Dalmatia, Pa. — A Dalmatia man was charged for writing 44
fraudulent checks for more than $45,000 and taking advantage of his
former landlord.
Police filed felony forgery charges
against Andrew John Souder, 35, after the accuser told them on Dec. 1
that she had discovered a number of fraudulent checks were written and
debited out of her bank account. The checks were written from Jan. 2 to
Nov. 30, 2023, according to Trooper Michael Adams of state police at
Stonington.
The accuser, a 74-year-old woman, had
rented a home in Lower Augusta Township to Souder from 2018 to 2022 when
she moved out of the country. By October 2022, the accuser sold the
home to Souder. She discovered the fraudulent transactions when she
received an overdraft notice from her bank on Nov. 22. The accuser told
police she had never given Souder her checks nor did she give him
authorization to conduct financial transactions on her behalf, Adams
wrote in the affidavit.
The checks had the accuser's signature, which were allegedly
forged by Souder. Police found during the investigation that Souder came
to the Sunbury branch of M&T Bank at least four times to physically
cash the checks. Video surveillance showed Souder was there on April 7
and cashed a $1,600 forged check. Souder also cashed several other
checks at the bank branch on Oct. 17, Oct. 30, and Nov. 2, according to
Adams. The rest of the checks were deposited via mobile deposit using
Souder's bank app. Check amounts ranged from $2,500 to $100.
In
addition to the felony forgery charge, police also filed felony counts
of bad checks, theft by unlawful taking, and financial exploitation of
an older adult. Charges were filed at the Sunbury office of District
Judge Rachel Wiest-Benner, who set bail at $10,000 at 10% monetary,
which Souder posted. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 30 at
Wiest-Benner's office.
Health Minister Michalis Damianos at the committee
Long waiting lists for specialised treatments on Gesy are “a lever for the financial exploitation” of patients, Gesy’s supervision commissioner Eugenia Efstathiou said on Monday.
Efstathiou was speaking at the House human rights committee and
explained that many patients who require specialised treatments end up,
due to long waiting lists, being referred outside of Gesy and are
therefore billed for the treatment they receive.
With this in mind, she added that the issue of long waiting lists has now extended to impact non-Gesy health services.
Health Minister Michalis Damianos was also present at the meeting and
said the Health Insurers’ Organisation (HIO) is preparing protocols to
categorise appointments with specialists under the Gesy umbrella so that
emergency appointments can be scheduled as a priority.
He added that such protocols are expected to be completed “within days and not weeks”.
In response to Efstathiou’s comments about patients potentially being exploited, he said “any illegal actions in the context of Gesy’s operations will be examined in cooperation with the HIO, and there must be exemplary punishment so as to deter others.”
He said the matter of waiting lists is “a complex problem” and said
that while some aspects of it can be dealt with immediately, others will
require long-term handling.
The matter of reforming Cyprus’ health sector, he said, is unfinished
business, with bills set to be submitted to parliament within the year
“to give healthcare providers the tools to do their jobs more properly, so we can provide a comprehensive health service in our country.”
One of the most prominent bills set to be submitted this year, he
said, is that regarding the creation of a “patients’ advocate”.
“The patients’ advocate will, among other responsibilities, be able to assess whether a health institution complies with the law,” Damianos explained.
This move was greeted at the meeting by Federation of Patients’
Associations of Cyprus (Osak) chairman Marios Charalambides, who said
the patients’ advocate “will make sure efforts will be made to ensure
the rights of patients”.
He added that the creation of the role “is not just about managing complaints, but also about ensuring the quality of life and access to care of those who have suffered an illness”.
On
Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica A. Uzcategui denied
the superstar's petition for temporary conservatorship, according to Avi
Levy, one of Allman's attorneys.
In December, Cher filed a petition seeking to be Allman's sole conservator
because of alleged "severe mental health and substance abuse issues,"
making him unable to manage his financial assets, she contends.
"The
Court’s ruling this morning represents a significant triumph for Mr.
Allman’s personal liberty and legal autonomy. We, at Cage & Miles,
are pleased with the Court’s decision to deny Cher’s temporary
conservatorship petition," Levy said in a statement shared with USA
TODAY on Monday.
"The Court’s ruling underscores the principle that
conservatorship is a measure of last resort, not a tool to be used
lightly. As the Court noted, there was insufficient evidence presented
by Cher to establish an emergency exists for a temporary
conservatorship."
USA TODAY has reached out to Cher's attorneys for comment.
Cher's bid for conservatorship over Elijah Allman's estate isn't over
Cher and Elijah Blue at the premiere of the film
"Blow" March 29, 2001 at the Mann's Chinese
Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. Vince Bucci/Getty
images
Another hearing is scheduled for March 6 ,
according to the court's case calendar. Levy said the judge will
"deliberate on the question of a permanent conservatorship" during this
hearing.
Cher observed the hearing remotely.
She appeared on a large screen in the courtroom throughout but did not
take part in the arguments.
Her attorneys argued that the support Allman was
getting was from people who tell him what he wants to hear and downplay
the size of his problems. They said his current apparent sobriety and
mental health were illusory. They said he suffers from bipolar disorder,
has been recently homeless, and that having large amounts of money
might lead to access to drugs that could endanger his life.
Cher's
attorneys said that she was not necessarily seeking any direct control
over Allman's money and would be happy to have a court-appointed
fiduciary manage his finances.
Allman was in the courtroom with his attorneys,
who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he is in a good
place now, attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with
his previously estranged wife.
Elijah Blue Allman said Cher is 'unfit' to be his conservator
Allman has opposed his mother becoming his conservator. Earlier this month, the judge declined to immediately approve Cher's conservatorship request. Cher's legal team did not give Allman or his attorneys enough time to review the documents they filed, Uzcategui ruled.
Allman
said that after struggling addiction and making irresponsible financial
decisions in the past, he receives professional treatment and regularly
attends alcoholics anonymous meetings, according to court records.
"Given that I no longer have an active dissolution
case, I believe that my wife would have priority to be appointed
conservator, if necessary, but I do not need that either," Allman said
in the objection filing. "Under no circumstances am I comfortable having
my mom as my conservator even if that was necessary."
A conservatorship of his estate is not necessary and that his mother "unfit to serve" in that role, he contends.
Blue's
wife, Marieangela King, also denounced the conservatorship, calling it
"deeply disturbing," in a statement issued by her record label, Verdict
Music, and shared with USA TODAY. King claims she "has historically been
excluded from the decision-making process when it comes to her
husband’s medical treatment."
Why is Cher filing for conservatorship over her son's estate?
Cher
is seeking to be the sole conservator of her son's estate and resources
and per the filing, the "Moonstruck" actor has "worked tirelessly" to
get her son needed help.
"Elijah is entitled to regular distributions from a trust established by
his father for his benefit, but given his ongoing mental health and
substance abuse issues, Petitioner (Cher) is concerned that any funds
distributed to Elijah will immediately be spent on drugs, leaving Elijah
with no assets to provide for himself, and putting Elijah’s life at
risk," the filing stated.
LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
announced that Steven Allen, 42, of Detroit, was arraigned Tuesday, Jan.
23, in the 36th District Court in Wayne County on four felonies for
forgery, using a computer to commit a crime and allegedly embezzling
more than $60,000 from his employer, a sitting Circuit Court judge.
Allen was employed as a judicial assistant serving a judge in the
Third Circuit Court in Wayne County from 2018 to 2022. During these
years it is alleged he illegally obtained an ATM card associated with
the judge’s accounts, wrongfully made withdrawals and purchases, and
forged checks presented to the victim to conceal his thefts. The victim
became aware of the missing funds when notified of delinquent taxes on a
secondary property, despite Allen presenting them with checks made to
look like they were sent to satisfy the tax.
He has been charged with one count of each:
Embezzlement, $50,000-$100,000, a 15-year felony,
Using a computer to commit a crime, a 10-year felony,
Forgery of bank bills/promissory notes, a 7-year felony, and
Stealing or retaining without consent a financial transaction device, a 4-year felony.
“Everyone should exercise extreme caution in who you permit to access
your financial accounts,” Nessel said. “Even judges are not immune to
theft, embezzlement and fraud perpetrated against them by those they
trust the most. Truly anyone can fall victim to financial exploitation
crimes.”
Allen will appear before Judge Patricia Jefferson in the 36th
District Court in Wayne County for a probable cause conference on
January 29. A preliminary examination has been scheduled for February 5.
Artist
Peter Max’s daughter lost an appeal to revive her lawsuit against a top
New York City judicial official over allegedly routine and one-sided
private talks between judges and guardians in adversarial proceedings
like those involving her father.
Libra Max lacks standing because
her alleged injury isn’t fairly traceable to Deputy Chief Administrative
Judge Deborah Kaplan’s alleged oversight failures, the US Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit said in a summary order Thursday.
Max
has been fighting to remove her father’s court-appointed guardian for
several years, alleging the guardian has been abusive and neglectful.
Disputes
over Peter Max’s care and the family business revolving around his art
have drained much of the artist’s money, as detailed in a Bloomberg Law series
on the guardianship system in March 2023. That coverage prompted the
guardianship court to impose a gag order barring the parties from
discussing the case with the media.
Max sued Kaplan claiming the
judge violated her Fourteenth Amendment due process rights by failing to
prevent New York guardianship judges from engaging in ex parte
communications with court-appointed guardians in contested proceedings.
But
even assuming that those kinds of communications amount to an injury in
fact, the injury can’t be traced to any act or omission by Kaplan, the
court said.
To establish traceability, a plaintiff must show a
causal connection between the alleged injury and the conduct complained
of, the court said. The injury can’t be the result of independent action
by a third party not before the court.
Max alleged that four
different judges who have presided over her father’s highly contentious
guardianship have engaged with one-sided conversations with his
court-appointed representatives “pursuant to established court practice”
and “consistent with guidance and instructions,” and that Kaplan has
authority over those practices.
But her complaint alleged no facts
showing that Kaplan “affirmatively established a court practice,
policy, or custom, or promulgated any guidance, instruction or advice,
permitting guardianship judges to engage in ex parte communications in
adversarial proceedings,” the court said.
Without such
allegations, “the complaint utterly fails to provide any basis for
concluding that the state guardianship judges’ alleged practices are
fairly traceable to anything Kaplan has actually done,” the court said.
Because
Max claims that guardianship judges are disobeying constitutional and
judicial rules barring ex parte communications, “we can only concluded
that Max’s alleged injury is the result of each guardianship judge’s
‘independent action,’” the court said.
Judges Amalya L. Kearse, Gerard E. Lynch, and William J. Nardini decided the case.
Max
is represented by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. Kaplan is
represented by the New York State Office of the Attorney General.
The case is Max v. Kaplan, 2d Cir., No. 23-00201, summary order 1/25/24.
KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - Two Killeen men are charged with financial exploitation after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from a 78-year-old man in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Brandon Lamar Martin and Tarus Delynn Prince have been charged with fraud-financial exploitation of an elderly person and stealing $750 or more.
On Jan. 12, Jefferson City Police Department (JCPD) officers responded to a victim’s home for a fraud investigation after the victim claimed he was scammed out of $40,900, according to a probable cause statement.
The victim told police he was using his laptop on Jan. 9 when he accidentally clicked on a “pop-up” advertisement, causing his computer to lockup.
The pop-up window said the computer was infected with a virus and provided a phone number for the victim to call that claimed to be Microsoft’s technical support, according to the statement.
The victim called the number on the pop-up and spoke with a man named “James” who told the victim his contact information would be forwarded to a Microsoft fraud investigator.
On Jan. 10, the victim received a call from a man named “Steve” who claimed to be an investigator with Microsoft’s fraud department.
“Steve” said he could remove the virus if the victim provided personal information, according to the statement.
After the victim gave “Steve” the information, the statement alleges the victim watched as someone remotely accessed his laptop.
The victim saw someone gain access to his Missouri Credit Union (MCU) banking account and begin moving funds between the checking and savings accounts, according to the statement.
“Steve” then told the victim to go to the bank and withdraw $16,400 to help with restoring the laptop’s systems, according to the statement.
The victim said “Steve” asked him to remain on the phone while the victim was withdrawing the money.
After the victim withdrew the money, “Steve” told him that a runner would come to his house and provide a password to collect the money, the statement alleges.
The following day “Steve” called the victim again, this time requesting the victim withdraw $24,500.
The victim repeated the process, and this time a different runner came to collect the funds.
MCU’s fraud department director called the victim to ask why he withdrew so much money and explained the to the victim that he had been defrauded, according to the statement.
Investigators with the JCPD were assigned the case and arranged an interview with the victim on Jan. 17.
When police met with the victim, he informed police that “Steve” had continued calling him and asking him to withdraw more money, the statement alleges.
While police were at the victim’s home “Steve” called the victim to ask for $20,000 and police devised a plan to simulate a bank trip.
Police brought the victim to the JCPD and pretended to do the bank transaction while “Steve” was on the phone.
Again, “Steve” told the victim a runner would come by to collect the money. Police recorded the entire conversation while “Steve” was on the phone, according to the statement.
Police coordinated with the victim to be able to have officers wait at his home for the runner to arrive in order to arrest them.
When the runner arrived, both Martin and Prince were arrested by police. During the arrest, the statement alleges police found $4,183 on Martin and paper bands with different amounts of money.
While being questioned by police, Prince told authorities that Martin owned restaurants in Texas and other states and was in Missouri attempting to franchise the restaurant, the statement alleges.
While Martin was being questioned, he told police that he was involved in illegal gambling and card games in Texas and had a significant amount of debt, according to the statement.
Martin claimed he met a group of men from India who told him of a way to make money.
The group told Martin he would go to cities across the U.S and collect money from people paying off their own gambling debts, the statement alleges.
Martin was contacted by a man named “Alex” through WhatsApp and given an address and how much money he was supposed to collect, according to the statement.
Martin told police he and Prince left their homes in Killeen to drive to the victim’s home, the statement alleges.
According to the statement, Martin claimed he had done multiple pickups on people between the age of 50 and 65-years-old.
Martin gave the police consent to search his phone and several messages were found from “Alex” detailing information about the pickups, the statement alleges.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Adults 60 and older can now receive free
legal representation during guardianship cases in Dauphin County.
The program, which runs through the Pennsylvania Courts’ Office of
Elder Justice in the Courts, is paid for by a new, grant-funded pilot
project with MidPenn Legal Services and the Dauphin County Orphans’
Court.
The court system says the initiative is focused on
increasing the appointment of counsel and frequency of attendance for
those in guardianship cases.
“Guardianship is sometimes necessary for persons with diminished
capacity or persons with a disability in managing their affairs,” said
the OEJC’s Senior Judge Paula Francisco Ott. “The appointment of counsel
through this partnership is a tremendous benefit to all older
Pennsylvanians, further ensuring that their concerns, wishes, and rights
are respected and protected at every step of the legal process.”
Individuals in guardianship cases can still decline or hire their own representation.
SCOTT
CITY, Mo. — A Scott County grand jury indicted a local construction
contractor on stealing and financial exploitation charges.
According to Scott City Police Chief Chris Griggs, officers with the
Scott City Police Department conducted an in-depth investigation into
Blake E. Hickman, 34, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and his business,
Blake Hickman Construction.
In mid-2023, Hickman was hired by a local businessman to complete
contractor work, and renovations at a local business. According to the
victim, Hickman allegedly failed to complete work and failed to comply
with request for invoices and project progress. Throughout this
investigation, another victim was discovered, an elderly resident.
Allegedly Hickman failed to provide the contractor service for the
resident and was without project completion.
“Our officers thoroughly investigated these reports and spent time
and resources to file the investigations for prosecution,” Griggs said.
On Jan. 17, Hickman was indicted by a grand jury of the 33rd Judicial
Circuit of Scott County and charged with stealing-$25,000 or more and
financial exploitation of the elderly/disabled person.
Hickman’s bond was set at $25,000 cash/surety. He was taken into custody Jan. 20 and posted bond and was released.
Hickman is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Feb. 29 before Judge David A. Dolan in Scott County Court.
A
Wehead, an AI companion that can use ChatGPT, is seen during Pepcom’s
Digital Experience at the The Mirage resort during the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
If
a loved one called you in a panic asking for help—maybe they just got
arrested or kidnapped and needed money immediately. What would you do?
Here’s the thing, the voice on the other end of the line might not be them. It could be AI.
Artificial Intelligence is now making it possible to clone someone’s voice – and use it to trick family or friends. Scammers are taking advantage of the technology to con panicked loved ones out of hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.AI is also being used to devise more realistic romance scams and AI generated videos, also known as deepfakes.Recently, a Taylor Swift deepfake was used in a video to shill pots and pans to unwitting fans.
Washington has been watching.A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced the No AI Fraud Act this month. The bill would protect Americans’ likenesses and voices against AI-generated fakes.Earlier this month, the FTC created a competition with an award of $25,000 for the best ideas to protect consumers from these scams. And in November, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on this kind of fraud and how to address it.
We learn more about these scams and what people can do to protect themselves from falling victim.
Some tips from our guests:
If you suspect a voice clone scam, try to interrupt the caller and ask a question
Ask a question only that person would know
Establish a password with family and friends
Don’t send money through untraceable means like gift cards or cryptocurrency
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