Police have arrested a 65-year-old woman suspected of bilking money from her elderly parents while caging them in a room for up to 12 hours a day, the Redmond Police Department said.
Source:
Daughter Strapped Elderly Parents to Bed and Bilked Their Money, Police Say
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Woman Who Was in Coma Has Her Bob Seger Concert Wish Come True
Evie Branan, 79, woke up out of a coma and her one wish was to see Bob Seger in concert. Thursday night, that wish came true.
Branan has traveled down the road less traveled, but Thursday night her final destination was a wish come true.
"We just want to jump up and down!" said Jennifer Hickey, Branan's nurse.
Hickey has been by Branan's side for six years, after Branan suffered a massive stroke. Since that day, Branan's lived at Willowbrook Manor Nursing Home in Flint. She was in a semi-coma, not able to communicate, until May 7, 2011, when Hickey said she watched a miracle unfold.
"One day, after she had fallen out of bed and hit her head, she started talking to us, like she had some sense," said Hickey.
And the first thing out of Branan's mouth is something Hickey said she'll never forget.
"My first words, and I can't figure it out, but I said 'I want to go to a Bob Seger concert,'" said Branan.
On Thursday night, nurses helped Branan powder her face and look great, because that wish, with the help of the nursing home and Bob Seger's management company, came true.
And when Bob Seger took the stage, the 79-year old showed her night moves better than a 29-year-old would. To watch Branan's face light up made the night magical.
"A dream come true," said Branan. "Never give up on yourself, and anything you think you can do, you do it."
Full Article and Source:
Woman Who Was in Coma Has Her Bob Seger Concert Wish Come True
Branan has traveled down the road less traveled, but Thursday night her final destination was a wish come true.
"We just want to jump up and down!" said Jennifer Hickey, Branan's nurse.
Hickey has been by Branan's side for six years, after Branan suffered a massive stroke. Since that day, Branan's lived at Willowbrook Manor Nursing Home in Flint. She was in a semi-coma, not able to communicate, until May 7, 2011, when Hickey said she watched a miracle unfold.
"One day, after she had fallen out of bed and hit her head, she started talking to us, like she had some sense," said Hickey.
And the first thing out of Branan's mouth is something Hickey said she'll never forget.
"My first words, and I can't figure it out, but I said 'I want to go to a Bob Seger concert,'" said Branan.On Thursday night, nurses helped Branan powder her face and look great, because that wish, with the help of the nursing home and Bob Seger's management company, came true.
And when Bob Seger took the stage, the 79-year old showed her night moves better than a 29-year-old would. To watch Branan's face light up made the night magical.
"A dream come true," said Branan. "Never give up on yourself, and anything you think you can do, you do it."
Full Article and Source:
Woman Who Was in Coma Has Her Bob Seger Concert Wish Come True
Five Scheme to Defraud Elderly FL Woman
An 81-year-old Dania Beach woman with a history of Alzheimer's disease was exploited by five people in a scheme to repeatedly make her pay for bogus handiwork, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
Arrested in connection with Joann Sobczak's alleged exploitation were Zachary Brinegar, 27; Jason Touchton, 33; James Burkholder, 27; Gina Guilder, 27; and William Tinnell, 65, the agency said.
Each was charged with at least one count of exploitation of the elderly. Additionally, Touchton was charged with elderly neglect without great harm. They each admitted to investigators they played a role in the scheme, the agency said.
According to a Broward sheriff's report, Brinegar confessed to helping out his co-defendants in exploiting Sobczak on Sunday, when the woman wrote them a $500 check.
Brinegar could not tell deputies what the check was for, but said that he got $50 for driving his accomplices to Sobczak's home, the agency said.
On Tuesday, he told investigators that they returned to the woman's home to fraudulently obtain another check. They told Sobczak that the $500 check she had previously given them could not be cashed even though it was.
Touchton, too, confessed to exploiting the woman and said that he and his accomplices had promised to complete handiwork for Sobczak that never was done. He received $50 for helping defraud the woman on each of two separate occasions, the report said.
Burkholder also admitted to defrauding the Alzheimer's-stricken woman multiple times and to making her believe that he would fix things around her home. He said he took a payment of $800 on Saturday for work he never did on an air-conditioning unit, the report said.
Full Article and Source:
Group Accused of Making Dania Beach Woman, 81, Pay for Bogus Handiwork
Arrested in connection with Joann Sobczak's alleged exploitation were Zachary Brinegar, 27; Jason Touchton, 33; James Burkholder, 27; Gina Guilder, 27; and William Tinnell, 65, the agency said.Each was charged with at least one count of exploitation of the elderly. Additionally, Touchton was charged with elderly neglect without great harm. They each admitted to investigators they played a role in the scheme, the agency said.
According to a Broward sheriff's report, Brinegar confessed to helping out his co-defendants in exploiting Sobczak on Sunday, when the woman wrote them a $500 check.
Brinegar could not tell deputies what the check was for, but said that he got $50 for driving his accomplices to Sobczak's home, the agency said.
On Tuesday, he told investigators that they returned to the woman's home to fraudulently obtain another check. They told Sobczak that the $500 check she had previously given them could not be cashed even though it was.
Touchton, too, confessed to exploiting the woman and said that he and his accomplices had promised to complete handiwork for Sobczak that never was done. He received $50 for helping defraud the woman on each of two separate occasions, the report said.
Burkholder also admitted to defrauding the Alzheimer's-stricken woman multiple times and to making her believe that he would fix things around her home. He said he took a payment of $800 on Saturday for work he never did on an air-conditioning unit, the report said.
Full Article and Source:
Group Accused of Making Dania Beach Woman, 81, Pay for Bogus Handiwork
Friday, April 19, 2013
Guardian Gets Prison in $92K Theft From 12 Nursing Home Residents
A former Omaha attorney was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for stealing $92,000 from 12 nursing home residents she was appointed to protect.U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom sentenced Kim Erwin-Loncke, 47, to the prison term plus three years of supervised release.
Strom also ordered her to pay $92,608 in restitution. Douglas County judges had appointed Erwin-Loncke guardian of several disabled or otherwise incapacitated nursing home residents.
From August 2008 to November 2010, the then-attorney took advantage of those clients by transferring their Social Security payments to her own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg said.
The Nebraska Supreme Court disbarred Erwin-Loncke in November 2010. Strom ordered Erwin-Loncke to report June 24 to begin serving her prison term.
Source:
Guardian Gets Prison in $92K Theft From 12 Nursing Home Residents
TN Lawmakers Amend Conservatorship Bill After Concern From Hospitals
A long awaited bill to rewrite the state law governing conservatorships has undergone a last minute amendment at the request of hospitals thus delaying a final House vote on the measure and forcing another Senate vote.
The amendment, which triggered a brief debate and a motion to delay further action came Wednesday as the General Assembly moved toward a planned early adjournment.
The amendment would create a new and special path for hospitals to move patients unable to make decisions for themselves into lower cost settings such as nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities.
Under the amendment, a hospital could petition the court directly for authorization to transfer a patient unable to act for him or herself to a lower level of care without going through notice and waiting periods.
Rep. Andrew Farmer, a sponsor of the original legislation, said the change provides “another avenue for hospitals to move someone out of their bed. This is a compomise.” He said he had been approached by two hospitals, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center seeking the change.
Under the version of the bill approved earlier by the state Senate, hospitals would have had to comply with newly established procedures for emergency conservatorships, which require a notice within 48 hours to the person being conserved and a hearing within 5 days.
In brief debate after adoption of the amendment, several Republican members questioned why the amendment was being offered at the last minute and why it did not go through the Civil Justice Committee which approved an earlier version of the bill.
Allan F. Ramsaur of the Tennessee Bar Association, which originally proposed a rewrite of the state conservatorship law, said he expected the Senate to go along with the amendment.
“We worked with the hospitals to find a third way of preserving rights but not requiring them to keep someone in the expensive hospital bed,” Ramsaur said in an email response to questions.
Under the amendment a hospital would petition the court for the appointment on an expedited basis of a special limited fiduciary with the authority to have the patient discharged or transferred.
“The proposed amendment allows someone to be moved to an appropriate level of care without impacting or invoking the emergency provisions component of the act,” said John Howser, assistant vice chancellor for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “(It) is aimed as a last resort option for caregivers to be included as decision-makers for patients with no families or with families who cannot or will not be involved.”
The proposed rewrite of the conservatorship law came following statewide hearings by the bar association at which several former wards charged that their rights and property were taken away without notice or just cause.
Source:
Lawmakers Amend Conservatorship Law After Concern From Hospitals
The amendment, which triggered a brief debate and a motion to delay further action came Wednesday as the General Assembly moved toward a planned early adjournment.
The amendment would create a new and special path for hospitals to move patients unable to make decisions for themselves into lower cost settings such as nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities.
Under the amendment, a hospital could petition the court directly for authorization to transfer a patient unable to act for him or herself to a lower level of care without going through notice and waiting periods.
Rep. Andrew Farmer, a sponsor of the original legislation, said the change provides “another avenue for hospitals to move someone out of their bed. This is a compomise.” He said he had been approached by two hospitals, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center seeking the change.Under the version of the bill approved earlier by the state Senate, hospitals would have had to comply with newly established procedures for emergency conservatorships, which require a notice within 48 hours to the person being conserved and a hearing within 5 days.
In brief debate after adoption of the amendment, several Republican members questioned why the amendment was being offered at the last minute and why it did not go through the Civil Justice Committee which approved an earlier version of the bill.
Allan F. Ramsaur of the Tennessee Bar Association, which originally proposed a rewrite of the state conservatorship law, said he expected the Senate to go along with the amendment.“We worked with the hospitals to find a third way of preserving rights but not requiring them to keep someone in the expensive hospital bed,” Ramsaur said in an email response to questions.
Under the amendment a hospital would petition the court for the appointment on an expedited basis of a special limited fiduciary with the authority to have the patient discharged or transferred.
“The proposed amendment allows someone to be moved to an appropriate level of care without impacting or invoking the emergency provisions component of the act,” said John Howser, assistant vice chancellor for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “(It) is aimed as a last resort option for caregivers to be included as decision-makers for patients with no families or with families who cannot or will not be involved.”
The proposed rewrite of the conservatorship law came following statewide hearings by the bar association at which several former wards charged that their rights and property were taken away without notice or just cause.
Source:
Lawmakers Amend Conservatorship Law After Concern From Hospitals
Florida: Operation S.A.F.E. (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation)
On Friday May 10, 2013, the Department of Financial Services, overseen by Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater will present OPERATION S.A.F.E. (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation) at the South County Civic Center, Jog Rd., Delray Beach beginning at 1:00 pm. CFO Atwater's office is partnering with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to present this program and to ensure that our Palm Beach County residents get the latest on local frauds and scams and who to call and what to do if they are a victim.Details on numerous scams and frauds including identity theft, insurance and health care fraud, reverse mortgage scams, investment scams, contractor fraud and lottery and sweepstakes scams will be presented and you will learn how NOT to become a victim and how to protect your information and yourself. Representatives from the Department of Financial Services and PBSO will be there to answer your questions and assist you with any problems. Also at the event will be representatives from AARP, Elder Affairs, Consumer Affairs and other senior advocacy groups and agencies.
Current statistics show that one in five seniors has been a victim of financial fraud yet only one in 44 will report it.
Source:
Operation S.A.F.E. (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation) to be Presented
Thursday, April 18, 2013
TN Attorney John E. Clemmons, Court Appointed as Conservator, Sued for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conversion, and More
A Nashville attorney whose law license already is under suspension for misappropriation of a ward’s funds is being accused in a civil suit of misappropriating at least $450,000 from a now-deceased elderly woman whom the courts had entrusted to his care.
In the suit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court, John E. Clemmons has been charged with breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, intentional misappropriation of more than $450,000 and repeatedly failing to account for his handling of the estate of Nannie P. Malone.
In a 16-page complaint filed Friday, Teresa A. Lyle, Malone’s daughter, charged that Clemmons had sold off at auction hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Malone’s property but had failed to properly account for the proceeds.
The suit comes after the state Supreme Court indefinately suspended Clemmons license to practice law, citing him for misappropriation and concluding his continued practice of law “poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.”
The high court action stemmed from a Rutherford County case in which chancery court officials found that Clemmons had paid himself $50,400 without court approval from the estate of a nursing home resident who had been entrusted to his care. A review showed an additional $16,500 could not be accounted for.
In the suit filed in Davidson County, attorneys for Lyle charged that “Clemmons has not made any itemized accounting of any expense” incurred in the auction of Malone’s properties, including a 68-acre farm and four lots.
Full Article and Source:
Suspended Lawyer Faces Lawsuit in a Conservatorship Case
See Also:
TN Attorney John E. Clemmons Suspended After $50,000 Taken From Disabled Ward
In the suit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court, John E. Clemmons has been charged with breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, intentional misappropriation of more than $450,000 and repeatedly failing to account for his handling of the estate of Nannie P. Malone.In a 16-page complaint filed Friday, Teresa A. Lyle, Malone’s daughter, charged that Clemmons had sold off at auction hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Malone’s property but had failed to properly account for the proceeds.
The suit comes after the state Supreme Court indefinately suspended Clemmons license to practice law, citing him for misappropriation and concluding his continued practice of law “poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.”
The high court action stemmed from a Rutherford County case in which chancery court officials found that Clemmons had paid himself $50,400 without court approval from the estate of a nursing home resident who had been entrusted to his care. A review showed an additional $16,500 could not be accounted for.
In the suit filed in Davidson County, attorneys for Lyle charged that “Clemmons has not made any itemized accounting of any expense” incurred in the auction of Malone’s properties, including a 68-acre farm and four lots.
Full Article and Source:
Suspended Lawyer Faces Lawsuit in a Conservatorship Case
See Also:
TN Attorney John E. Clemmons Suspended After $50,000 Taken From Disabled Ward
TX Bar Wants Lawyer Stuart Leeds' Probation Revoked
The Texas State Bar's Commission for Lawyer Discipline has asked that lawyer
Stuart Leeds' probation be revoked after 409th District Judge Sam Medrano last
month held him in contempt of court.
If a visiting judge agrees with the State Bar's motion, Leeds' law license will be suspended for six months. The judge, Martin B. Muncy of Andrews, has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. on April 25.
Last year, Muncy signed off on an agreement between Leeds and the State Bar that placed his license on six months' probation after he and his frequent co-counsel Theresa Caballero, were convicted last year of contempt for their behavior in a 2011 case. Caballero's disciplinary case is ongoing.
Medrano cited Leeds for contempt for filing untrue documents with the court.
Source:
In Brief: Bar Wants Leeds' Probation Revoked
If a visiting judge agrees with the State Bar's motion, Leeds' law license will be suspended for six months. The judge, Martin B. Muncy of Andrews, has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. on April 25.
Last year, Muncy signed off on an agreement between Leeds and the State Bar that placed his license on six months' probation after he and his frequent co-counsel Theresa Caballero, were convicted last year of contempt for their behavior in a 2011 case. Caballero's disciplinary case is ongoing.
Medrano cited Leeds for contempt for filing untrue documents with the court.
Source:
In Brief: Bar Wants Leeds' Probation Revoked
Florida Bar Suspects Lawyer in $3M Firm Theft
The Florida Bar is seeking emergency suspension of the law license of a South Florida attorney suspected of stealing more than $3 million from his firm's accounts.
Bar officials asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to suspend the license of Timothy McCabe of Boca Raton. Court documents show that McCabe allegedly took the money from his firm's trust accounts where clients' funds are deposited.
The documents include emails McCabe sent to his partner saying that he had committed unspecified wrongdoing and was trying to set it right. His wife told investigators she hadn't seen McCabe since April 2 and that he has not answered his cell phone. An email to her that same day said he had made bad business decisions.
A missing persons report was filed with police.
Source:
Bar: Fla. Lawyer Suspected in $3M+ Firm Theft
Bar officials asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to suspend the license of Timothy McCabe of Boca Raton. Court documents show that McCabe allegedly took the money from his firm's trust accounts where clients' funds are deposited.The documents include emails McCabe sent to his partner saying that he had committed unspecified wrongdoing and was trying to set it right. His wife told investigators she hadn't seen McCabe since April 2 and that he has not answered his cell phone. An email to her that same day said he had made bad business decisions.
A missing persons report was filed with police.
Source:
Bar: Fla. Lawyer Suspected in $3M+ Firm Theft
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