Man charged with impersonating lawyer, stealing nearly $40K from several victims

By Lydian Kennin and Kelli Cook

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A Memphis man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly tricked several victims into believing he was a lawyer and stole nearly $40,000 in funds that were meant to help them.

The suspect, 59-year-old Glenis Campbell, was arrested Thursday on three active warrants for impersonating a licensed professional and several counts of property theft.

In October of 2023, a Memphis man came forward and told police that he hired Campbell to represent him for a criminal case out of Mississippi. The victim told police he met Campbell through a mutual friend and paid $3,240 for Campbell to represent him.

As the court case neared, however, the victim said Campbell suddenly stopped all contact. Out of suspicion, the victim checked the Mississippi Bar’s webpage, where he discovered Campbell was not listed.

Two days after that victim called police, Campbell was once again under law enforcement’s radar when his neighbors, a married couple, came forward and told Shelby County detectives that Campbell had been swindling them since December of 2021.

They said that someone introduced them to Campbell saying he was an attorney who would be able to help them with a “workman’s comp” case they were looking to imitate.

The couple said they hired Campbell to represent them as their civil attorney and paid him approximately $28,000 over almost two years for various court costs and procedures.

The couple began asking for receipts and paperwork from the court processes, but Campbell could not provide them, according to the arrest affidavit. It was then that the victims became suspicious of Campbell’s legitimacy as a licensed attorney and began researching him.

Through their digging, they learned Campbell did not practice law in Tennessee and had posed as an attorney to others.

Detectives with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office had previously launched an investigation into Campbell’s alleged scams in July of 2022.

In that case, officials say Campbell tricked two Shelby County sisters into believing he was a lawyer and would be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit after their mother’s passing.

A woman came forward and told detectives that she and her sister were scammed out of approximately $7,600 by Campbell over eight months while under the impression that he was handling their mother’s wrongful death suit.

She said she met Campbell through the recommendation of a family member.

Campbell allegedly asked for funds to cover court costs, legal fees, $600 for a medical examiner’s report, $900 for a “formal report,” and other expenses.

The victims attempted to settle the incident outside of the courtroom, however, Campbell allegedly went MIA and never refunded their money.

Detectives saw Campbell was previously charged with impersonating a lawyer in 2008.

He was arrested and charged on Thursday and is set to appear in court Friday morning.

Daniel Irwin with the Better Business Bureau says it’s important to do your due diligence when retaining an attorney.

" A red flag would be if you don’t see them on the bar association or you can’t find them by several different spellings of their names with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility that may be a huge red flag,” said Irwin.

“Check reviews, or check with other attorneys or others in the legal profession. You just want to make sure that not only you are hiring a licensed attorney but a competent attorney,” said Irwin.

Irwin also says to be wary of any attorney that looks to be paid in cash only or use of Cash App.

He says most attorneys will offer multiple options for payment including credit card.

There is no bond information at this time.

Full Article & Source:
Man charged with impersonating lawyer, stealing nearly $40K from several victims

Driver stops to save elderly woman from house fire in Homer

by: Clare Normoyle

As smoke and flames were spreading through the home, a person driving by saw, and called 911. He got out of his car and went inside, where he found an elderly woman who was not able to exit on her own, and helped her to safety.

Homer Police Patrol Officer Foody and Homer Fire Chief Jay Riley were the first units to arrive. At the scene, a firefighter who was living in the neighborhood responded to the home and was able to report that an appliance was on fire.

Homer Police Chief Robert Pittman told NewsChannel 9 that Cortlandville Firefighter Kevin Whitney entered the home and saved the resident’s cat.

The Homer Fire Department says the fire was under control after 15 minutes. The woman was not injured.

The Red Cross responded to assist the displaced residents.

Full Article & Source:
Driver stops to save elderly woman from house fire in Homer

Embattled private guardian sued for alleged neglect of vulnerable Alaskans

By Iris Samuels

Tom McDuffie, executive director of Cache Integrity Services, a nonprofit that provides private guardianship services. Photographed in Anchorage on October 25, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)

A private guardian who left many of his clients in financial ruin faces two lawsuits filed Thursday alleging he had neglected his duties to all 122 vulnerable Alaskans he had been charged with protecting.

The guardian, Tom McDuffie, is scheduled to appear in a public court hearing Wednesday, amid allegations of ongoing fraudulent activities involving his nonprofit company.

Beginning in 2022, McDuffie took on dozens of guardianship clients who were previously under the care of the state, after the Office of Public Advocacy claimed a years-long staffing crisis in its public guardianship section forced it to turn to private guardians.

But McDuffie and his private guardianship nonprofit, Cache Integrity Services, left dozens of those clients in debt and without the public assistance on which they relied to meet their basic needs.

A court visitor report filed Monday and obtained by the Anchorage Daily News, said Cache Integrity may be committing ongoing “fraudulent activities.”

In October, retired Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth was appointed to oversee an investigation of McDuffie and his fitness to serve as guardian. Despite months of closed-door court hearings, there has been little public accountability for McDuffie and the public officials who signed on transferring dozens of vulnerable Alaskans to his company’s care.

On Thursday, two of McDuffie’s former clients filed lawsuits against him, alleging that he had “neglected the heightened fiduciary duties owed” to the plaintiffs and the 122 guardianship and conservatorship clients that McDuffie took on. The lawsuits were filed by Anchorage attorney Caitlin Shortell.

The identities of the plaintiffs are not shared in this story because they are vulnerable adults living with dementia. One lawsuit alleges that after McDuffie was appointed conservator, the plaintiff accrued a debt of more than $614,000 for an extended hospital stay resulting from McDuffie’s failure to respond to calls for the hospital and guardian. Another lawsuit alleges that McDuffie failed to collect rent on the plaintiff’s multiple rental properties, and made renovations on a property owned by the plaintiff without necessary permits, among other allegations. In both cases, McDuffie did not file taxes or set up a trust account for the plaintiffs.

The lawsuits allege that McDuffie and his agency mismanaged wards’ funds, failed to apply for and manage benefits, charged excessive fees, failed to provide health care, failed to pay personal needs allowance, neglected wards’ personal needs, and didn’t communicate with wards, among other allegations.

McDuffie used a single account to handle his clients’ funds, making it difficult, if not impossible, to identify individual clients’ funds even after the clients were transferred to other private guardians or to the care of the public guardians in the Office of Public Advocacy.

On Monday, a court employee responsible for investigating McDuffie’s potential wrongdoing filed an “urgent notice to the court,” calling for “immediate involvement of law enforcement to investigate potential instances of theft and forgery.” Asked if the courts took immediate action in response to the report, Alaska courts spokeswoman Rebecca Koford said she didn’t know “what has been done with the urgent report.”

Valerie Brogden, a court visitor, wrote in her report that “fraudulent activities may still be ongoing,” putting at risk the funds of more than 100 guardianship clients and 200 representative payee clients, for whom McDuffie handles Social Security checks.

McDuffie declined an interview request, and declined to answer a list of questions sent by email.

‘Special investigative conservator’

McDuffie began offering private guardianship services in 2021. In short order, the Office of Public Advocacy, or OPA — charged with serving as public guardian for vulnerable Alaskans who cannot find or afford a private guardian — sought to transfer dozens of cases to McDuffie’s nascent nonprofit.

Last month, Aarseth appointed OPA as the “special investigative conservator,” charged with protecting McDuffie’s former clients whose funds may be compromised. In the decision to appoint OPA, Aarseth cited OPA’s unique understanding of the laws pertaining to guardianship.

But advocates for wards question whether OPA can conduct an effective investigation because the agency’s leadership, including OPA Deputy Director Beth Goldstein, was instrumental in encouraging Alaska courts to appoint McDuffie as guardian, despite his lack of experience or proven ability to protect wards.

Several people familiar with OPA’s involvement asked the judge to appoint a special master to investigate the wrongdoing. That special master, they said, could act independently, including by appointing a forensic accountant to untangle the funds in Cache Integrity’s account. They said a forensic accountant is necessary because of the collective accounting system used by McDuffie, which left dozens of clients’ funds intermingled and indistinguishable.

The judge acknowledged the financial complexity of the case, writing in a court order that “the level and complexity of the accounting work needed far exceeds (work) ever expected of a Court Visitor.”

But the judge decided against appointing a special master or forensic accountant, citing the lack of funds to pay such professionals.

“There has been no discussion of the selection process or the means by which the person appointed (i.e. hired) would be paid,” Aarseth wrote.

On Wednesday, McDuffie filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider the appointment of OPA as special investigative conservator, calling it “a massive conflict of interest.”

“OPA approached Cache Integrity Services to expand into guardianship, gave guidance on how to start it, and strongly pushed Cache Integrity Services expansion,” McDuffie wrote.

Last month, Aarseth ordered a one-hour public meeting to be held Wednesday, Feb. 14, to address questions on “on how to unravel the Cache Integrity Services accounting, the fairest and just means by which to distribute what funds are being held, and who shall bear the cost if the hiring of a person or firm with the expertise to perform the work is necessary.”

In the lawsuits filed Thursday in Anchorage Superior Court, the plaintiffs ask the court to appoint a special master not employed by Cache Integrity or OPA who “has no financial interest in either entity” to manage discovery, forensic accounting, and settlement of the plaintiff’s claims. The plaintiffs also ask the judge to order McDuffie and Cache Integrity to pay for a forensic accountant to assess damages.

The lawsuits also ask the court to permanently ban McDuffie and all current and former Cache Integrity employees from acting as guardians, and to award damages to the plaintiffs’ for “outrageous financial abuse,” along with compensation for the plaintiff’s “humiliation, emotional distress, inconvenience, and other monetary and dignitary harms.”

‘Fake clients’

According to Brogden, the court visitor, McDuffie reported to the court visitors concerns he had with his former employees. McDuffie regularly hired employees who had no experience in guardianship services, including some employees with a criminal history.

McDuffie reported finding “fake clients” in his accounting system that he was not the guardian or conservator for. He reported a payment of nearly $32,000 from one of the “fake clients” to an assisted living facility, with no invoices attached. McDuffie also reported checks of up to $10,000 written out to “individuals unrelated to the protected person” marked as “personal needs.”

“The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated,” Brogden wrote in her report. She added that McDuffie “has conveyed his attempt to ‘fix’ things on his computer, raising concerns that fraudulent activities may still be ongoing, or evidence may be compromised.”

On Monday, McDuffie reported to the Wasilla Police Department that there had been a break-in to his office. Wasilla Police spokeswoman Amanda Graham said the case is currently under investigation and declined to provide additional information.

Full Article & Source:
Embattled private guardian sued for alleged neglect of vulnerable Alaskans

See Also:
Judge rejects call for independent investigation of state-endorsed private guardian who neglected dozens of clients

Diabetes Service Dog Saves 9-Year-Old Girl's Life

 A service dog saved the life of a Virginia 9-year-old girl who has type one diabetes. The girl's parents were watching TV downstairs at home when the service dog led them up the stairs to their daughter’s bedroom. When they entered, the girl was fast asleep but her blood sugar had spiked. Her sugar level read 338 — anything above 150 is considered high. The Labrador Retriever is more than a little girl’s best friend, she's a hero!

Source:
Diabetes Service Dog Saves 9-Year-Old Girl's Life

Judge rejects call for independent investigation of state-endorsed private guardian who neglected dozens of clients

By Iris Samuels

Former clients and advocates attend a fitness review for former guardian Tom McDuffie, at left, and his private guardianship nonprofit, Cache Integrity Services, at the Nesbett Courthouse on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

A judge on Wednesday declined to order a forensic accountant to investigate a private guardian’s mishandling of finances that left the funds of more than 100 Alaskans entangled in a single account.

At a public hearing in Anchorage that drew several of Tom McDuffie’s former private guardianship and conservatorship clients, along with attorneys and other guardians, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth said he would decline several requests to appoint an impartial investigator to oversee an inquiry of alleged wrongdoing by McDuffie. Instead, the judge said he would leave the investigation to be conducted by the public agency that had encouraged McDuffie to become a guardian.

Two court visitors appointed to investigate McDuffie’s actions filed a report late last month that included a call for “a comprehensive forensic accounting review,” after McDuffie used a single account for all of the clients served by his private agency, Cache Integrity Services, making it difficult or impossible for the money to be divided accurately among McDuffie’s former clients.

The court visitors wrote in their report that “it appears to be reasonable for Mr. McDuffie and Cache Integrity Services to bear all the cost” of hiring a forensic accountant.

But the judge said that filings to the court had not adequately explained how the accountant would be identified and paid.

“Someone needs to give me some names and they need to give me qualifications and they need to give me a fee schedule,” Aarseth said during the hearing, which lasted less than an hour.

“I have a lot of big ideas of what should happen, but no concrete plans in terms of how that would happen,” Aarseth said.

Instead, Aarseth said he would leave the investigation of McDuffie’s tangled accounting system to the Office of Public Advocacy, or OPA — a state agency housed in the Department of Administration — to oversee an investigation of McDuffie’s actions. Aarseth said he had little leeway to do otherwise because state law explicitly names the public guardian, which is a section of OPA, as the agency responsible for investigating private guardians.

Aarseth’s decision left many advocates for McDuffie’s former clients incensed. Several said that OPA had played a key role in encouraging McDuffie to become a private guardian, despite early indications that McDuffie was unable to meet their needs, as OPA contended with a years-long staffing shortage.

“Why is the fox guarding the henhouse?” said Susan Pacillo, who said she became a guardian for one of McDuffie’s former clients because he had neglected the individual’s needs.

“They’re the ones that made the mess. Now they’re the ones who are going to clean it up?” asked Pacillo.

McDuffie — who attended the hearing but never spoke — had also asked the court not to appoint OPA to the role, citing their involvement in his early effort to set up his guardianship services.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth held a fitness review for guardian Tom McDuffie and his private guardianship nonprofit, Cache Integrity Services, in a public hearing at the Nesbett Courthouse on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Former guardian Tom McDuffie looks back at the gallery after the public fitness review hearing for his private guardianship nonprofit, Cache Integrity Services, adjourned on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in the Nesbett Courthouse. (Bill Roth / ADN)

The judge said that even if OPA had made errors, it did not preclude the public agency from unsnarling wrongdoing.

“If an error was made in recommending Cache Integrity as a guardian or conservator, that error does not disqualify the public guardian from serving the role that the Legislature intended,” Aarseth said.

Aarseth said it would be up to the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy to choose a different public agency or official to conduct an investigation if there were any concerns with OPA leading the charge.

“If the executive branch wants to submit someone new or different, or a different agency to step in, they can make the application to me and I’ll make the determination of whether someone would be more appropriate, but I haven’t had any volunteers yet,” said Aarseth.

OPA is headed by James Stinson, who was appointed to the position in 2019, after Dunleavy was first elected. Stinson donated $1,000 to Dunleavy’s campaign in 2018, and more than $700 in 2021. Stinson’s compensation went up more than 20% between 2022 and 2023, from nearly $163,000 to more than $198,000.

Beth Goldstein, OPA’s deputy director who supported McDuffie’s foray into private guardianship, represented OPA at the hearing Wednesday. She did not appear in person.

Caitlin Shortell, an Anchorage attorney who recently filed two lawsuits against McDuffie on behalf of his former clients, said she had asked the court to order McDuffie to maintain liability insurance, but Aarseth had not responded to that request in court.

Shortell said she was concerned on behalf of her clients that because a forensic accountant had not been appointed, and McDuffie had not been ordered to maintain insurance for his business, that McDuffie’s former clients may not be able to recover their funds, which in some cases amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Shortell had also requested an independent special master be appointed to administer claims related to financial and personal injury damages.

The court visitors’ report cataloged all the ways that McDuffie and Cache Integrity Services had mishandled their obligations, including by mismanaging funds, allowing clients to lose critical benefits such as Medicaid and Social Security payments, charging excessive fees, mismanaging the properties of clients, and failing to provide health care for clients.

The court visitor report had included a call for a criminal investigation, saying “such an investigation is necessary to ensure accountability and to protect the interests of those who have been affected.”

Aarseth said it would be inappropriate for him to recommend a criminal investigation of McDuffie, but added that other individuals — including court employees, attorneys and other guardians familiar with McDuffie’s actions — could turn to law enforcement.

“The court is not making any referral to law enforcement, not because the court can’t see that maybe there is a possibility for that to happen, but I don’t want to step outside of that role of being a judicial office,” Aarseth said during Wednesday’s hearing — the first time the court has held a public hearing since Aarseth was appointed in October to investigate McDuffie.

Court proceedings related to guardianship are routinely held behind closed doors to protect the rights of vulnerable Alaskans in need of a guardian or conservator — adults deemed by the courts to be unable to make decisions on their finances, housing, health care and other important issues, often due to mental disabilities or dementia. Aarseth said he had decided to open Wednesday’s hearing to the public because of “public concern” over McDuffie’s actions.

Aarseth concluded the brief hearing by saying that if members of the public “don’t like the results,” then “they can call the Legislature and ask them to change the law.”

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth held a fitness review for guardian Tom McDuffie and his private guardianship nonprofit, Cache Integrity Services, in a public hearing at the Nesbett Courthouse on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

 

A daughter and guardian holds her mother's hand, a former client, during the fitness review for former guardian Tom McDuffie and his private guardianship nonprofit, Cache Integrity Services, in the Nesbett Courthouse on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a single hearing on public guardians, in which committee members questioned Stinson. But the hearing concluded with no clear further steps, and lawmakers have yet to propose any legislation this year that would address Alaska’s laws pertaining to guardians and conservators.

Aarseth said that the case would proceed with OPA investigating McDuffie’s actions, but the original question at the heart of the case — whether McDuffie is fit to serve as guardian — was moot, because McDuffie had surrendered his license in November.

Still, McDuffie continued to have access to the accounts of Cache Integrity Services and retained the ability to serve as representative payee — a service he began providing before becoming a guardian that involves collecting Social Security checks for recipients unable to do so themselves.

Aarseth said the court case would not pertain to McDuffie’s work as a representative payee, but last week, the judge granted an order that had been requested by OPA to notify McDuffie’s unhoused clients that he would no longer process Social Security payments for them.

A poster states that McDuffie or his employee, Kathleen Blomburg, “will no longer be receiving” Social Security funds and instructs people to call the Social Security Administration office in Seattle “if you have not received any information about your money.”

The judge ordered the information to be submitted “to the known homeless shelters, food pantries and other facilities meeting transient unhoused individuals in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley.” 

Full Article & Source:
Judge rejects call for independent investigation of state-endorsed private guardian who neglected dozens of clients

February 1, 2024 Disciplinary Actions

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 13 attorneys, disbarring one, revoking the license of three, suspending six and reprimanding three.

Omar Javier Arcia, 3350 S.W. 148th Ave., Suite 110, Miramar, suspended for 91 days effective 30 days following a January 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) Arcia engaged in a pattern of representing both co-lenders and borrowers in foreclosure matters without disclosing the potential conflict of interest or attempting to obtain a knowing and voluntary waiver of the conflict from those clients. In another matter, Arcia filed an improper lien against a property for refusal to remit a real estate commission resulting in a waste of judicial resources and a delay in the sale of the property. (Case No. SC23-0413)

Odiator Arugu, 1540 Whooping Dr., Groveland, disbarred effective immediately following a January 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) Arugu continued engaging in the practice of law after the effective date of his 91-day suspension. Arugu failed to close out his practice and protect the interests of his clients before the effective date of his suspension. He also communicated with a client and gave her legal advice while suspended, failed to move to withdraw from two pending cases, and remained counsel of record after the effective date of his suspension in these cases. Arugu failed to advise the client of a hearing, resulting in a dismissal being entered against the client. As a result, Arugu was held in contempt and disbarred. (Case No. SC23-1374)

Frank Carvajal, 1665 E. 4th St., Suite 104, Santa Ana, CA, public reprimand effective 30 days following a January 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) Carvajal represented a client in removal proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). In 2019, the client hired Carvajal to appeal the BIA’s decision. Carvajal filed the appeal pro se, even though he previously filed Form EOIR-26 signifying his appearance as attorney of record and indicating that he would file a brief. Carvajal failed to timely file a brief, and the case was dismissed without a review. (Case No. SC23-1193)

Lisa M. Dawson, 149 S. Ridgewood Ave., Suite 310, Daytona Beach, public reprimand and ordered to attend Ethics School effective immediately following a January 4 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2006). Dawson neglected a client’s family law matter and failed to properly withdraw from the representation. Dawson also failed to inform the client that she closed her private law practice. The court dismissed the client’s case, citing a lack of record activity or appearances. (Case No. SC23-0998)

Paul DeCailly, P.O. Box 17793, Clearwater, suspended until such time as DeCailly fully responds in writing to the official Bar inquiry, effective 30 days following a January 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) DeCailly failed to respond to official Bar inquiries and the Florida Supreme Court’s Order to Show Cause. On January 25, the court issued an order granting The Florida Bar’s Petition for Contempt and Order Show Cause, suspending DeCailly from the practice of law until he fully responds in writing to the Bar’s inquiry. (Case No. SC23-1653)

Glenn Burdette Grevengoed, 3730 7th Terrace, Vero Beach, public reprimand effective immediately following a January 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) The court held Grevengoed in contempt for failing to timely respond to The Florida Bar’s subpoena requesting trust account records. (Case No. SC23-1378)

John Spencer Jenkins, 101 N.E. 3rd Ave, Suite 1500, Ft. Lauderdale, emergency suspension effective immediately following a January 9 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2012) Jenkins represented the personal representative of an estate. Jenkins has misappropriated over $400,000 in estate funds by removing those funds from the trust account without authorization and using those entrusted funds for purposes not intended by the estate. (Case No. SC2024-0022)

Ryan M. Layton, 101 North J St., Lake Worth, suspended until further order of the Court, effective 30 days following a January 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) The Florida Bar filed a petition for contempt and order to show cause after Layton failed to respond to the Bar’s investigative inquiries. Subsequently, Layton failed to respond to the Florida Supreme Court’s order to show cause, and the court entered an order suspending him until such time as he responds to the Bar’s investigative inquiries and until further order of the court. (Case No. SC2023-1672)

Hubbell Clay Losson, 701 77th Ave. North, #55640, St. Petersburg, held in contempt of court and suspended from the practice of law until he fully responds in writing to the official Bar inquiry and until further order of the court, effective 30 days following a January 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Losson failed to respond to an official Bar inquiry in Florida Bar File No. 2023-10,297(13E). The Florida Bar filed a Petition for Contempt and Order to Show Cause on November 20, 2023, and the Florida Supreme Court ordered Losson to show cause by December 6, 2023. Losson failed to file a response to the court’s Order to Show Cause. Losson has been held in contempt of court and is ordered to be suspended until he fully responds in writing to the official Bar inquiry and until further order of the court. (Case No. SC23-1604)

Ronald Stuart Lubetsky, 220 S.W. Natura Ave., Deerfield Beach, disciplinary revocation with leave to apply for readmission in five years, effective immediately following a December 14, 2023, court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Lubetsky was found guilty on seven counts of knowingly and intentionally dispensing a controlled substance without authorization by law, five counts involving oxycodone and two counts involving oxycodone and morphine. Thereafter, Lubetsky was sentenced to 60 months in prison. On September 7, the Bar filed a Notice of Determination of Judgment of Guilt, and the court issued an order suspending Lubetsky from the practice of law on same date. On October 26, Lubetsky filed a Petition for Disciplinary Revocation with Leave to Apply for Readmission. (Case No. SC2023-1484)

Rafael Antonio Perez, 2525 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Suite 300, Coral Gables, disciplinary revocation with leave to apply for readmission effective 30 days following a December 28, 2023, court order. (Admitted to practice: 1987) A client retained Perez to represent him in a commercial loan transaction. Rather than proceed with the transaction as directed, Perez engaged in delaying the transaction, failed to follow client’s instructions, and failed to return client’s monies from his trust account upon demand. (Case No. SC23-1575)

Jacob Aaron Weil, 2307 N. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, disciplinary revocation with leave to seek readmission after five years, effective immediately following a December 21, 2023, court order. (Admitted to practice: 2018) Weil filed a Petition for Disciplinary Revocation with Leave to Apply for Readmission based upon allegations that included abandoning clients and his failure to account for and misuse of client trust funds. (Case No. SC2023-1228)

Emily Christine Williams, 2411 Cold Stream Ln., Green Cove Springs, suspended for 91 days effective February 12, 2024, following a January 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2009) Williams engaged in misconduct involving incompetence, inadequate communication with clients, and lack of diligence in family law and guardianship cases. Williams also entered a plea of no contest on a misdemeanor criminal charge. As a result, the court, in an order dated January 11, suspended Williams. (Case No. SC22-1778)

The Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Division of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the more than 111,000 members of The Florida Bar. Key discipline case files that are public record are posted to attorneys’ individual online Florida Bar profiles. To view discipline documents, follow these steps. Information on the discipline system and how to file a complaint are available at www.floridabar.org/attorneydiscipline.

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline. Disbarred lawyers may not reapply for admission for five years. They are required to go through an extensive process that includes a rigorous background check and retaking the Bar exam. Attorneys suspended for periods of 91 days and longer must undergo a rigorous process to regain their law licenses including proving rehabilitation. Disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment.

Full Article & Source:
February 1, 2024 Disciplinary Actions

Judge rules in favor of Texans owner Janice McNair, denies older son's request for cognitive exam

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 26: Paul Dobrowski, lawyer for Janice McNair, fights a motion by lawyers for Cary McNair before Judge Jerry Simoneaux on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024 in Houston. Cary McNair applied for guardianship of his mother, Janice McNair, co-owner of the Texans. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) © Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

A Houston judge ruled in favor of Texans owner Janice McNair on Tuesday, denying her oldest son's request for an independent medical exam to determine her mental capacity, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Robert Cary McNair Jr. is seeking guardianship, with his attorneys arguing that a stroke in January 2022 left Janice McNair mentally incapacitated with limited ability to conduct business.

Cal McNair, her other son who is CEO and chair of the Texans, and Janice McNair’s attorneys argued the 87-year-old widow of Bob McNair already has undergone examinations by two doctors.

“On behalf of Mrs. McNair, and everyone who opposed the motion, we are pleased with Judge [Jerry] Simoneaux’s order denying Cary McNair’s motion for an independent medical examination of Mrs. McNair,” Don Jackson, the attorney for Janice McNair, told the newspaper. “We want to thank Judge Simoneaux and his staff for their diligent efforts.”

Janice McNair's attorneys are expected to ask Simoneaux to dismiss the probate case.

Cary McNair's attorneys originally filed the application for guardianship on Nov. 27.

Full Article & Source:
Judge rules in favor of Texans owner Janice McNair, denies older son's request for cognitive exam

See Also:
Houston Texans owner Janice McNair's son testifies she couldn't remember names of grandchildren

Family searching for 86-year-old man who was taken by younger woman after court granted daughter guardianship

"His credit cards are maxed out. They're in arrears in excess of 150 days past due. His annuity is being sought after by her. His 401k is gone."

Author: Mike Jimenez

SAN ANTONIO — For more than a year, the family of an elderly man has been searching for him. Now they're asking for the public's help. 

San Antonio police say 86-year-old Marlon Hahn was taken by a woman he was living with after a court granted his daughter, Norma Rose, emergency guardianship.

"I'm very concerned about my dad," said Rose. 

She said her father met a much younger woman at church about a year ago. Since then, she said, the woman eventually moved in with him and cut off contact with his family.

Rose said she had to hire a private investigator to track her father down.

"Angelique was able to get us the address, the car license plate, vin numbers—everything."

After finding where her father was staying, she was able to file for emergency guardianship, which was granted. But when she went to pick up her father at the apartment he was staying at with the woman, they were no longer living there.

"She took my dad with her again," Rose said. "Now we don't know where he is again."

Rose said her father's accounts have been drained.

"All his credit cards are maxed out. They're in arrears in excess of 150 days past due. His annuity is being sought after by here.  His 401(k) is gone."

The concerns don't end there. According to Rose, her father's annuity is valued at $175,000 and the woman he's believed to be with has filed a lawsuit against the insurance company to try and cash it out.

A name of the woman and photos were provided to KENS 5 by the attorney and family, but SAPD were not able to confirm she is the suspect in Hahn's disappearance.

Rose said before she lost contact with her father, she took him in for testing which showed he was in need of constant care.

"He was diagnosed with onset dementia, so there were three mini cognitive test that were done," she said. "He failed them all."

Rose said her father needs to be with her family and she will not stop looking for him.

"It's like when your missing a child, you don't know if they're eating or are they cold or are they being looked after. Are they being taken care of? What's going on through his mind? His mind is that of a child," said Rose.

SAPD is asking that anyone who knows the whereabouts of Hahn to please contact their missing persons division at 210-207-7660.

Full Article & Source:
Family searching for 86-year-old man who was taken by younger woman after court granted daughter guardianship

6 Investigates: Dementia wheelchair-bound resident escapes Pelican Pointe nursing home

Photo by: clara benitez-cortez

By: Clara Benitez

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On December 18^th, the Corpus Christi Police Department responded to a welfare call regarding an elderly man in a wheelchair stuck on some grass on the 3300 block of Houston Street right after midnight.

Officers took the elderly man to Doctors Regional Hospital for further evaluation, learning the man was a dementia patient at Pelican Pointe Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center.

KRIS 6 Investigates learned the man, had just become a resident at the facility, and staff at the nursing home were not aware of his disappearance until contacted by authorities.

It is unknown, how long he was missing.

According to the Texas Health and Human Services, when an incident like this happens in a nursing home – it needs to be reported immediately.

A former employee of the nursing home, which KRIS6 has decided not to identify due to retaliation, says after the administrator found out about the patient leaving the facility - he wanted to change the scenario and say the man left against medical advice.

Question: “In your 38 years, or just in your time have you ever seen the administrators want to change the story or send a patient to another facility so they wouldn’t be interviewed by the state?”

“No,” the former employee responded.

Pelican Pointe Nursing Home, registered as San Rafael Nursing Home, received three immediate jeopardy citations in 2023. Immediate jeopardy is the highest level of non-compliance a nursing home can receive.

Their most recent incident is considered an elopement, which is another immediate jeopardy.

When nursing homes receive these citations, they are required to fix all the violations. If it is not fixed, the state could take enforcement against the provider including termination of the Medicaid agreement.

“The facility must ensure the noncompliance is corrected before the termination date. Providers have 6 months to come into compliance or risk termination of the provider agreement. Plan of Corrections must be submitted within 10 days of receipt of the 2567 form. In the plan, the facility provides the date by which they believe they will have the noncompliance corrected, which is usually between 30-45 days or less.“

“They resigned basically because of the moral and ethical issues being asked to do something - change documentation or the actual happenings to basically say something different that did not occur,” the former employee said.

KRIS 6 investigates reached out to Pelican Pointe regarding the most recent elopement:

“Pelican Pointe serves its residents and community. We respect residents’ time and freedom to live fulfilling lives. Pelican Pointe strongly disagrees with the recent citation and will appeal it. The recent sharp increase in citations for nursing homes interrupts resident care, and leads to facility closures resulting in loss of jobs and forced relocation of innocent residents as seen from Focused Care at Corpus Christi this year.”

KRIS 6, reached out to Baker and Baker Elder Law – which is the legal guardian for the elderly man in a wheelchair and they did not respond to an update on their client.

According to the former employee, the administrator sent the man to another facility in San Antonio to prevent him from getting interviewed by the state.

On top of this incident and the three immediate jeopardy citations, there are still conditions that are not sanitary or livable according to the former employee.

“They have staff that does not have the credentials to be working there - and not certified as required by the state the administrator starts to cover up for the filthiness in that kitchen. Rodents in the kitchen, raw food being served. Inappropriate diets being served, the texture of the food not being appropriate for the patient's diet which can cause aspiration on death and he consistently keeps covering for these individuals in charge of the kitchen and they just got cited,” the former employee stated.

To see nursing home ratings head to the Medicare.gov/care-compare and enter the name of your nursing home. There you can see the overall ratings for each nursing home in your area.

Full Article & Source:
6 Investigates: Dementia wheelchair-bound resident escapes Pelican Pointe nursing home