'Star Trek' Star Nichelle Nichols Judge Grants Conservatorship After Dementia Claims

Nichelle Nichols

'Star Trek' icon Nichelle Nichols will have a new team handling her financial affairs in response to her son's claims she's battling dementia ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, an L.A. County judge signed off on Kyle Johnson's request to have 4 fiduciaries be his mom's conservators until mid-August, when there will be a court hearing. The hope is Nichelle will be able to attend that hearing.

As we first reported ... Kyle says his mother, who famously played Lt. Uhura, suffers from severe short-term memory loss, and needs court-ordered protection to block people from taking advantage of her.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge said Nichelle consents to the appointment of her conservators. The judge also noted Nichelle is currently out of state.

Full Article & Source: 
'Star Trek' Star Nichelle Nichols Judge Grants Conservatorship After Dementia Claims

See Also:
Judge Places Star Trek TV Actress Under Temporary Conservatorship
 

Semel Son, Wife, Say They Will Mediate Conservatorship Dispute

The wife and the oldest child of former Yahoo! and Warner Bros. executive Terry Semel, who has Alzheimer’s disease, told a Los Angeles judge Thursday they will try to resolve their differences over his health care and living conditions without the need of a conservator.

Lawyers for Jane and Eric Semel said attorney Andrew Wallet’s temporary conservatorship over the person of Terry Semel, which Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Juarez imposed on Friday, will terminate Thursday as scheduled. The former studio chief’s son had filed the first volley in the legal dispute and picked Wallet as the temporary conservator for his father.

Eric Semel, 39, was born during his father’s first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1974. The 75-year-old Semel married his wife, Jane, three years later. They have three daughters.

The lawyers told the judge that between now and a June 20 status conference, both sides will discuss whether Semel should continue to live at his current home at the Motion Picture & Television Fund-operated retirement community in Woodland Hills. Eric Semel had contended that his father preferred the environment he had at his Bel-Air mansion.

No restrictions will be put on family members who want to visit Semel, he will continue to have his medical appointments and none of his current caregivers will be fired, according to the agreement.

The parties will appear before Juarez on June 20 to let him know if mediation was successful, or whether a temporary conservatorship should be put back in place. An Aug. 3 hearing was scheduled in case a permanent conservatorship is needed.

Jane Semel filed court papers several days after her stepson asked that a judge appoint a conservator to manage his father’s finances. He says in his May 10 petition that his stepmother currently has sole control over her husband’s finances and there is dissension between her and some of his four children.

But Jane Semel said in her court papers filed Wednesday that in August 2012, her husband executed an advanced health care directive in which he named her and one of her daughters as his agents to make his health care decisions. She said she and her daughter, Lily, were suited to become co-conservators of her husband, who she says was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years ago.

Semel was the chairman and CEO of Yahoo! from 2001 to 2007. Before that, he spent 24 years at Warner Bros., where he served as chairman and co-CEO, resigning amid shareholders’ dissatisfaction over his compensation package.

In 2004, the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute was renamed the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. At the time, the university said the couple’s $25 million gift was one of the nation’s largest to be dedicated exclusively to the better understanding of the brain.

Full Article & Source:
Semel Son, Wife, Say They Will Mediate Conservatorship Dispute

See Also:
Terry Semel’s Wife Files Competing Conservatorship Petition

How The Senior Safe Act Could Curb Elder Financial Abuse

Credit: Shutterstock

Elder financial abuse is scamming some 5 million older Americans a year, through cons like get-rich-schemes and fake fundraising campaigns. Trusted family members, friends, caregivers and financial advisers are often to blame, but unsolicited scams are also very common. With the problem escalating, lawmakers in Congress recently passed bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing it and protecting potential victims, known as the Senior Safe Act.

The motivation is two-fold: Lawmakers have a duty to protect their constituents, particularly the most vulnerable ones, and older people defrauded by these criminals often turn to Medicaid to cover medical costs, taxing an already broken system.

The Senior Safe Act and Elder Financial Abuse

In mid-March, as part of a bigger financial services overhaul package, the Senate passed the Senior Safe Act,  following a similar move by the House of Representatives. The bills must now be reconciled in order to get to President Donald Trump’s desk and become law.

Full Article & Source:
How The Senior Safe Act Could Curb Elder Financial Abuse

Hospice Overdosed Patients To ‘Hasten Their Deaths,’ Former Health Care Executive Admits

Novus Health Services in Frisco, Texas

A former health care executive in Texas has admitted to playing a role in an alleged $60 million Medicare fraud scheme that included disturbing practices such as overdosing hospice patients to “hasten their deaths” and maximize company profits.

Melanie Murphey, a 36-year-old former executive for Novus Health Services in Frisco, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She could face up to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Federal prosecutors allege that Murphey was one of 16 individuals involved in a hospice care conspiracy that took advantage of vulnerable people.

Murphey worked as director of operations for Novus in north Texas between 2012 and 2015. She reported directly to Bradley Harris, the company’s owner and a co-defendant in the case. Neither Murphey nor Harris was licensed medical professionals, but prosecutors say Harris made decisions about patients’ health care so he could bill Medicare and Medicaid for the cost of the procedures.

In court records obtained by HuffPost, Murphey admitted she knew Harris instructed nurses to intentionally overmedicate patients with medications such as morphine “with the intent to hasten their deaths.” She also acknowledged that she filled out false doctor’s orders for medical services and falsified Do Not Resuscitate orders so that the company didn’t have to pay for ambulance trips to the hospital.

Murphey said she admitted patients to hospice who were not eligible for hospice service, but billed Medicare and Medicaid for those stays and services. She also billed Medicare and Medicaid for hospice service that wasn’t provided to patients.

Murphey said she and Harris were also involved in fraudulent practices around continuous care, or CC, a service typically initiated by doctors so that patients can receive around-the-clock care from a licensed medical professional. Medicare pays a higher rate for continuous care than for routine hospice care.

“Bradley Harris wanted to place Novus hospice beneficiaries on CC as early as possible because Harris wanted to benefit from the higher billing rates,” alleges a legal brief signed by Murphey and a U.S. attorney. “If a beneficiary was on CC for three or four days without change, Bradley Harris instructed the CC nurses to give more medication to the beneficiary ... Harris ordered these increases in medication because he wanted the beneficiaries to die.”

Christopher Knox, an attorney for Harris, denied the allegations.

“We are aware of the allegations lodged by Mrs. Murphy in her factual resume and we wholeheartedly disagree with her opinions,” he said in an email to HuffPost. “Further, we are not aware of any evidence that shows that Mr. Harris caused, hastened or otherwise contributed to the death of the hospice patients being treated by Novus.”

Now that Murphey has entered a plea agreement with the government, she is expected to testify against the 15 others involved in the case, including Harris, his wife, five nurses and five doctors, according to NBC Dallas-Forth Worth.

Full Article & Source:
Hospice Overdosed Patients To ‘Hasten Their Deaths,’ Former Health Care Executive Admits

16 Florida lawyers face wrath of Orlando judges over 'vague, boilerplate' ADA lawsuits

Federal judges in Orlando say they want to know why 16 attorneys have repeatedly ignored rules about filing lawsuits over wheelchair access to businesses in Central Florida.

And they are asking for ideas on how to discipline those attorneys. U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton recently opened a case ordering the 16 lawyers – mostly from the Miami area – to show why they shouldn’t be fined or banned from filing similar cases in the future.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed in Orlando federal courts alleging that local businesses violate the Americans with Disabilities Act – by not having wheelchair ramps or wheelchair accessible bathrooms, for example. Many of the attorneys filing such cases previously did the same in South Florida federal courts.

The lawsuits most often settle after businesses make a payment, and sometimes they agree to make changes to their facilities, but business owners have said the feel like they’re been extorted.

One of the attorneys in question, Thomas B. Bacon of Cooper City, ran a law firm that employed several attorneys on the list. The Sun-Sentinel newspaper wrote about him in 2014. He told the newspaper then that “the only people who enforce the ADA are these few plaintiffs and their attorneys."

But the paper also quoted a Delray Beach code enforcement officer saying that the lawsuits are purely a money-maker and the attorneys are not concerned about compliance.

Bacon couldn’t be reached for comment for this article. His phone number on the Florida Bar’s website was disconnected, and the email address he listed bounced back.

The Orlando judges who are handling the discipline case said they have tried to be patient and inform the attorneys about how to proceed, but they’ve become frustrated.

“Also disturbing is Counsel's repeated filing of vague, boiler-plate complaints — often improperly joining multiple defendants — that fail to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Irick, who is handling the matter.

Two of the attorneys involved responded to the Orlando Sentinel’s questions, Joshua Sheskin and Rafael Viego. Both said they had gone to work for law firms doing ADA cases, and were overwhelmed by the number of cases the firms tried to assign to them. Both said they quit as soon as they could.

According to the judges’ order, more than 200 “negative” orders have been filed against the 16 attorneys. Following is a list of the attorneys with the most negative orders, according to the case:

Thomas B. Bacon, Cooper City, 61 negative orders; Philip M. Cullen, III, Fort Lauderdale, 31 negative orders; Fort Lauderdale; Aaron Finesilver, Miami, 23 negative orders; Miami; Christine N. Failey, St. Petersburg, 7 negative orders; St. Petersburg; Barry S. Mittelberg, Coral Springs, 2 negative orders; Coral Springs; Ayesa Conger, Cutler Bay, 61 negative orders; Cutler Bay; Eric Matthew Rodriguez, Hollywood, 65 negative orders; Hollywood; Sheskin, Miami, 83 negative orders; Miami; Mario Elias Lopez, Miami, 63 negative orders; Miami; Viego, Miami, 56 negative orders; Nadine A. Brown, Winter Springs, 5 negative orders; Andrew C. Enfield, Miami, 7 negative orders; William T. Leveille, II, Miami, 23 negative orders; Michael Christine, Miami, 8 negative orders; Anthony J. Perez, Miami, 54 negative orders; Alfredo Miguel Garcia-Menocal, Miami, 35 negative orders.

Full Article & Source:
16 Florida lawyers face wrath of Orlando judges over 'vague, boilerplate' ADA lawsuits

NURSE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN DEATH OF McMASTER Sr

Source:
NURSE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN DEATH OF McMASTER Sr

Pennsylvania's guardianship system has room for improvement, some in the field say

Roughly five years ago, the state Supreme Court realized that Pennsylvania's expanding aging population would likely create a major increase in court cases dealing with the protection of the elderly.

At the time, Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the nation in the percentage of residents 60 and older, and the number was only expected to increase.

So the court created an Elder Law Task Force in 2013 made up of 38 representatives to examine the current system, identify concerns and find ways to improve practices to best protect against elder abuse.

The task force released a list of 130 recommendations in November 2014, many of which addressed the guardianship system. The suggestions included the need for a statewide management system to track cases and identify problems; better training for judges ruling in guardianship hearings; and amendments to require background checks for guardians and representation for incapacitated individuals.

Some of those issues are being addressed and a statewide tracking system is expected to be in place by the end of the year, but those within the system agree there are still other aspects that can be fixed to best protect the rights and lives of the elderly.

In the works

One of the biggest criticisms of the guardianship system is the lack of an organized statewide method to maintain and monitor the data, making it nearly impossible to screen for potential issues.

In Berks County, cases are maintained by the county Orphans Court staff by hand in a desk ledger, but practices vary from county to county. With that setup, there's no way to know even how many adults are under guardianship.

Guardians, both family and professional, are directed to submit annual reports for the courts to review to ensure they are doing their job properly, but those filings also are not tracked.

To address those issues, the Information Technology Department for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts created a Guardian Tracking System to track compliance in mandatory guardian reporting and to provide statewide statistics.

Paul Stengle, CEO of The Arc Alliance, which provides services including guardianship, said the system will cause more work for his staff, but they fully support it.

"They worked hard on this, and from what I've seen, it looks very good," he said.

State Rep. Mark Gillen is taking the lead on another key concern regarding the lack of statutory standards for guardians. The Robeson Township Republican introduced legislation in March to require background checks for individuals seeking to be guardians.

The bill came shortly after a three-day Reading Eagle series that analyzed the guardianship system and found courts in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties appointed a professional guardian who had a 2005 felony theft conviction to manage the estates of more than 75 incapacitated adults.

Gillen's bill would disqualify convicted felons from guardianships and require federal and state criminal background checks. It's garnered bipartisan support and is one of the first steps to establish a set of standards for guardians as suggested by the Elder Law Task Force and other groups.

However, advocates such as senior attorney Sam Brooks from Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, believe the bill needs to be amended so it doesn't blindly bar willing family members. Brooks believes family guardians are almost always a better fit than professional guardians, claiming professionals' large caseloads keep them from giving adequate attention and care to their wards.

Ongoing concerns

However, Brooks' biggest concern stems from the incapacitation hearings at the start of the guardianship process. According to the current state statute, a potential ward does not have to be present for the hearing if a physician testifies it would be harmful for him or her. There's also no requirement that potential wards be represented by counsel.

Brooks said there is legislation in the works to require counsel in all cases, but he said that doesn't fully address the problem. In his experience in Philadelphia courts, Brooks said he too often sees court-appointed counsel present evidence against his or her client and give his or her own opinion on the case. He said that determination needs to be made by the judge.

"There should be a mandate that court-appointed counsel zealously represent the wishes of the alleged incapacitated," Brooks said.

Stengle said Arc, which becomes involved after the hearings, also prefers individuals to have representation, noting that Berks is better at that than other counties.

"We would like to see more representation for those people to make sure they're represented and their rights are protected," he said.

Stengle said Arc also has been lobbying for legislation for more limited guardianships, instead of the usual plenary appointments. While the state statute says limited guardianship should be considered, Stengle said too often individuals are found completely incompetent and stripped of their full rights.

"We would love to see the court utilize more judgment in giving limited guardianship," he said, adding that would allow wards to choose where they live and spend their time but not manage financial accounts.

Stengle also took issue with the way the current setup rewards guardians who place individuals in a nursing home with a monthly $100 reimbursement from Social Security. He said it costs much more to keep individuals in the community because most wards don't have funds.

"It seems like they should reinforce you to keep them in the community instead of a nursing home," he said.

Full Article & Source:
Pennsylvania's guardianship system has room for improvement, some in the field say

Colorado Judicial Branch – Weld County – Five Corrupt Weld County Judges Seek Retention In Nov. 2018 Elections. Will Their Careers End?

Colorado Judicial Branch – Weld County: What effect will Colorado Judicial Ethics Advisory Board C.J.E.A.B. ADVISORY OPINION 2008-05 have on Corrupt Weld County Judges James Hartmann, Todd Taylor, Michele Meyer, John Briggs, and Charles Unfug’s  bid for retention in 2018?

As we are roughly 7 months away from elections, this question is posed to evaluate how the above-named Judges will respond to the negative publicity of www.hartmannconspiracy.com, and www.weldcountycorruption.com. All are up for retention in 2018.

Judges James Hartmann, Todd Taylor, Michele Meyer, John Briggs, and Charles Unfug are proven to have concealed, aided, abetted, and compounded multiple felonies by Longmont, CO homeowner Craig Buckley’s former employers, Dream Stone, Inc.

The record of the Court, according to Judge James Hartmann’s sworn testimony, indicates that the above-named criminally complicit Weld County Judges knew, on or before April 4, 2012, and concealed the fact that Buckley’s former employers had sworn simultaneously before both the Weld County District Court, and the Colorado Division of Labor, that NEITHER had jurisdiction over Buckley’s claim for accrued wages due on termination of employment, because the matter was before the other, constituting Class 4 Felony Attempt to Influence a Public Servant, and Fraud Upon the Court.

On April 7, 2012, Dream Stone, Inc. Vice President Ronald Murphy would confess the Class 4 felony of Attempt to Influence a Public Servant in sworn testimony before Weld County Court Judge John Briggs. The above named Judges would spend the next 6 years attacking and retaliating against Buckley for bringing that evidence to light, and implicating the corrupt Weld County Judiciary in the aiding and abetting of crime.

While the preceding is a vast oversimplification of what is actually 8 years of Conspiracy Against Rights by Judge James Hartmann and his cohorts, the fact remains that it is Buckley’s steadfast intention to expose the criminal acts of all individuals and agencies involved, and to do, “everything lawfully possible” to ensure that the offending parties are removed from their positions of power.

C.J.E.A.B. ADVISORY OPINION 2008-05 provides guidelines in which a Judge, effected by negative publicity, may to a limited degree “campaign” for his/her retention. The official Opinion is found HERE.

Canon 7B(2) provides that a judge who is a candidate for retention should abstain from any campaign activity in connection with the judge’s own candidacy unless there is active opposition to his or her retention in office. If there is active opposition to the retention of a judge, the judge may engage in certain enumerated activities, including speaking at public meetings; using advertising media, provided that the advertising is within the bounds of proper judicial decorum; and requesting that supporters organize a nonpartisan citizens’ committee advocating the judge’s retention.

So what does this mean for the offending Weld County Judges? “Basically, they’re screwed,” commented Craig Buckley. “Hartmann has already committed First Degree Perjury in sworn testimony to attack me, and conceal his involvement in crime. Anything these corrupt Judges would publicly assert to preserve their reputations and secure their retention, in light of the evidence, would be a lie: easily torn to shreds.”

In July 2013, the Weld County District Court, under the authority of Judge James Hartmann, illegally raided Buckley’s North Longmont home and incarcerated him on a civil contempt warrant, because he refused to give the deed to his house to his former employers.

Ten days later, authorities again illegally raided Buckley’s home, charging him with Felony Retaliation Against a Judge, for an alleged “credible threat” statement Buckley was purported to have made against Judge James Hartmann during the first illegal raid.

The record of the Court would prove that Hartmann falsified evidence and perjured sworn testimony to effect Buckley’s conviction on the felony charge. “If a ‘credible threat’ had actually been made against Judge Hartmann, why would he have to lie and falsify evidence? This is about harassment, terrorism, and ‘shutting me up’, that’s all,” concluded Buckley. “Corrupt Judge James Hartmann and his criminally complicit subordinates are ethically unfit for office, and MUST be voted out.”

Full Article & Source:
Colorado Judicial Branch – Weld County – Five Corrupt Weld County Judges Seek Retention In Nov. 2018 Elections. Will Their Careers End?

With a week to go at the Legislature, what issues are alive, on life support and not dead yet?

Ideas never really die at the Minnesota Legislature.

There’s almost always a glimmer of hope that a proposal will make it through, until the House and Senate are forced by state law to adjourn on “the first Monday after the third Saturday in May.”
This year, that’s May 21.

After that, lawmakers who couldn’t get attention for certain issues turn into a sort of disappointed Minnesota sports fan — There’s always next year…

There’s no way to tell what proposals might make it in at the last minute as lawmakers are engaged in heated end-of-session negotiations.

Especially with a Republican-led House, a slim GOP majority in the Senate and a Democratic governor.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Elder abuse: The revelation last year that most complaints of elder abuse were never properly investigated shocked lawmakers and they returned to the Capitol calling for widespread reforms. Some of those changes have cleared committees and floor votes, but there is concern among advocates for seniors and vulnerable adults that the changes won’t go far enough.
Status: Alive.

Full Article & Source: 
With a week to go at the Legislature, what issues are alive, on life support and not dead yet?