Personal care assistant facing fraud charge after allegedly stealing $150K from 95-year-old woman

By 7 News WHDH

BOSTON (WHDH) - A multi-agency investigation has led to a personal care assistant being charged with defrauding a 95-year-old woman of about $150,000 by stealing from her bank account, collecting rent money intended for the victim, and taking out a reverse mortgage on her home, resulting in foreclosure, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

Dominique Emanuel, 41, of Brockton, is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 22 in Dorchester Boston Municipal Court on one count of medical assistance fraud by provider and larceny over $1,200 by single scheme.

Hayden credited the Boston Police Department, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the investigation leading to the charges.

“The stunning breadth of this scheme illustrates the trust and authority given to this woman and how she abused that trust and authority to fill her own pockets. It’s something we’ve seen far too often, and it’s a clear signal to older adults and their families to be ever vigilant when money and services are involved,” Hayden said.

In February 2023, Boston police received a report from a woman stating her 95-year-old mother’s personal care assistant, later identified as Emmanuel, had been stealing from her.

The victim told police Emmanuel had been her PCA for several years after meeting her at the Santander Bank in Mattapan where Emmanuel worked as a bank teller.

A review of the victim’s will led to the discovery that Emmanuel was listed as an alternate executor of the will. The victim’s daughter then discovered her mother’s Mattapan home was in foreclosure due to a reverse mortgage of which the victim and family members had no knowledge.

They also learned that approximately $120,000 was withdrawn from the victim’s Santander Bank account, which included $70,000 made payable to a construction company for work that was never done.

Additionally, Emmanuel was tasked with collecting rent in the amount of $1,800 from the first-floor tenant of the home. The tenant told investigators he had entered a rental agreement from March 2021 and he had paid the person known to him as Dominique $3,600 cash for the first and last month’s rent and $1,800 cash every month thereafter until December 2022, totaling over $30,000 in payments.

The victim never received these payments. Investigators were able to corroborate numerous cash deposits into Emmanuel’s Santander account during that timeframe.

A review of Emmanuel’s employment records from Tempus Unlimited, a personal care attendant program, showed that she had been paid for hours of work she did not perform, including days she was out of state. Records showed that she billed Tempus for hours while the victim was either being treated at a long-term care or an inpatient care facility and would not require the assistance of a PCA at home. The total Medicaid fraud loss is approximately $3,763.60.

With financial exploitation and abuse on the rise, District Attorney Hayden recently launched the Suffolk County Fraud Fighters, a multi-agency effort to help residents, particularly older adults, recognize common scams and signs of financial fraud.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), compared to anonymous scammers, older adults typically suffer greater financial losses when they know the perpetrator.

Full Article & Source:
Personal care assistant facing fraud charge after allegedly stealing $150K from 95-year-old woman

Disbarred lawyer admits he stole almost $2M in a fraud scheme claiming to fund loans to Eagles season-ticket holders

Frank N. Tobolsky, 59, of Cherry Hill, used the stolen funds on gambling at casinos and personal expenses.

 

by Robert Moran

A disbarred lawyer from Camden County pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding a Delaware man of almost $2 million in a scheme claiming to fund loans to Eagles season-ticket holders, then spending the money on gambling at casinos and personal expenses, according to acting U.S. Attorney in New Jersey Rachael A. Honig.

Frank N. Tobolsky, 59, of Cherry Hill, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden to one count of wire fraud.

Tobolsky’s lawyer, Lisa Lewis, a federal defender, could not be reached for comment.

Honig said in a news release that starting in 2013, Tobolsky raised money from the victim, purportedly as an investment that would loan money to Eagles season-ticket holders who owned seat licenses.

The victim was told that the seat licenses would be used as collateral to secure the loans. The victim sent Tobolsky about $2.4 million to invest in the purported business venture, but the money was not used for loans to season-ticket holders. Instead, Tobolsky used a substantial portion on personal expenses, prosecutors said.

He faces a maximum 20 years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the loss to any victim or gain to Tobolsky, whichever is greatest. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10.

In 2018, Tobolsky was separately charged by state authorities in Atlantic County on theft offenses in an alleged scheme in which authorities said he fraudulently sold an Eagles Stadium Builder License to a victim and then deposited the money into his account at the Golden Nugget casino. According to Atlantic County court records, Tobolsky entered a pretrial diversionary program.

Also in 2018, Tobolsky was disbarred in New Jersey for stealing $32,500 from a client’s escrow account to use for gambling. He also was disbarred in Pennsylvania later that year.

The Disciplinary Review Board decision in New Jersey summarized at length claims by Tobolsky that he had a nearly lifelong struggle with gambling. His father took him to a racetrack when he was 6 and then introduced him to football pools a few years later, and Tobolsky struggled with gambling and depression ever since, according to the decision.

The review board rejected Tobolsky’s defense that he should not be disbarred for his actions because he could not think straight because of a gambling addiction and depression.

Full Article & Source:

Disbarred lawyer admits he stole almost $2M in a fraud scheme claiming to fund loans to Eagles season-ticket holders

Two Plattsburgh women sentenced in grandparent scheme

PLATTSBURGH — Two Plattsburgh women were recently sentenced in federal court for participating in a scheme to defraud elderly victims.

Naromie Joseph, 29, and Christie Joseph, 25, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for their roles in a grandparent scheme, according to a Department of Justice press release.

People would contact the elderly victims, telling them that their grandchildren and other relatives needed money for bail and other purposes.

Since they believed their loved ones needed help, the victims sent the money to various addresses in Plattsburgh that the Josephs arranged to use for the scam, the release said.

TIME SERVED, RESTITUTION

The Public Access to Court Electronic Records website also lists four counts of mail fraud on their indictment.

Naromie was sentenced Monday to time served — she spent about 13 months in custody awaiting the disposition of her case — and three years of supervised release.

She must also pay $27,200 in restitution to the victims, the release said.

On May 10, Christie was sentenced to four months of weekends in jail, three years of supervised release and payment of restitution. (Continue Reading)

Full Article & Source:
Two Plattsburgh women sentenced in grandparent scheme

Political Groups Bilking Elderly for Donations Through Mailers

Mabel, 95, has developed significant memory and cognitive issues. Because of her age and health problems, her niece and nephew believes some charities are taking advantage of her by asking for money.

"I find it despicable. I find it unethical," said Mabel's niece, Charlene Cogan.

They are concerned about an endless deluge of mail donation solicitations. Dozens arrived in the last two weeks, the majority of which were on issues important to the elderly.

"Social Security reform, or medical care, those are the things," said Mabel's nephew Gralen Britto.
"It was so obvious, the more she paid, the more letters they would send," said Charlene. For Mabel, it started out small. Her niece said it was small checks at first for 5, 10, 15, 20 dollars. And it quickly got out of hand.

"I looked at her checkbook and that month she had spent about $1000 in contributions," said Charlene.

Our investigation shows the often highly hyped and verbally supercharged solicitations are rarely tax deductible because they are for political advocacy.

"The language is such that it becomes scarier. It becomes more, 'if you don't do this, the outcome is going to be tragic to you,'" said Gralen.

In sorting the bags of Mabel's mail, we counted sixty-six solicitations from a single group. It operates under a half-dozen project names.

Full Article and Source:
Political Groups Bilking Elderly for Donations Through Mailers

Lawyer strikes plea deal in bilking of widow

Cherry Hill lawyer Michael Kwasnik, under federal investigation in an alleged $8.5 million Ponzi scheme, has pleaded guilty to state money-laundering charges in the theft of $1.1 million from a 96-year-old widow.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said that under the plea agreement, signed quietly in late January, Kwasnik will repay the estate of the Cherry Hill woman, who died sometime after he was indicted on Nov. 7, 2011.

Kwasnik remains the focus of a federal criminal probe into the scheme that authorities say was used to bilk dozens of elderly victims.

"The plea agreement does not in any way affect any potential criminal charges that would be filed in connection with the Ponzi scheme," said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa.

Kwasnik is scheduled for sentencing May 10 before Superior Court Judge Irvin J. Snyder. He will serve no time beyond the five months he spent in the Camden County Jail after his arrest. He agreed to repay the estate by the end of his up-to-five-year probationary period, the Attorney General's Office said.

Full Article & Source:
Lawyer strikes plea deal in bilking of widow

Trial Opens for 2 Accused of Defrauding the Dying

An estate planning lawyer and one of his employees fraudulently made more than $30 million by making investments in the names of people who were terminally ill with ailments such as cancer and Lou Gehrig's disease, a federal prosecutor said during his opening statement at the pair's trial Tuesday.

The lawyer, Joseph Caramadre, and his employee Raymour Radhakrishnan are charged with dozens of counts, including wire and mail fraud, identify theft, conspiracy and money laundering. Caramadre is also charged with witness tampering.
Prosecutor Lee Vilker told the jury that Caramadre bragged he had discovered a loophole in variable annuities and so-called "death-put bonds," both of which offer a benefit if the owner dies.

"It's not a loophole if you have to lie to get it," Vilker told the jury.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Full Article and Source:
Trial Opens for 2 Accused of Defrauding the Dying