Woman gets probation for falsifying records in probate court case

by: Joe Gorman

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A Poland woman who pleaded guilty to falsifying records in a case in Mahoning County Probate Court was sentenced Tuesday in common pleas court to five years probation.

Katina Soltis, 54, must also serve three days in the county jail and write a letter of apology to Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu as part of her sentence.

Soltis pleaded guilty May 28 before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum to two counts of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

Prosecutors say she forged documents in Mahoning County Probate Court indicating that she deposited $32,000, which had been willed to her children by a relative, but investigators say she kept the money for herself.

A grand jury indicted her in April.

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Woman gets probation for falsifying records in probate court case

Duo Tied Woman To Recliner At Toms River Facility, Ignored Her: NJAG

The two employees of the Alzheimer's care facility have been indicted in the case, authorities said.

by Karen Wall

The two are accused of falsifying records, claiming they checked on the woman when they did not. (Shutterstock)

TRENTON, NJ — Two Ocean County residents have been indicted on charges that they assaulted a 93-year-old woman they were supposed to care for at a long-term care facility in Toms River, the state Attorney General's office announced Friday.

Maria Alcantara, 53, of Toms River, and Joseph Robles, 23, of Tuckerton, were named in a 10-count indictment returned by a state grand jury in July 2023, according to documents from the state Attorney General's Office.

The two worked at Alcoeur Gardens, a memory care facility in Toms River. They are accused of tying the 93-year-old woman to a recliner with a bedsheet between Jan. 13 and Jan. 15, 2023, and not checking on her, according to court documents. 

In addition, they are accused of falsifying the records to say they checked on her every 30 minutes when they did not check on her, according to state investigators.

Alcantara and Robles are jointly charged with eight counts, two each of neglect, criminal restraint, assault on an institutionalized or elderly person, and endangering, and each is charged with one count of destruction falsification or alteration of medical records, according to court documents. 

Both pleaded not guilty, the attorney general's office said.

The charges resulted from an investigation by the attorney general's Office of Insurance Fraud Prevention’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

"When we place our loved ones in the care of others, we rightfully expect that they will be treated with compassion, respect, and dignity," Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in announcing the indictment ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. "Those placed in care facilities should not have to fear victimization. We have a duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and we will advocate for them and prosecute those who exploit and mistreat vulnerable members of our society."

"We will not allow our elderly to be subjected to criminal abuse. Our loved ones deserve better," said Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Al Garcia. "Criminal cases like these send a clear message that anyone who would harm and neglect individuals who need and deserve proper care and assistance will be brought to justice."

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is commemorated on June 15, when individuals, communities, and organizations join together to shed light on the signs and the forms of elder abuse.

An estimated 1 in 6 people aged 60 or older are subjected to some type of abuse, including psychological abuse, physical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, and other forms of neglect. The abuse can often remain hidden because the victims are too afraid or embarrassed to seek help.

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Duo Tied Woman To Recliner At Toms River Facility, Ignored Her: NJAG

Ohio Supreme Court urged to review Belinky’s tenure

Former county Probate Judge Mark Belinky

A veteran lawyer who has practiced extensively in the Mahoning County Courthouse offered this analogy to former county Probate Judge Mark Belinky’s sins of commission regarding guardianships: “It’s like a father coming home from work each day, knocking on his daughter’s bedroom door, entering and then proceeding to sexually abuse her because he knows she’s defenseless.”

The well-known lawyer, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, was furious over Belinky’s admission that he stole money from people for whom he was a guardian and that he altered probate court documents to facilitate the theft. Belinky, who resigned from the bench in March 2014 in the midst of a criminal investigation into his activities, also admitted he used a probate court computer to create false probate court records.

The admissions were contained in affidavits filed by Ed Carlini, a special agent with the Ohio Bureau of Investigation.

“The first responsibility of a probate judge is to protect the people he is a guardian of,” the lawyer pointed out. “These are people who can’t take care of themselves. The probate judge has ultimate guardianship over individuals and over money.”

He described Belinky as a “depraved soul” for stealing from the handicapped – mentally or physically – who are at the mercy of the court.

We not only endorse that characterization of the former judge, but we would go a step further and say that he should be publicly condemned by all honest, law-abiding residents of this area. Why? Because Belinky presented himself as a paragon of virtue and the slayer of corrupt politicians when he ran for the judgeship in 2008, after being appointed in 2007 by then Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

In a May 2014 editorial after he had pleaded guilty to violating campaign-finance laws, we noted that he had resigned because agents from the BCI had a litany of criminal charges they were prepared to file against him if he did not cooperate with them in their wide-ranging investigation of government corruption in the Mahoning Valley.

APPEAL FOR SPECIAL MASTER
Belinky avoided jail time because he is said to be cooperating with investigators and the FBI, but given the latest revelations about his activities as a judge, we believe a fuller, independent investigation of his tenure on the bench is demanded.

We call on Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor to appoint a special master to determine the extent of Belinky’s criminal behavior.

The one question that demands to be answered is this: Was he acting alone, or were there other participants in the scheme to steal from some of society’s most vulnerable?

We find this case particularly egregious because we, along with lawyers specializing in probate law and the public, came to view Belinky as the exception to the political-corruption rule in Mahoning County.

GAMING THE SYSTEM
He was eminently qualified to serve on the bench because he had long practiced in the court. Now we see that he used his knowledge and experience to game the system.  (Continue Reading)

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Ohio Supreme Court urged to review Belinky’s tenure

See Also:
Former Probate Judge Mark Belinky Answers Questions About His Resignation 

Ohio Mahong County Probate Judge Mark Belinky Resigns!