Pennsylvania Woman Charged After Elder Exploitation Investigation in Chatham County

Posted by Brighton McConnell 

A Pennsylvania woman is being sought for allegedly using thousands of dollars of an elderly victim’s money to pay her family’s personal business.

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office announced charges against 71-year-old Pamela Bagdis of Norristown, Pa. on Tuesday, charging her with five counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense, five counts of felony elder exploitation, and one count of felony larceny. The release said an incident was reported on Jan. 15 that accused Bagdis, who served as a power of attorney for an elderly Chatham County victim, of taking money. An investigation then led to the sheriff’s office’s allegations of Bagdis using the victim’s funding to pay her and her husband’s personal business more than $35,700.

Bagdis’ age and address match that of the spouse to lawyer Bernard “Jay” Baldis of Pennsylvania, who was convicted in 2010 for a tax evasion scheme where he used a group of shell companies to hide more than $24 million of income for himself and 11 clients. The U.S. Justice Department said its investigation found Baldis and his cohort effectively withheld $4.9 million from the Internal Revenue Service and he was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison. Federal court filings from 2018 and Pennsylvania Superior Court filings from 2019 cite Pamela as Bernard’s spouse.

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office said Bagdis has not yet been arrested or served and a court date for the charges has not yet been set.

Featured image by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group

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Pennsylvania Woman Charged After Elder Exploitation Investigation in Chatham County

Woman charged in elder-abuse case

A Huntland woman was released on a $500,000 bond after being arrested in connection with allegations of elder abuse and theft.

Betty Jean Duncan, 55, appeared in Franklin County Circuit Court Tuesday, according to court records, and she is scheduled to appear again on Jan. 21, 2025.

An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment and arrest of Duncan, according to a TBI press release.

On July 9, at the request of 12th Judicial District Attorney General Courtney Lynch, agents began investigating allegations of theft by Duncan, who operated a care facility in Franklin County, according to reports.

Agents learned that an 82-year-old female who had been allegedly under Duncan’s care passed away in March, the press release said.

A review of the woman’s financial accounts during the investigation found discrepancies where large sums of money appear to have been transferred from the victim’s account to an account co-owned by Duncan, reports said.

Agents later identified Duncan as the individual allegedly responsible for taking the money, the press release said.

On Nov. 18, a Franklin County grand jury returned an indictment charging Duncan with one count of theft over $250,000 and one count of financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable adult, the press release said.

On Nov. 19, TBI agents and deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Duncan, the press release said, adding that she was transported to the Franklin County Jail and booked on a $500,000 bond.

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Woman charged in elder-abuse case

Franklin County Woman Charged with Theft, Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult

FRANKLIN COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into a theft allegation has resulted in the indictment and arrest of a Huntland woman.

On July 9^th, at the request of 12^th Judicial District Attorney General Courtney Lynch, agents began investigating allegations of theft by Betty Duncan, who operated a care facility in Franklin County. Agents learned that an 82-year-old female who had been under Duncan’s care passed away in March. During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that a review of the woman’s financial accounts found discrepancies, where large sums of money were transferred from the victim’s account to an account co-owned by Duncan.  During that investigation, agents identified Duncan as the individual responsible for taking the money. 

On November 18^th, the Franklin County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Betty Jean Duncan (DOB 09/20/1969) with one count of Theft over $250,000 and one count of Financial Exploitation of an Elderly or Vulnerable Adult. On November 19^th, TBI agents and deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department arrested Duncan. She was transported to the Franklin County Jail and booked on a $500,000 bond.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.

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Franklin County Woman Charged with Theft, Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult

Taylorsville woman charged for allegedly stealing thousands from injured sister’s special needs trust fund

by: Chin Tung Tan

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — A Taylorsville woman has been charged after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from a special needs trust fund set up for her sister who was involved in a serious accident a few years ago.

Marcey Jean Heisey, 43, was charged at the Third District Court in Salt Lake County on Monday, March 13, with second-degree unlawful deal of prop by fiduciary and second-degree financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. 

Heisey’s sister reportedly contacted the Taylorsville Police Department in November 2022 to report that Heisey had withdrawn a lot of money from a trust fund for personal use. According to court documents, the sister, who resides in Oklahoma, said she was involved in a serious traffic accident a few years ago in Utah and, as part of the settlement, she received $68,000 in a special needs trust fund. Heisey was appointed a trustee for the trust account.

In December 2022, Heisey reportedly purchased a new truck worth $9,000 with money from the trust and had only been giving her sister only about $500 per month for the past few months. Heisey had also allegedly made transactions with tanning services, Facebook and Cash App through the trust fund account. 

Detectives requested a balance for the account statement and found that the amount of money in the account went from around $64,000 in March 2022 to under $3,900 in November 2022.

According to court documents, an employee of America First Credit Union confirmed that Heisey made several in-person cash withdrawals between September 2022 and October 2022 that added up to about $11,940.

Heisey’s sister reportedly told detectives that Heisey called her on Thanksgiving and begged her not to pursue fraud charges against her. When the sister requested Heisey to pay the heating bills using the trust money, Heisey sent her a generator valued at $713.74 instead, the charging documents stated.  

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Taylorsville woman charged for allegedly stealing thousands from injured sister’s special needs trust fund

Michigan woman charged for embezzling money from her father

by: Iz Martin

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A 40-year-old woman from Michigan has been charged by Attorney General Dana Nessel for allegedly embezzling from a vulnerable adult.

According to Nessel’s office, Tanya Patterson’s father was admitted to the Schnebb Senior Care and Rehabilitation Center in St. Louis, Mich. in July 2019.

In August of that year, Patterson was appointed as her father’s guardian by the Gratiot County Probate Court.

It is believed that Patterson then opened a checking account in her father’s name, with her listed as his guardian. The account was where his Social Security income was deposited.

Nessel alleges that in 2021, Patterson took money from her dad’s account and used it for personal expenses.

“Guardians and conservators are entrusted to protect and manage the medical and financial matters of a protected person,” said Nessel. “Being a family member does not relieve a guardian of these responsibilities. If guardians breach that trust, they must be held accountable.”

Patterson was arraigned on Jan. 17 in Gratiot County. She was given a $20,000 personal recognizance bond.

She is expected back in court for her probable cause conference on Jan. 26.

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Michigan woman charged for embezzling money from her father

Woman charged with exploitation or intimidation of the elderly

FLOYD COUNTY JAIL RECORDS

A Rome woman is accused of hitting two elderly residents of a nursing home.

According to the arrest warrant, on both occasions, the cognitively impaired residents were being difficult and attempted to strike 24-year-old Aaliya Denise Thrash, who in turn struck them with an open hand.

Thrash is charged with the exploitation and intimidation of the elderly.

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Woman charged with exploitation or intimidation of the elderly