Guardian to serve prison time in embezzlement case

A West Michigan guardian who stole from the people who depended on her will serve time in prison.

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Guardian to serve prison time in embezzlement case

St. Clair Co. guardian sentenced for embezzling from senior

by Marnie Muñoz

A St. Clair County woman was sentenced Monday in connection with embezzling more than $86,000 from an elderly woman.

Lisa Marie Tramski, 57, was sentenced at the county's 31st Circuit Court to one year of probation after she paid $51,600.75 in restitution for the stolen funds, the Michigan Attorney General's Office said in a release.

The Burtchville Township, was appointed as a guardian for the elderly woman in early 2018 just weeks before the victim died. Tramski had the victim sign a will leaving her all of her assets about a week before the elderly woman died, according to the release.

She took $86,033.75 from the late woman's accounts despite knowing there were legal challenges to the will, authorities reported. The probate court later invalidated the will benefitting Tramski.

Tramski pleaded guilty to embezzling the money in July at the St. Clair County 31st Circuit Court, according to the release.

Tramski's attorney, Joshua Rubin, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

“Guardians and conservators are appointed to care for those they serve, not exploit or steal from them in their time of need,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in the release. “My office remains committed to pursuing those who abuse their positions and advocating for stronger legislation to better protect elders from harm.”

The Department of Attorney General testified in June in support of bills to reform guardianship statutes in Michigan.

Nessel and the state Elder Abuse Task Force have also advocated for a guardian certification initiative and laws to establish family consent laws or personal protection orders for elderly and vulnerable adults, according to the release.

Family members of state wards, guardians and attorneys told The Detroit News in a 2023 investigation that the state's system for vulnerable adults was still dangerously flawed years after the Michigan Elder Abuse Task Force was appointed in 2019.

The state does not have established education, training or certification requirements for guardians and no limit to the number of wards they oversee, The News found. Guardians often place elderly adults in care facilities and sell off their homes and possessions during vulnerable times for the adults and their families, according to the investigation.

More than 100,000 older adults in Michigan are victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation, according to the release Monday from Nessel's office.

Residents seeking resources can call 800-24-ABUSE to report suspected elder abuse.

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St. Clair Co. guardian sentenced for embezzling from senior

Guardian for vulnerable adults gets a year for stealing $250k from clients

by Andrew Binion

A guardian for disabled and elderly people, appointed by Kitsap and Suquamish tribal courts, was sentenced Thursday to a year-and-a-day in prison for scamming more than $250,000 from his clients, including almost $50,000 from a tribal elder.

An attorney for Wayne Jerome Houston, 61, of Port Ludlow, wrote in court documents that Houston started the thefts by skimming from accounts while telling himself he was working hard for his clients.

“Mr. Houston offers no excuses,” his public defender wrote in documents filed with U.S. District Court, adding that he had already paid back $54,000. “He knows what he did was wrong.” 

Houston had lived on Bainbridge Island, coached youth sports there and had worked as a pilot for DHL before operating Cross Point Services LLC and moving to Jefferson County.

Houston managed the finances of about 15 to 20 people per month, all of whom were disabled or elderly adults, incapacitated and unable to handle their finances without help, according to federal prosecutors. 

Beginning in 2010, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Houston started stealing from wealthier clients so that the theft was less likely to be noticed, with sums ranging from $200 to $66,500.

In addition to the year in prison for pleading guilty to a count of “Social Security fraud - representative payee fraud,” U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Bryan ordered Houston to pay back $256,336.23 taken from 22 people listed by initials in court documents.

“But for his detection by Adult Protective Services and termination from his guardianships, there is no telling how long this pattern may have continued, or how many more may have been victimized,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Prosecutors added: “There is simply no explanation for Houston’s repeated decision to steal from his clients hundreds of times over the course of almost a decade, other than a desire to, as he put it, ‘live above his means.’”

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Guardian for vulnerable adults gets a year for stealing $250k from clients