State Auditor Wayne Johnson To Look For Audit Solutions For New Mexico’s Guardianship Program

SANTA FE – State Auditor Wayne Johnson today says he’s honored to join a task force with the New Mexico Supreme Court and representatives from throughout state government to bring sunshine and accountability to New Mexico’s adult guardianship system.

The task force Johnson has joined is charged with implementing newly passed legislation for improving the adult guardianship system.

Family members and advocates have complained for years about a process shrouded in secrecy that can take advantage of incapacitated adults, including the possibility of fraud and the systematic siphoning away of an individual’s life-savings.

“Implementing some type of audit system in the guardianship program just makes sense for people who are relying on strangers to manage their life-savings and expend it responsibly on their behalf,” Johnson said. “I strongly believe in openness and transparency in government spending. I think a similar standard applies when a judge orders a guardianship for someone who doesn’t have the ability to manage their own affairs. I’m committed to working with New Mexico families, judges, legislators, and anyone else with a stake in our guardianship program, to safeguard our seniors and other vulnerable adults.”

The full announcement of the guardianship committees can be found here.

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State Auditor Wayne Johnson To Look For Audit Solutions For New Mexico’s Guardianship Program

Fort Lauderdale woman dupes disabled man into buying condo, putting her name on deed

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Fort Lauderdale woman duped a disabled man into buying a condominium and putting her name on the deed, police said.

Althea Johnson, 66, was arrested Monday on a charge of elderly exploitation.

According to a Fort Lauderdale police report, Johnson was caring for Richard Shellene between October 2014 and December 2015 after he suffered a stroke and now gets around with the help of a wheelchair.

Police said Shellene listed Johnson as co-owner of the condo that he bought in March 2015 as part of a verbal agreement with Johnson.

In exchange for putting her name on the deed and giving her a $2,000 monthly salary, Johnson was supposed to move in with Shellene and be his caretaker.

Police said Shellene paid the entire amount for the condo out of his bank account and fully furnished a room for Johnson, paying for everything in it.

Instead of moving in, however, Johnson refused and tried to get half the value of the condo from him, police said.

"Considering the facts of this case, it is clear Johnson made the promises of moving in and becoming a caretaker to Shellene just to get her name on the deed," the report said.

Johnson was being held at the main Broward County jail on $10,000 bond.



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Fort Lauderdale woman dupes disabled man into buying condo, putting her name on deed

Family members charged in fatal neglect of elderly Bucks County man

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- Members of a Quakertown-area family are facing felony charges for the fatal neglect of their 84-year-old patriarch and allegedly cashing his pension checks - even after he had died.

The victim, Albert Weaver Sr., died in November 2016 after being hospitalized for starvation and septic shock from deep, infected bed sores.

The victim's son, Albert W. Weaver Jr., 52; his wife Virginia L. Weaver, 49; their daughter Amanda Marie Weaver, 26; and Anthony James Dorney, 33, Amanda's live-in boyfriend were all charged in the crime.

Authorities said the suspects lived rent-free in a pair of houses that the victim owned on the 100 block of Union Road in Richland Township.

According to police, Dorney was the one who eventually called for an ambulance on November 10, 2016.

One of the responding paramedics told police that Weaver "looked like a skeleton with skin hanging on him," according to a probable cause affidavit. The document also said that he told hospital workers "Help me!"

Virginia Weaver acknowledged that her father-in-law complained of pain from sores that had been developing over six months, yet at the time of his death he had not been to a doctor in the past 11 months, the affidavit said.

Once at the hospital, further examination revealed that Weaver was so malnourished that his body had begun consuming its own tissues and organs for sustenance, according to court documents.

Investigators said one bedsore was so severe that after dead tissue was removed the bones of Weaver's spine were exposed.

Emergency room personnel at the hospital, suspecting elder abuse, contacted police.

All four suspects are charged with neglect of a care-dependent person and recklessly endangering another person.

All but Albert Weaver Jr. are also charged with theft by unlawful taking. Amanda Weaver and Dorney are further charged with conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking.

An investigation of Weaver's bank account showed it was jointly held by Albert Weaver Sr. and Virginia Weaver since it was opened in 2013.

Between that date and January 2017, the affidavit said, more than $150,000 was deposited into the account, mostly from Albert Weaver Sr.'s pension and Social Security payments.

By January 2017, the balance stood around $500, the affidavit said, with only approximately $6,500 having been put "towards items that were immediately identifiable as being associated with Albert Weaver Sr.," the affidavit said. Those items consisted of insurance premium payments and property tax payments.

For three months after Weaver's death, the affidavit said, Virginia Weaver continued to endorse and deposit her father-in-law's pension checks from AMETEK Inc. She is charged with stealing more than $3,000 in this manner.

"All of them were benefiting from him financially. Living in his own home, rent free, utility free, he was paying for all of their bills," said Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler. "All they had to do was take care of him and they did not do that."

Instead, prosecutors said more than 700 debit card purchases went toward an alcohol highway safety school program, firearms, a cell phone and video games.

Neighbor Susan Casey had no idea her neighbor was being neglected.

"I never in my wildest dream thought there was someone lying in there dying," she said.

All four suspects were arraigned, and bail was set at $500,000 for each defendant, except Virginia Weaver. Her bail was set at $750,000.

Their next court appearance is tentatively set for April 5.



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Family members charged in fatal neglect of elderly Bucks County man

Bill that gives elderly 'a critical choice' to live at home or in a nursing home rejected by Senate committee

State Senator Conrad Appel

In the most recent battle to change the way Louisiana cares for its elderly, nursing home owners were pitted against advocacy groups like the AARP, asking the state to increase opportunities for senior citizens to receive care in their own homes.

On Tuesday, the nursing homes won.

With a 6-2 vote, the Senate Health and Welfare committee rejected legislation aimed at giving more people access to home-health services, in lieu of being sent to a nursing home to live.

“Today, many members chose to ignore the tens of thousands of older adults in their districts who want to live at home, while offering no alternative or plan to help them,” said AARP of Louisiana lobbyist Andrew Muhl. “It was disappointing, but we always knew this would be an uphill fight.“

The Louisiana Nursing Home Association, representing 250 nursing homes in the state, spoke against the measure, saying it would result in a reduction in the quality of care.

The measure's sponsor, Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, called Senate Bill 357 one of the most important pieces of legislation lawmakers would deal with this session because it addresses the needs of Louisiana's aging population and attempts to mitigate the skyrocketing Medicaid costs required to care for their needs.

The elderly and disabled Medicaid population makes up the majority of the state’s Medicaid costs, which in large part is paid out to nursing homes.

SB357 attempted to move the Medicaid population in nursing homes under a managed care model, which means the state hires private insurance companies to make decisions about whether people should be cared for in nursing homes or at their own home with supports and staffing. Home- and community-based care is both less expensive and overwhelmingly preferred by elderly people, AARP surveys claim.

The home-based providers equip elderly or disabled people with medical support in their own home. They also provide staff who help clean, cook, dress and run errands for those in need of daily assistance. There’s 28,000 people on a waiting list for these home-based services.

"What this does is give people a critical life choice that has been denied to them in the past," Appel said. "Either stay at home or go to a nursing home."

Louisiana’s nursing homes are among the worst in the nation, according to national rankings. Louisiana also spends less on home- and community-based services than most other states. At the same time, nursing homes have unique financial protections that ensure regular rate increases, while other Medicaid providers have been cut year after year.

Several senators, including committee Chairman Sen. Fred Mills — who owns an interest in a Breaux Bridge nursing home — raised concerns that managed care was too risky and unreliable a method for the state to take on for its seniors, despite the fact that the vast majority of Louisiana's Medicaid population is already under managed care.

Mills raised concerns that managed care would result in an increase in medical claims being denied by insurance companies.

Appel dismissed the concerns about managed care as political misdirection.

“We have a huge managed care system in place in Louisiana for 1.3 million people. Those are just talking points,” Appel said. “We have ample evidence of the success of the managed care model in Louisiana.”

Proponents of the bill said it would be at a minimum revenue neutral but most likely generate savings for the state over the next few years, in large part because the state charges managed care companies a 5.5 percent tax that could generate about $100 million a year.

State Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, was incredulous about the claim.

He said if the goal is to give home- and community-based services to thousands of people on the waiting list, then the state would have to incur additional costs to serve a new population.

He said he'd prefer to improve access to home- and community-based services with more direct funding.

Luneau also said he was concerned about diminishing care for the elderly. He noted that people in nursing homes are within walking distance of people who can assist them 24 hours a day. But with home-health providers, they would only receive help a few hours a day.

Hugh Eley, a retired 30-year administrator for Louisiana Department of Health, told Luneau that many people in nursing homes and who are on waiting lists for services can get by with a few hours of help per day. Those who can’t, would still be allowed to go to nursing homes.

The Senate hearing was packed with nursing home leaders, including several former lawmakers who have ties to the industry or were major beneficiaries of nursing home campaign donations, like former Speaker of the House Jim Tucker, former state Rep. Sherri Buffington — who often carried legislation on behalf of nursing homes — and former state Sen. Joe McPherson, who previously chaired the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, who is a nursing home administrator, also sat in on the hearing, watching from the back of the room.

“This is emotional to me. It’s disturbing to me,” McPherson told the committee. “I don’t want to have to deal with insurance companies. There’s definitely a need for more home- and community-based services, but this is not the vehicle.”

On Wednesday, the House Health and Welfare Committee is scheduled to take up a similar bill sponsored by Prairieville Rep. Tony Bacala. Bacala said he was unsure if he’d pursue the bill because even if he got it passed in the House, it would likely die the same death of Appel’s bill once it made it to the Senate.

That committee will hear at least two other bills opposed by nursing homes — one that would change the way nursing homes are paid by the state and another that would allow surveillance devices in rooms to monitor care.

Appel said he was disappointed by the failure of his bill, but he thinks his peers are delaying an inevitability.

“I don’t think there’s any possibility this won’t go into effect in the next couple years in some form,” he said. “The number of people becoming eligible for these types of services are growing astronomically, and the model of jamming people into an institution is just going to get more and more expensive. We’re not going to have a choice.”

Those voting in favor of Appel's bill were Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, and Sen. Ed Price, D-Gonzales. Voting against SB357 were Sens. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette; Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge; Norby Chabert, R-Houma; Yvonne Colomb, D-Baton Rouge; Dale Erdey, R-Livingston; and Luneau. 

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Bill that gives elderly 'a critical choice' to live at home or in a nursing home rejected by Senate committee

Elder abuse: Half measures won’t do this session

Will Phillips

Minnesota has an epidemic on its hands, an elder abuse epidemic. Every week in our state, 400 cases of elder abuse, occurring in long term care facilities, are reported to the Minnesota Department of Health. These reports include elders being robbed, sexually assaulted, neglected, and beaten.

To fix this problem AARP Minnesota and a coalition of family caregivers and consumer advocates, are supporting bipartisan legislation, endorsed by Gov. Mark Dayton, to improve both the regulatory oversight by MDH and the quality of care in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. These needed reforms will help prevent abuse from occurring in the first place.

The time has come for systemic changes in both the enforcement and licensing arms of the MDH. We must also strengthen state law, to prevent abuse and hold abusers accountable. In order to stop abuse before it occurs the state must focus on three key areas.

Stronger regulations for assisted living facilities. When it comes to regulating long term care facilities there isn’t a level playing field in Minnesota. Nursing homes are heavily regulated, but assisted living facilities aren’t even required to have licenses. That loophole needs to be closed. The population living in assisted living today — including 40 percent diagnosed with dementia — is much more vulnerable than when assisted living centers were first introduced over 20 years ago.

Minnesota families need to know that no matter what provider they choose their loved ones will have the some basic protections including discharge rights; adequate staffing levels; staff training requirements and safety standards. Especially for people with dementia.

More rights for seniors. Another significant problem is that too much of the power resides in the hands of the providers. Many vulnerable adults and their families are fearful to speak out about quality of care for fear of being retaliated against. This might be subtle, such as an unanswered call light, or sudden bill increase, or it can be more life threatening like an eviction without a right to appeal the decision. In addition, despite the fact that seniors pay thousands of dollars a month, residents and families do not have a right to put cameras in their rooms if they suspect abuse. This must change.

Pursue abuse aggressively. State regulators need to do a much better job of identifying abuse and when they do find it reacting aggressively. Our civil and criminal laws must also be strengthened to enforce the rights of older vulnerable adults.

Lapsed enforcement has created an environment where bad actors don’t have to fear consequences. When the maximum fine is only $5,000, in cases involving serious harm including death, facilities have little to fear. Equally, troubling is that under Minnesota law, a civil claim of abuse dies when the patient dies resulting in situations where facilities and insurers can simply delay getting medical information and other needed information to pursue a claim. Minnesota is one of only two states where this abhorrent policy exists and the time has come to end it.

The stories of abuse are shocking. The fact that this is happening in Minnesota, a state that prides itself in being a leader and taking care of our elders, is beyond disturbing. Half measures won’t do this legislative session. We need real, bipartisan action to protect vulnerable adults in Minnesota and we need it now.

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Elder abuse: Half measures won’t do this session

Happy Easter

NJ Attorney Gets 26 Years in Prison for Scamming $1.5 Million From Clients

A former Jersey City solo, criminally convicted and stripped of his license on charges that he stole more than $1.5 million from three clients over a period of more than a decade, has been sentenced to 26 years behind bars.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mirtha Ospina handed down the sentence to disbarred attorney Joseph Talafous Jr., 55, of Toms River, on Thursday.

Talafous, though, has denied the allegations and plans to appeal, according to his lawyer, Gerald Miller of Miller, Meyerson & Corbo in Jersey City.

Last Jan. 10, a jury found Talafous guilty of three counts of theft by unlawful taking, three counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property received, five counts of misapplication of entrusted property, two counts of theft by deception, and four counts of filing fraudulent state income tax returns. All of the convictions were for offenses of the second or third degree. The verdict followed a six-week trial before Ospina.

Prosecutors said Talafous used a power of attorney to make unauthorized withdrawals of thousands of dollars from the investment account of an elderly client who lived in Jersey City, and from the client’s estate after the client died in 2010.

Talafous was also convicted of stealing approximately $461,000 from a trust set up for the benefit of a young boy in 2005 with funds from a wrongful death suit stemming from the death of his father. The father died in 2001 in a workplace accident when the child, a West New York resident, was still an infant.

He was also convicted of stealing approximately $300,000 from the estate of an elderly Jersey City woman who died in 2009 without any immediate family. She had hired him to prepare her will and had named him executor of her estate.

And he was convicted of stealing approximately $400,000 from the estate of a Jersey City man who died in 2012 and whose family hired Talafous as attorney for the estate, which included several life insurance policies worth a total of more than $870,000.

Finally, from 2012 to 2015, Talafous stole $330,000 that was entrusted to him as counsel for the estate of a Jersey City woman who owned property in New York, the jury found.

The case was referred to the Division of Criminal Justice by the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics. The Supreme Court of New Jersey revoked Talafous’ license to practice law by consent in August 2015.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued a statement after the sentencing. “This prison sentence sends a strong message of deterrence that lawyers like Talafous who violate their duty and steal from their clients will be aggressively prosecuted,” he said.

Miller previously told the Law Journal, after the conviction, that Talafous maintains that he did not take any funds he was not entitled to. Miller, at the time, promised an appeal of the conviction.

If the conviction and sentence are appealed, it would not be the case’s first trip up the appellate ladder. Talafous’ charges originally included money laundering in the first degree, but that charge was dismissed by the Appellate Division in June 2017. The court said evidence that Talafous used his trust and business accounts to facilitate the alleged thefts by itself didn’t support the charge of money laundering, the only first-degree offense among the 19 counts with which he was originally charged. The appeals court said the money laundering statute is intended to be construed broadly to serve its purposes, but it requires proof of something more than an underlying crime.

“The State presented no evidence that the theft was concealed (as opposed to committed) through placement of the money in defendant’s accounts,” the Appellate Division said in that decision.

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NJ Attorney Gets 26 Years in Prison for Scamming $1.5 Million From Clients

Owner of Bennett Better Built Homes arrested for exploiting elderly, disabled victim

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - After a year-long investigation, a Wakulla County mobile home salesman has been arrested, accused of scamming an elderly, blind man out of $20,000.

The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office says that they received a complaint about James Bennett, the owner and operator of Bennett Better Built Homes, back in March 2017.

The complaint alleged that on March 10, a 68-year-old man who is legally blind and needs assistance with daily activities, applied for financing to purchase a $59,000 manufactured home from Bennett.

The man made a $20,000 down payment to Bennett and intended to finance the rest.

According to the complaint, Bennett led the man to believe that he would receive documents detailing the transaction the next day, and that they would be explained to him since he was legally blind.

However, the man never got the documents he signed and nothing was explained to him.

On March 13, the 68-year-old finally got documents detailing the purchase price of the home, which included $11,221 in closing costs in addition to sales tax, title fees, etc.

In total, the price had gone from $59,000 to $75,042, something the man had not agreed to. The man then contacted Bennett, telling him that he didn't agree to the increased price, wanted to cancel the sale, and wanted a refund.

Bennett reportedly told the man that he would return the down payment on March 17, 2017. But the man never got it.

In May 2017, WCSO detectives contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a squad that specializes in financial investigations.

Through further investigation, FDLE was able to corroborate the complaint with solid evidence. By refusing to return the man's money, investigators determined that Bennett knowingly and intentionally deprived him of $20,000.

On March 16, 2018, the findings were brought to the State Attorney's Office in Crawfordville and a warrant for Bennett's arrest was issued three days after.

On Tuesday, Bennett was arrested and charged with exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult. He was booked into the Wakulla County Jail.

According to the Better Business Bureau, Bennett Better Built Homes was established in 2010.

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Owner of Bennett Better Built Homes arrested for exploiting elderly, disabled victim

Woman arrested for financial exploit of ex-boyfriend

Quenelle Jordan

A Huntsville woman has been arrested for financial exploitation of an elderly person after she and an accomplice allegedly used her ex-boyfriend's debit card and checks to take $2,357 from his account, records show.

According to an incident report dated Jan. 8, the 68-year-old victim "didn't notice anything out of the ordinary" when his ex-girlfriend, 32-year-old Quenelle Chemise Jordan of 311 NW Millbrae Drive, visited his home New Year's Eve 2017.

However, he later received an alert on his phone saying a $300 cash withdrawal had been made using his debit card at a Shell station in Ardmore, Alabama, according to the report. The alleged victim went to the store and confirmed it was Jordan on the security video.

He then received another alert, this time for a $202.50 debit at a gas station on Alabama 53 in Madison County, according to the report. Records show he contacted Huntsville Police Department, who helped him identify a second individual involved in the exploitation as 27-year-old Ezra Cortez Harper.

Police advised the alleged victim to file a report in Limestone County.

As of Jan. 8, Harper had also allegedly written and cashed $1,400 in checks that had allegedly been stolen from the victim. Warrants were obtained by the Limestone County Sheriff's Office for both Harper and Jordan, said Deputy Stephen Young, public information officer for the Sheriff's Office.

Jordan was arrested Wednesday in Madison County on a charge of first-degree financial exploitation of an elderly person, records show. She was transferred to the Limestone County Jail, where bail is set at $5,000.

Young said Harper had not been arrested as of Thursday morning.

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Woman arrested for financial exploit of ex-boyfriend