PINECREST, FLA. (WSVN) - An elderly man in Pinecrest is speaking out
against a caretaker who pleaded guilty after ripping off he and his late
wife’s life savings and his wife’s Holocaust reparation money.
Leonard Herman, 92, is mourning the loss of his wife, Rella Herman, who died nearly two weeks ago.
“We were married, me and my wife, for 72 years,” he said. “My wife was a very good woman.”
The couple loved each other so much that when they slept, they held hands.
Rella was described as tough and as a loving mother and grandmother
after living through the Holocaust, when she lost her own mother in
Auschwitz.
“We had 72 years of good luck until now,” Herman said. “She was a survivor.”
Rella and Leonard also survived crimes against them much later in life.
Odalis Lopez, the caretaker and nurse for Rella, convinced the couple
she could be trusted with their credit cards to shop for their needs.
Instead, she spent their money on personal trips to Publix,
restaurants, gift cards and Harley Davidson purchases, charging well
over $100,000 of her employers’ money over several years.
Much of the funds blown were part of the Hermans’ life savings and Holocaust reparation money from the German government.
“They convince you,” Herman said. “I’m surprised that she got away with it.”
Lopez appeared in court on Oct. 9 as part of a plea agreement.
“She is pleading guilty because she is guilty,” court documents stated.
7News first broke the story of Lopez’s arrest in 2019 for elderly exploitation and grand theft.
Sixteen months later, she was not given jail time due to being a
first-time offender and coronavirus concerns, but she had to pay $25,000
to the Hermans and owes over $100,000.
7News knocked on Lopez’s door in an attempt to comment on the story,
but a man who answered the door closed it before saying a word.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle described
Lopez’s actions as “selfish indulgence” following her initial arrest.
The state said it wanted to resolve the case with a plea to get the Herman family the money they are owed as soon as possible.
Herman said he is grateful to have been surrounded by a loving family through it all.
“We’re glad it’s over,” Herman said. “Without them, there’d be no family. I’d just be another person trying to find his way.”
Lopez is currently on probation, and she must also stay away from the Herman family.
(CNN)"Please let me see my mother! She is dying! Please, let me see her!"
These
words, screamed by a daughter being told she will never be able to see
or touch her Covid-positive mother again, echo all too frequently along
the corridors of the hospital where I work. Across the country, the same
scene is playing out in hundreds of health care centers.
Strict visitor restriction
policies are designed to protect hospital staff, patients, family
members and the community from further spread of coronavirus. But these
policies come at a cost. Now, we have data to question whether that cost is worth it.
Visitor restrictions have immense impact on patient and family well-being and mental health, patient choices for medical care, and patient safety.
I have seen patient families try to enter Covid-19 positive rooms,
requiring staff to determine a way to keep these family members safe
while trying to avoid escalating their distress by involving security.
I
have also cared for multiple Covid-positive patients who have chosen to
forgo life-sustaining care — a choice may not have otherwise made — as
this was their only option to be physically present with all their loved
ones before they died. For many Covid-positive patients and their
families, being physically present with one another far outweighs the
risk of spreading Covid-19 to family members, a risk which can be
minimized with recommended precautions.
Although
some hospitals allow visitor exemptions for patients at the end of
life, the number of family members who are allowed to visit is often significantly restricted.
It's gut wrenching each time I have to inform children, parents and
other family members that they will never again be able to see their
loved one again in person.
While these policies were designed to
protect health care workers, patients and visiting family members from
developing Covid-19 — a valid and important concern — there is data to
suggest that these strict restrictions may not be the right way to go
about this.
With aggressive
screening measures, health care workers and patients can be protected
from visitors potentially spreading the virus. For example, hospitals
can evaluate visitors for symptoms of Covid-19, and require a negative
PCR test within 5 days of the visit and a negative same-day rapid
Covid-19 test before seeing their loved one. Covid-19 tests are free and widely available and between the two negative results, there can be a high degree of certainty that the visitor is not infected with Covid-19.
Of course, protecting hospital visitors from Covid-19 is an imperative — and it appears to be possible. A recent JAMA Internal Medicine study
found that health care workers who are supplied with adequate personal
protective equipment have significantly lower rates of Covid-19 than the
general public. This suggests that if family visitors are provided
adequate personal protective equipment, they will be largely protected
from Covid-19 while visiting their relative. Although there is concern personal protective equipment may again fall short due to lower than planned inventory at the Strategic National Stockpile, there are hospitals that have adequate personal protective equipment.
Restrictive visitor policies come at a
tremendous cost, both personally and clinically. Many studies have
reported positive outcomes when families are involved in patient care,
including increased perceptions of patient-centered care, quality of communication, patient safety, and even contributing to improving patient mortality. By denying access to patients, we are also denying them access to these potential benefits.
Hospitals
should reevaluate their visitor restrictions and protocols for Covid-19
patients. Even if there were a higher risk of transmission if family
members are allowed to visit their loved ones, many health care workers
may be willing to take that risk to benefit the patient and family's
health and well-being. And although increasing visitor access to
patients may have potential societal risks of further spread of
Covid-19, this risk can be minimized through the same mechanisms put in
place to protect patients and their loved ones.
If
strict visitor restrictions remain, hospitals should at least increase
access to communication by video and telephone among patients, families,
and medical teams. This responsibility should not fall primarily on
bedside nurses, who already are stretched thin caring for patients.
Selfless nurses have organized video meetings and spent increased time
in Covid-19 positive rooms holding the video device so the family can
see the patient, but the toll of these actions is immense. The faces of
exhausted nurses crying following these video visits will be imprinted
in my mind long after the pandemic is over.
Instead, hospitals should create the
role of a telehealth advocate to arrange meetings and teach family
members how to use video devices. I recently worked on a study that found video visits
are used to connect families with critically ill patients only about
one-tenth of the time. This must be improved. Hospitals can purchase
video devices to allow family members without access to this technology
to connect with their loved one. No one should be denied the chance to
see their loved one because of their inability to pay for a device.
Visitor
restriction policies for hospitalized patients were made with good
intentions to protect patients and staff. But they may be more
restrictive than needed. As we obtain more information about what
precautionary measures work, hospitals should continue to reevaluate
their strict visitor policies. And even as they are doing that, all
hospitals can enhance patient care and ameliorate the emotional trauma
caused by Covid-19 by taking simple steps to improve communication
amongst patients, families and health care clinicians.
A 65-year-old Westside woman is behind bars after
her 92-year-old mother died following weeks of hospitalization from
apparent elder abuse, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced
Thursday.
Iris Vanessa Kinamon, initially
charged last month with aggravated elderly abuse, was rebooked Wednesday
night on a second-degree murder charge, jail records show. She was her
mother's primary caregiver at their home on West Alfredo Drive off
Ortega Farms Boulevard, according to her arrest report.
Officers
were first called to Orange Park Medical Center early Nov. 3 to
investigate a possible case of elderly abuse after the victim was
brought in with a severe cut on her left leg, according to the arrest
report.
Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded $1.9 million to assist elderly and disabled adults who are victims of abuse.
The grant to the state Department of Human
Resources will provide in-home or temporary placement for elderly and
disabled victims who are subjected to abuse, neglect and exploitation.
“No one should ever be subject to abuse of
any kind, and it is reprehensible that it should happen to someone who
may not have the physical or mental capabilities to resist or be aware
of those acts,” Gov. Ivey said. “This grant will assure elderly and
disabled adults who are victims of physical and mental abuse are taken
out of harm’s way and receive needed care.”
The grant will enable the department’s
Adult Protective Services Division to provide several preventative
options for victims who are suffering from abuse. The funds will help
create safe surroundings for elderly and disabled adults either by
providing in-home care and supervision to enable victims to remain in
their homes after offenders have been removed or relocating the victims
to nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Both measures are
temporary until more permanent solutions are found.
The Alabama Department of Economic and
Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available
by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Abuse of the elderly or disabled can take
many forms from neglect to verbal or physical abuse and needs to be
reported when it is suspected,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said.
“ADECA is pleased to join with Gov. Ivey and the Alabama Department of
Human Resources to provide solutions for these victims.”
ADECA administers a wide range of programs
that support law enforcement, victim programs, economic development,
water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.
WASHINGTON D.C. – Thornton Fennell, 56, was indicted on October 26,
2020, and arrested on December 5, 2020, on charges involving the
financial exploitation of two elderly District residents.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin;
Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and
Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
The indictment charged Fennell with three counts of Financial
Exploitation of an Elderly Person (FEVA) and ten counts of First Degree
Theft of a Senior Citizen. The charges involve fraudulently obtaining
funds from two different elderly victims as well as using intimidation,
deception, and undue influence to cause an elderly victim to take on a
reverse mortgage for the benefit of another person. The theft charges
involved $4,308 from one victim and $63,600 from the other.
An indictment is merely a finding of probable cause by the grand
jury. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
This prosecution is part of the Office’s wider efforts to combat crimes
against seniors and vulnerable adults. In 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the District of Columbia and the Office of the Attorney
General for the District of Columbia simultaneously launched initiatives
to address the abuse and exploitation of older adults. The Elder Abuse
and Financial Exploitation Initiative at the U.S. Attorney’s Office
expanded its response to criminal and civil violations targeting older
adults. The initiative has enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop
and coordinate further its prosecution of these cases and enhance its
overall support of older or vulnerable victims. The team consists of
experienced prosecutors and victim advocates from across the Office, to
include the Superior Court, Criminal, and Civil Divisions, as well as
the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. This prosecution is indicative of
the continued collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the
Office of the Attorney General to prosecute cases of this kind.
In announcing the indictment and arrest, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin,
Chief Newsham, and Attorney General Racine commended the work of those
who investigated the cases from the District of Columbia’s Office of the
Attorney General and MPD. They also cited the efforts of Special
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer C. Mika, on detail from the
Office of the Attorney General to handle financial crimes cases
involving elderly victims, and Assistant United States Attorney
Chimnomnso Kalu, who investigated and are prosecuting the case for the
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with support from
Paralegal Specialist Chad D. Byron.
CANTON, Mo. (WGEM) -- Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish reported
Wednesday the arrest of the now fired Canton City Collector and
Municipal Court Clerk.
Parrish said La Trisha Crist, 38, was charged with one count of
forgery, a class D felony, two counts of financial exploitation of an
elder/disabled person, a class D felony, and two counts of financial
exploitation of an elder/disabled person, a class E felony.
Sheriff Parrish stated Crist is alleged to have created a false
document related to her role as the clerk in charge of water and sewer
bills in June, 2020.
Parrish added at that time, she allegedly removed herself as the
primary account holder and placed the water bill under the name of a
family member who had been renting a property Crist owned at 116 South
Fifth Street, Canton, Missouri. There was approximately $300.00 owed to
the city of Canton for non-payment.
Parrish reported that Crist then began the process to have the family member sent to a collections agency.
All of these incidents occurred without the authorization of proper city of Canton personnel, Parrish added.
In addition Sheriff Parrish stated in June the Sheriff's Office
received a report that Crist was stealing money from an elderly and
disabled family member.
During this investigation, the Sheriff's Office learned Crist had
been over-seeing the financial matters of the family member since 2017.
After extensive review of various financial records, Parrish reports
that Crist is alleged to have used the family member's debit card,
stimulus check and other credit cards for her own personal gain in
excess of $6000.
Lewis County Assistant Prosecutor, Chelsea Fellinger, filed formal
charges and sought a warrant from the court. A warrant on all counts
was received on December 8.
Crist's bond was set at $5000 with corporate surety allowed by Associate Judge Thomas P. Redington.
The Sheriff's Office was assisted by the Canton Police Department.
Canton Mayor Jarrod Phillips said the city terminated Crist on December 4.
An Erie lawyer has been disbarred after pleading guilty to several felony charges for keeping settlement money from clients.
Robert
Barbato Jr., 32, will no longer be able to practice law in the state
starting Dec. 17. The order was handed down Tuesday by the Disciplinary
Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after Barbato submitted a
verified statement of resignation.
Barbato
entered the guilty plea to a felony count of forgery and four felony
counts of theft Nov. 3. Nine other charges were dropped.
Investigators said Barbato collected settlement-type checks and failed to forward them to his clients.
A
total theft of more than $270,000 was reported between January 2014
and Jan. 29, 2020. He was arraigned on the charges in late February.
The Disciplinary Board placed Barbato on temporary suspension in March.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The pandemic has isolated many people, especially Tennessee senior citizens.
"I
think that's especially true with our elderly population," said senior
advocate Joseph McAnally, with the Office of Family Safety. "They have
fewer interactions with communities, fewer doctor appointments,
religious services."
It's a worry for McAnally because he says since the pandemic, the Office of Family Safety has seen an increase in elder abuse but there are fewer opportunities for people to spot it happening.
"Then you put on top of that the economic hardship of the pandemic
that has resulted in a lot of people losing jobs so you have a lot of
adult children depending on elderly family members more now," McAnally
said.
They've also seen this uptick when it comes to financial exploitation with elderly folks specifically.
"Adult children are getting into a weird place financially because of
COVID and needing help from family," Hunter said, "so they're moving in
with mom dad grandparents who are older adults and then a situation
occurs where older adult is financially supporting child or grandchild
and they're not able to financially able to support themselves to take
care of themselves with the things they need."
Signs of financial
abuse are unusual withdrawals or insufficient fund activity, forged
signatures on documents or confusion of missing funds.
Elder abuse can also be in the form of physical and emotional abuse. Look out for bruises or broken bones.
During
this is a time when everyone is being told to stay home but still, make
sure you check in with your vulnerable relatives, neighbors, and
friends.
Advocates say many of these situations go unreported
because victims are scared or don't want to get their family member in
trouble.
FiftyForward does client check-ins and assessments.
Their "Victory Over Crime" program supports older adults who have been
victimized by crime. If you know of an older adult in need, you can
call them Monday-Friday at 615-743-3416.
In the year of COVID-19, court-ordered adult guardians have faced a
grim reality: their clients, many at a high risk for medical
complications, are getting the virus and passing away.
For Becky Pryor, a longtime guardian and guardianship advocate, a
typical year might include one client death, maybe two. But by October
of 2020, two of her wards had died after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
By November, three had.
“It’s no joke. This is real,” said Lisa Dillman, a partner at the
elder law firm of Applegate & Dillman. Like Pryor’s guardianship
practice, Dillman’s firm has dealth with more deaths in 2020 than
normal.
Aside from the emotional toll of losing a guardianship client,
another longstanding issue in the guardianship world has been
exacerbated by the pandemic, Pryor said. When a client dies, guardians
are unable to finish their duties, she said, specifically overseeing the
disposition of the body.
Under Indiana law, a guardianship ends at the time of a ward’s death.
While a guardian will have financial and administrative duties to tie
up, Pryor said the statute gives her and other guardians no authority to
oversee post-mortem matters.
Instead, the law lists several other parties who can tend to those
matters, including surviving spouses and powers of attorney, to name a
few. But to Pryor and others working in guardianship, the question is,
what if a spouse or power of attorney isn’t willing or able to do the
job?
To that end, a guardianship task force has recommended that the
Indiana Legislature amend state statute to give guardians authority over
dispositions if necessary. While the concept received general support
in a recent meeting of the Probate Code Study Commission, the question
remained: how do you balance the authority of a guardian with that of
another party, such as a POA?
That issue, Pryor said, is one that must be resolved in order to get a bill passed.
Making the list
Pryor presented the legislative proposal to the Probate Code Study
Commission on behalf of the Working Interdisciplinary Networks of
Guardianship Stakeholders — or WINGS — Indiana Adult Guardianship State
Task Force. The group representing nearly 200 advocacy organizations
proposed amendments to Indiana Code § 29-3-12-1(e) and I.C.
29-2-19-17(2) to allow a guardian to oversee a ward’s disposition.
The former statute provides that “(w)hen a guardianship terminates by
reason of the death of the protected person, the powers of the guardian
cease, except that the guardian may pay the expenses of administration
that are approved by the court and exercise other powers that are
necessary to complete the performance of the guardian’s trust … .” But
under the latter statute, those “other powers” do not include
disposition of a body.
Instead, I.C. 29-2-19-17(2), Indiana’s funeral planning declaration
statute, names 10 individuals, listed in order of priority, who can sign
off on a disposition. Among them are a power of attorney, a surviving
spouse or “any other person willing to act and arrange for the final
disposition of the decedent’s remains … .”
Bennett
Ken Bennett practices guardianship law at Bennett & McClammer in
Indianapolis and is also CEO of the nonprofit CARE, or Center for
At-Risk Elders Inc.. When the issue of disposition has arisen in CARE’s
cases, he said the organization has relied on the “any other person”
provision — number 10 in the list of 10 individuals — to allow CARE to
oversee final disposition.
The problem, though, according to Pryor, is that the number 10 option
comes with a caveat: the individual acting as “any other person” must
“attest in writing that a good faith effort has been made to contact any
living individuals described in subdivisions (1) through (9).”
Guardians are often asked to attest that they do not know of any
other individual who could sign off on disposition, Pryor said, which
may not be the case. An adult under guardianship may have living family
or a power of attorney, she said, but those individuals may have proven
themselves to be unwilling or unable to carry out these duties.
Willing and able
That issue proved to be a sticking point when the Probate Code Study
Commission met in October to discuss the amendments. Under the WINGS
proposal, the funeral planning declaration statute would be amended to
give guardians the second priority spot on the list, bumping powers of
attorney down to the third spot and spouses to the fourth.
Probate attorneys on the commission questioned that move, noting that
powers of attorney generally have greater authority under Indiana law
than guardians. Commissioner and Vincennes lawyer Jeff Kolb opined that
POAs likely knew the incapacitated adult while guardians could be
strangers. Similarly, lawyer and commissioner Jim Martin said a power of
attorney would have to be revoked to give a guardian greater authority.
Pryor did not question their legal arguments, but instead pointed to
what she said is a practical reality: If an adult is under guardianship,
the POA, who is often a family member, likely has been unwilling or
unable to perform their duties. She and other guardians will frequently
petition courts to revoke a POA in those situations, she said.
What’s more, Pryor continued, guardians usually know their clients well and are familiar with their needs and wishes.
Pryor told IL if a client’s spouse is living, they will be consulted
in issues regarding disposition. But if a guardianship was ordered, the
spouse likely was unable to adequately care for their husband or wife.
Two or three?
Pryor said Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, has agreed to carry
legislation in the 2021 session that would make the changes the task
force is seeking. IL was unable to reach Lanane for comment.
The big question that needs to be answered, Pryor told IL, is what
place on the list guardians should take. But there are other statutory
issues that may arise.
Bennett, for example, noted there are conflicts in Indiana law
regarding the authority of a power of attorney and the authority of a
guardian. If a guardianship is in place, he said, the guardian seems to
be the more natural decision-maker.
Additionally, Indianapolis probate lawyer Jeff Dible told the
commission that there are three other lists in Indiana probate law that
track with the list of individuals in the funeral planning declaration
statute. If one list is changed, Dible said, the other three would have
to follow.
Like Pryor and Bennett, Dillman supports the proposal but offered some practical advice if a bill is not passed this year.
“If a client goes and hires a lawyer to do a power of attorney, the
job doesn’t stop there,” Dillman said. “… If the client is not sure what
they want yet, they should appoint someone who has the authority. This
could all be handled in a preplanning situation.”•
