of attorney purporting to give Graves and Williams control over the victim’s financial affairs. Once they gained access and control, Graves, Williams, and Harrison moved the victim out of her residence in Indian Land, South Carolina, first to an apartment in Charlotte, and later to a rental home in Mint Hill, refusing to let the victim’s friends and family know where she was living. 

According to court records and trial testimony, Graves, Williams, and Harrison engaged in numerous illegal and unauthorized financial transactions that substantially depleted the victim’s money and property. Specifically, the co-conspirators emptied the victim’s bank accounts and used the money to pay for personal expenses, and “maxed out” at least one credit card in the victim’s name. The co-conspirators also fraudulently transferred or attempted to transfer the victim’s Indian Land residence to themselves by creating a quit claim deed purporting to gift the residence to Harrison; they then attempted to sell the residence and intended to split the proceeds amongst each other. They also pawned the victim’s jewelry, and they stole the victim’s federal benefits. Additionally, Williams unlawfully used the victim’s money to set up other businesses in her name, including a business selling handbags online and a business selling weight loss-related services. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, the co-conspirators defrauded the victim of approximately $300,000. 

According to court documents and information presented at today’s sentencing hearing, over the course of the scheme, Graves and her co-conspirators failed to provide the victim with proper medical care, which greatly diminished the victim’s health. Furthermore, once the victim’s money was depleted, the co-conspirators abandoned the victim, who was later moved to a nursing home in New York, where she passed away in large part due to the mental and physical deterioration she had suffered in the hands of Graves and her co-conspirators.

In announcing Graves’s sentence, Judge Cogburn said the defendants knew that the victim was vulnerable and that this was a shameful manipulation of a person. Judge Cogburn also said the defendant’s made “the last part of her (the victim’s) life the worst part of her life.”

Graves will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence upon designation of a federal facility. Harrison is currently in custody. A sentencing date for Williams has not been set. Williams faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud conspiracy charge carries. The statutory maximum penalty for the money laundering conspiracy charge is 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, and the interstate transportation of stolen property charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer commended the Mint Hill Police Department, the FBI, and USPIS for their investigation of this case. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth M. Smith and Caryn D. Finley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, are prosecuting the case.

June 15^TH Is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

June 15, 2021, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). First launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations, the purpose of WEAAD is to raise awareness about abuse and neglect toward the elderly and to prevent elder exploitation.

 According to the National Council on Aging, elder abuse is a silent problem that robs seniors of their dignity, security, and – in some cases – it costs them their lives. “Up to five 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.”

Combating elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at older adults is a key priority of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Elder abuse is an intentional or negligent act by any person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to an older adult. Elder abuse is a serious crime against some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, affecting at least 10% of older Americans every year.

Together with our law enforcement partners, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to combatting all forms of elder abuse and financial exploitation through enforcement actions, training and resources, victim services and public awareness. Visit the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative to learn more about available resources, including how to report elder abuse and financial exploitation.

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Charlotte Woman And Her Co-Conspirator Are Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $300,000 From An Elderly, Dementia-Afflicted Victim

State’s Medical Fraud Division recovers over $45 million in funds, some from Waltham scheme

By Kerry Feltner

The state’s Medical Fraud Division recovered over $45 million for MassHealth—the state’s Medicaid program—in fiscal year 2020, including over $230,000 from a Waltham employee.

Meadow Green Nursing Home’s former admissions director, Christina Polcari, 54, was indicted last month in an alleged embezzlement scheme that misappropriated the funds. Polcari, a Belmont resident, was indicted for larceny over $1,200 (one count), forgery (five counts), and embezzlement by fiduciary (one count) on Sept. 14.

The Medicaid Fraud Division is responsible for reviewing complaints of abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and financial exploitation of patients in long-term care facilities, according to the Attorney General’s Office. It secured 27 civil settlements with various entities, including home health agencies, mental health centers, ambulance providers, and individual doctors and practices this year.

An additional 11 providers and individuals were criminally charged for defrauding MassHealth and three individuals were criminally charged with abuse, neglect, or financial misappropriation in long-term care facilities, according to the office.

“I am proud of the work our Medicaid Fraud Division does each day on behalf of vulnerable residents in Massachusetts, taxpayers, and to protect the integrity of MassHealth,” said Attorney General Maura Healey, in a statement. “Each year, the Division returns tens of millions of dollars to the state, ensures important health care funds are spent appropriately, and continues to be a national leader in this space.”

Below is a breakdown of the work of the division this year, compiled in a statement by the AG’s office:

• In December 2019, two individuals, John and Joanne Wachira, and their company, Petra Healthcare, LLC, were indicted in connection with a scheme to falsely bill MassHealth while exploiting homeless individuals.

• In December 2019, a Brighton adult foster care company, Absolute Care, Inc., agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it had falsified caregiver timesheets and submitted claims for dates on which care was not provided.

The Division also recovered $450,000 in April 2020 from an Avon-based home health company, Brigham Home Care Services, over allegations that it violated MassHealth regulations and state law by submitting false claims to MassHealth for payment.

• In September 2020, a Lowell-based home health company, Altranais Home Care, LLC, agreed to pay $3.1 million to resolve allegations that it had billed MassHealth for home health services that were not appropriately authorized by a physician.

• In September 2020, AG Healey announced criminal neglect charges against the former superintendent and former medical director of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.

The Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award. The remaining 25% is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, according to the AG’s office.

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State’s Medical Fraud Division recovers over $45 million in funds, some from Waltham scheme