Burtchville Woman Sentenced for Embezzling More than $86,000

September 16, 2024

LANSING – Today, Lisa Marie Tramski, 57, of Burtchville, was sentenced to one year of probation by Judge Daniel A. Damman in the 31st Circuit Court in St. Clair County after paying $51,600.75 in restitution, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Tramski pled guilty in July to one count of Embezzlement of $50,000 or more, but less than $100,000 for embezzling funds from an elderly woman after becoming her court-appointed guardian. 

Tramski was appointed in early 2018 as guardian for the victim, who died only weeks later. About a week before the death, Tramski had the victim sign a will leaving everything to Tramski. Despite knowing there were legal challenges to the will, Tramski proceeded to take $86,033.75 from the victim’s accounts. Ultimately, the probate court invalidated the will benefitting Tramski.   

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

Michigan's Elder Abuse Task Force launched in 2019 and consists of more than 55 different organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sections - all working together to combat elder abuse. The more than 100 individuals on the Task Force are divided into seven committees working diligently to accomplish nine initiatives (PDF), including requiring certification and training for professional guardians.  

Earlier this year, the Department testified in support of House Bills 4909, 4910, 4911, and 4912, a bill package aimed at reforming Michigan’s guardianship statutes. The Department also supports Senate Bill 656, which would restrict the type of investments a conservator can make with estate property. Additionally, Attorney General Nessel and the Task Force have advocated for legislation to establish family consent laws and PPOs for elder/vulnerable adults, as well as a guardian certification initiative.  

More than 100,000 older adults in Michigan are victims of elder abuse. They experience abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Michigan residents seeking elder abuse resources are encouraged to call 800-24-ABUSE (22873), or 855-444-3911 to report suspected elder abuse.

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Burtchville Woman Sentenced for Embezzling More than $86,000

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Burtchville Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More than $86,000

Burtchville Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More than $86,000

July 23, 2024

LANSING – Yesterday, Lisa Marie Tramski, 57, of Burtchville, pled guilty in the 31st Circuit Court in St. Clair County to one count of Embezzlement of $50,000 or more, but less than $100,000, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Tramski embezzled more than $86,000 from an elderly woman after becoming her court-appointed guardian. Tramski will pay $51,600.75 in restitution prior to sentencing as part of the plea. 

Tramski, who was charged with three felony counts in February, was appointed in early 2018 as guardian for the victim, who died only weeks later. About a week before the death, Tramski had the victim sign a will leaving everything to Tramski. Despite knowing there were legal challenges to the will, Tramski proceeded to take $86,033.75 from the victim’s accounts. Ultimately, the probate court invalidated the will benefitting Tramski.  

“The plea secured today marks a significant step toward justice,” Nessel said. “My department will continue to pursue accountability for those who are unable to protect themselves and ensure perpetrators face consequences for their actions.” 

Tramski will be sentenced on Sept. 16th at 9:30 a.m. in front of Judge Daniel A. Damman in 31st Circuit Court in St. Clair County.

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Burtchville Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More than $86,000

Woman pleads guilty to stealing $500k from her sick, 93-year-old uncle, forcing him into nursing home

According to prosecutors, Hadee Toledo took advantage of her 93-year-old uncle when he was very sick with COVID-19.

By Christian Colón and NBC6 • Published December 19, 2023 • Updated on December 19, 2023 at 5:46 pm

A South Florida woman pled guilty Tuesday to stealing over half a million dollars from her sick uncle and forcing him to live in an assisted living facility.

After escaping to Spain, Hadee Toledo was extradited to Miami-Dade County on Monday and went before a judge for the first time Tuesday. She was arrested on a warrant from May charging her with the exploitation of an elderly person.

According to prosecutors, Toledo took advantage of her 93-year-old uncle when he was very sick with COVID-19. Authorities said the victim was hospitalized in August 2020 and remained quarantined in a nursing and rehab center after his release from the hospital.

Her son, Italo Nelli, pleaded guilty last year for helping her and was sentenced to five years probation.

Toledo allegedly forged the victim’s signature on a power of attorney document, which was allegedly witnessed by Nelli and others and was legally notarized.

Toledo then used that power of attorney to forge transfer of property deeds, allowing her to sell the victim’s home, liquidate his bank accounts, and leave Florida, prosecutors said. Hialeah Police said the house was sold in a rush for less than it was worth.

Police said Toledo even changed her name to match the victim's last name to perpetrate the scheme.

After challenges with the Spanish legal system and plea negotiations, Toledo and prosecutors agreed she would plead guilty to only one count of forgery.

"Message there is: you can run but you can't hide," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in response to the plea.

Toledo was sentenced to six months probation and must pay her uncle's real heir $250,000. She must also waive any possible inheritance. If she violates probation, she faces up to five years in state prison.

Toledo's uncle died in September.

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Woman pleads guilty to stealing $500k from her sick, 93-year-old uncle, forcing him into nursing home

Etowah County woman pleads guilty to financial exploitation of elderly person

by Jeff Wyatt

An Etowah County woman pleaded guilty today to four counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person.

57-year-old Lisa Talton Wells Daugherty of Attalla, was sentenced to serve 20 years, split to serve 5 years in the department of corrections. She will also turn over approximately $5,500,000 that is the subject of pending federal litigation.

“Daugherty will feel the full force of justice after using her position as a caregiver to exploit a vulnerable elderly woman from her life savings,” said Attorney General Marshall. “This is an egregious example of financial fraud that continues to happen in our state, and I urge Alabamians to contact my office if they suspect someone is being used for Medicaid fraud or abuse.”

According to a release from the Attorney General's office, Daugherty worked as a care technician at Oak Landing Assisted Living in Etowah County. While working there, she became power of attorney for an elderly person who lived there. Daugherty transferred more than $8,500,000 from the victim's account to her own. She then used the victim’s money to buy herself a home in Etowah County and a beach house, each valued over $1,000,000; multiple vehicles valued over $120,000; and $86,000 in dental implants, among other things.

Daugherty has been in the Etowah County Jail since her arrest in July 2021.

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Etowah County woman pleads guilty to financial exploitation of elderly person

Woman pleads guilty to financial exploitation of vulnerable adult in Douglas County

The case was set to go to trial this week, before the petition was filed.

By Travis Gulbrandson

ALEXANDRIA — A New Munich woman has filed a petition to enter a plea of guilty to the charge of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

The petition was filed in the case of Lori Karin Thomas, 51, on Jan. 5 in Douglas County District Court.

According to the statement of probable cause, Thomas allegedly withdrew more than $118,000 from the bank account of a senior citizen from February 2019 to August 2020.

The case was set to go to trial this week, before the petition was filed.

The petition reads that Thomas will pay $9,000 in restitution up front, followed by payments that will add up to what appears to be more than $30,000.

Thomas must also remain law abiding, pay a $50 fine, serve 10 days house arrest and serve 5 years probation, the petition reads.

Thomas's charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and/or a $100,000 fine.

Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30.

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Woman pleads guilty to financial exploitation of vulnerable adult in Douglas County

Ross Co. woman pleads guilty to hiding elderly woman’s body

ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — A Ross County woman accused of covering up the death of an elderly woman in order to steal her social security pled guilty this week in a Ross County court.

38-year-old Anna Mead, according to court records obtained by the Guardian, pled guilty to abuse of a corpse, attempted aggravated arson, attempted tampering with evidence, failure to report knowledge of a dead, and theft.

Mead was involved in a conspiracy to steal the social security of 86-year-old Norma Grubb following her death in October of 2021.

Mead kept the deceased woman’s body covered in a bedroom while continuing to collect checks in her name.

Detectives say, Mead continued the plot from October to December of 2021.

Investigators said during that time, the home belonging to Grubb was set on fire to cover up her death.

Anna Mead will spend the next 6 years behind bars.

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Ross Co. woman pleads guilty to hiding elderly woman’s body

Va. woman pleads in $1.2M embezzlement scheme

By Alex Rose

PHILADELPHIA – A Virginia woman pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud for her role in a million-dollar scheme to embezzle from wards of court-appointed guardianships and funnel the money through a series of shell companies.

Alesha Mitchell, 41, of Suffolk, Va., entered her plea before U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who has set sentencing for July 21.

Mitchell was indicted last year with Gloria Byars, 61, of Aldan, and Carlton Rembert, 67, of Hampton, Va., for allegedly defrauding elderly, incapacitated people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Byars was originally arrested in 2020 with former Democratic candidate for county council Keith Collins and his wife, Caroline Collins – Byars’ sister – as part of the same alleged scheme.

Byars, of the first block of Woodlawn Avenue, had been facing hundreds of state charges, but now faces eight counts in federal court for conspiracy, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting bank fraud and money laundering.

Keith and Carolyn Collins, of the first block of Princeton Avenue in Ridley Park, are still facing 12 state counts each of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property, six misdemeanor theft counts and three felony conspiracy counts. The married couple, who serve as pastors at the Church of the Overcomer in Trainer, are scheduled for a hearing before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan April 18.

According to the indictment and the affidavit of probable cause filed in the state charges last year, Byars had worked from 2008 to October 2016 at a Havertown business that cares for wards appointed by the state. In her position, Byars assisted the company’s owner in managing wards’ assets and had access to their checkbooks and bank accounts, the indictment says.

Byars was appointed guardian of several wards in 2015, granting her access to their assets as well, according to prosecutors. She set up her own corporation in August 2016, called Global Guardian Services LLC, shortly before leaving the Havertown company.

The indictment alleges that Mitchell, Byars and Rembert fraudulently obtained more than $1.2 million of unauthorized checks from incapacitated wards and deposited them into accounts they opened with local banks, then split the proceeds.

Byars allegedly opened business bank accounts for Global Guardian and “ICU Records & Billing,” while Rembert and Mitchell opened accounts for shell corporations “CWR Medical Services,” and “ACC Medical Billing LLC,” the indictment says. Rembert also allegedly opened business bank accounts in the name of a business he previously operated called Grace Home for Children.

The indictment claims Byars stole money from the wards’ accounts by writing unauthorized checks payable to ICURB, Global Guardian, ACC Medical Billing, CWR Medical and Grace Home in order to make the transactions appear to be legitimate medical expenses incurred by the wards.

After depositing the checks, Rembert and Mitchell obtained cashier’s checks, which were then deposited into Byars’ ICURB and Global Guardian accounts as her cut of the take, according to the indictment.

Tucker has ordered a presentence report ahead of sentencing for Mitchell. Conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Wright. Mitchell is represented by defense attorney Heather Mattes.

Rembert, represented by Vernon Chestnut, is scheduled for a jury trial June 21. Byars’ former attorney was granted a motion to withdraw as counsel earlier this month. An order entered Monday indicates she has 60 days from that date to retain new counsel or proceed pro se. A request for appointment of alternate counsel was denied.

 

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Va. woman pleads in $1.2M embezzlement scheme

Woman pleads guilty to abuse, neglect of disabled son

PARKERSBURG — A woman pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges she abused and neglected her disabled adult son, with her attorney saying she was unable to care for the man and his brother.

“I tried to get everybody to help me here, and nobody would help me,” Christina Boyles, 42, said through tears during a hearing before Wood County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Beane.

Boyles and her husband, Herbert, 42, were arrested in June 2018 after Parkersburg Police responded to their 32nd Street residence and found the then-21-year-old man malnourished and with severe ligature wounds indicating he had been restrained, reports said.

Family members interviewed by detectives said the couple hit and kicked the victim on different occasions, starved him and sprayed cleaning chemicals on him. An investigation revealed the man, who was unable to speak because of a genetic disability, had several cysts on his pelvic region, possibly due to lying on a hard surface for an extended period of time, and open sores, police said.

Christina and Herbert Boyles were indicted on felony counts of abuse of an incapacitated adult resulting in bodily injury and neglect of an incapacitated adult resulting in bodily injury, as well as misdemeanor charges of abuse and neglect of an incapacitated adult.

Herbert Boyles pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanor charges earlier this year and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3.

Christina Boyles entered the same plea Thursday.

“There is some conflicting medical testimony that the state recognizes may prevent us from obtaining a conviction on the felony matters,” Assistant Wood County Prosecutor Lora Snodgrass said. However, she believes they “could easily prevail on the misdemeanor charges.”

Snodgrass noted the victim and his brother, because of their disabilities, would have likely been unable to testify.

When questioned by Snodgrass Thursday, Christina Boyles denied restraining her son so he wouldn’t leave the house. But when Snodgrass asked if the man was under the care of a doctor, Boyles said he was not and admitted he had unmet medical needs.

Her attorney, Joseph McFarland, with the 4th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Corporation, said that if the case had gone to trial, part of the defense would have been that Boyles’ sons are “so profoundly impaired that this woman is incapable of taking care of them.

“She’s just not up to it,” he said.

Snodgrass said Boyles had agreed to take custody of them after they lived in group homes in Mississippi.

“I hadn’t seen them … since they were babies,” Boyles said.

Her sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 30. She faces up to two years in jail.

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Woman pleads guilty to abuse, neglect of disabled son

Augusta County woman pleads guilty to embezzlement, financial exploitation

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) — An Augusta County woman has been ordered to pay back an elderly family member she financially exploited and a high school organization she embezzled from.

In court on Thursday, Kelly Blackwell pleaded guilty to three charges of embezzlement and one charge of financial exploitation of a mentally incapacitated person.

Several other charges against Blackwell – two counts of issuing bad checks and two counts of credit card theft – were dropped due to issues surrounding evidence of the crimes.

The charges to which Blackwell pleaded are each felonies and each carry 10 years in prison.

However, Blackwell's prison sentence has been suspended to allow her to instead pay restitution in full.

The court ordered her to pay back $36,365 to an elderly family member. According to her charges, while legally granted power of attorney for him, she convinced him to obtain a loan against a home he owned. The charges related to accusations of taking credit cards and using them for fraudulent purchases were dropped. That elderly family member is now at risk of losing his home.

Blackwell was ordered to pay back $15,901.36 to the Buffalo Gap Quarterback club. She served as treasurer for the club from January 2017 to December 2018. During that time, she admitted pocketing thousands of unaccounted concession stand sales. Blackwell had reported to the club that their bank account had around $15,000 in it, but after checking the accounts, the club saw there was actually less than $50.

Blackwell will have to pay back at least $500 a month to her elderly family member so he does not lose his home and at least $100 a month to Buffalo Gap. She gets five years to pay back both amounts in full.

If that restitution goal is not met, Blackwell will be ordered by the court to serve her prison sentence.

As part of the plea agreement, Blackwell also cannot serve as a caretaker, guardian or power of attorney for any incapacitated person in the next 10 years.

She'll face a restitution review on August 14.

It's still unclear to the court why she took the money.

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Augusta County woman pleads guilty to embezzlement, financial exploitation