Aide robs 3 elderly patients during shopping trip, police say

Patience James

LADY LAKE – Police have charged an aide with exploiting three elderly patients in her care by robbing them while taking them shopping.

Patience James, 37, took three patients of Lake Specialty Care assisted living on a shopping trip on Dec. 15. She was given three envelopes with cash belonging to the patients: one with $1,500, another with $2,500 and a third with $2,000.

When they returned she handed back $649.97 to the woman who had $2,500 in her envelope. The man who left with $1,500 discovered that his envelope was $700 short. When contacted by the facility James said the money must have fallen out of his pocket.

She did not turn in any receipts. When asked about the third shopper’s money, she said the man’s son accompanied them and he had control of the envelope. When the son was contacted, however, he said he was at work in Jacksonville.

She eventually produced eight receipts and the missing cash but several of the items purchased were missing and were not the kind of things they would normally purchase. The cash she turned in was in the form of newer $100 bills.

She admitted the one man’s son had not accompanied them, and that she had a friend go along on the trip. She denied stealing any money, however.

She was charged with exploitation of the elderly and grand theft and jailed pending payment of $4,000 bond.

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Aide robs 3 elderly patients during shopping trip, police say

Coto de Caza man faces 120-plus felony charges in $2 million loan modification scam

Kevin Frank Rasher

On YouTube, the 44-year-old Coto de Caza man says he can help homeowners in danger of losing their homes.

“If you’re in need of foreclosure proceedings to be stopped, payments to be more affordable, and interest-rate reductions to be done, I’m your man,” he says.

But prosecutors allege that Kevin Frank Rasher, who goes by “Kevin Carter” in the video, actually was running a loan-modification scam that bilked more than 400 troubled homeowners out of $2.2 million.

Rasher was arrested at his home in May and charged in July with more than 50 felony counts including grand theft and burglary.

On Thursday, he was charged with more than 70 new felony counts including money laundering, grand theft, and financial exploitation of an elder, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.

Prosecutors said Rasher, from 2011 to this April, falsely represented himself as a Housing and Urban Development attorney even though he never has had a law license in California.

Prosecutors said he had a $10,200-a-month rental home in Coto de Caza, only some homeowners ultimately got loan modifications, and the alleged scam left at least three victims without their homes.

If convicted, Rasher faces up to 98 years in prison. He was being held in lieu of $2 million. Before posting bond, he must prove that the money is from a legal source.

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Coto de Caza man faces 120-plus felony charges in $2 million loan modification scam

Coconut Creek lawyer charged with grand theft

Coconut Creek attorney Nicholas Theodore Steffens turned himself in to a Broward County jail to face charges of grand theft after prosecutors said more than a half-million dollars were misappropriated from foreclosure transactions.

Last month the Supreme Court of Florida suspended Steffens, 36, of Parkland, from practicing law, based on an ongoing investigation by the Florida Bar.

In four mortgage foreclosure cases, funds totaling $654,696.83 were used to pay Steffens' personal expenses and to pay money owed to a mortgage lender or loan servicing company, an arrest affidavit said.

Two transactions happened in Miami-Dade County and two were in Broward County.

The Florida Bar said it opened its investigation into Steffens on Jan. 29 and on Sept. 16 filed its petition for emergency suspension, which the Supreme Court approved two days later.

With ongoing disciplinary proceedings that could eventually mean disbarment, Steffens filed a document on Sept. 28 with the Supreme Court to voluntarily surrender his law license, his lawyer Kevin Tynan said.

The court's response is pending.

Meanwhile, Steffens cannot accept new clients and had to stop representing existing clients 30 days after his suspension, according to the court's order.

He also had to notify clients, opposing lawyers and the courts of his status with the Bar. And he was ordered to stop disbursing or withdrawing any monies from clients' trust accounts related to his law practice without the Supreme Court's approval.

Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer ordered a $200,000 bond for Steffens, who surrendered on Tuesday. To get out of jail before trial, Steffens must show that the bond money is from legal sources.

Steffens' criminal attorney, Larry Davis, did not return a call seeking comment.

Steffens has been active in county politics and has served as an officer with the Coral Springs/Parkland Democratic Club.

In 2012, he was a candidate for the Broward County school board, District 4, but did not win office. At that time, his civic and political activities included the Broward County Children's Services Board; Parkland Education Advisory Board and Broward County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

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Coconut Creek lawyer charged with grand theft