A Doniphan woman accused of stealing money from a woman in her care is scheduled to be in court next month
By Amber Ruch
DONIPHAN, Mo. (KFVS) - An in-home worker is accused of stealing hundreds of dollars from her client.
Robin Anna Wagner, 34, of Doniphan, was arrested on March 4 for felony financial exploitation of an elderly/disabled person.
She posted her $10,000 surety bond. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, April 16.
According
to online court documents, the victim told officers she was taken to
the hospital on February 25 and gave Wagner, her in-home worker, her
purse that had $725 inside.
The victim told them Wagner said she
would put the money in her safe at her house. When the victim returned
home, she noticed her money was missing and said Wagner had blocked her
from being able to contact her directly.
According to court documents, on March 4, Wagner went to the police department lobby to turn herself in.
Police say she told them her client went to the hospital and gave her $500 to pay bills while she was there.
According
to court documents, Wagner told police that on March 1 she noticed her
safe with the $500 in it was missing. She said she last saw her safe in
her apartment on Feb. 28.
OPPG received 174 complaints against professional guardians in two years but rarely took action
An audit of the Office of Public and
Professional Guardians shows systematic failures, including failure to
develop and implement monitoring tools to make sure guardians comply
with the law.
By: Adam Walser
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Auditor has released a scathing report involving the Office of Public and Professional Guardians or OPPG.
Under
guardianship, a judge takes away a person’s rights and appoints someone
to manage their finances and other aspects of their lives.
State lawmakers created OPPG to police guardians and protect wards under their care, like Willi Berchau, whose story prompted the creation of the watchdog agency in 2015.
Since OPPG opened, millions of tax dollars have been spent on funding
the agency, even though auditors say it is failing some of Florida’s
most vulnerable seniors.
“They can do whatever they want with you”
The I-Team's investigation into Florida's broken guardianship system started in 2013.
“My
court-appointed guardian doesn’t allow me to leave the premises,” Willi
Berchau told us when we secretly interviewed him at a church.
The 99-year-old German immigrant had been placed by his
court-appointed guardian in a locked-down dementia unit where he didn’t
belong.
“You see nobody. You have no contact with anybody,”
Berchau said. “If you stayed there any longer, you would mentally go
down. Mentally.”
Three months after our first story, a judge restored Berchau’s rights.
“The
trouble is, if you have nobody behind your back, they can do whatever
they want with you,” Berchau's said at a pizza party his friends threw
for him on the day he was released.
In 2015, Florida lawmakers
created the Office of Public and Professional Guardians, or OPPG, to
protect people in guardianship from isolation, exploitation and abuse.
Former Florida Senator Jeff Brandes was one of the sponsors of the law.
“Willi’s story is what prompted it. We heard the story, and it was so
compelling, and we knew that we needed to do something,” Brandes said
at the time.
But a recent audit shows OPPG is failing those it is supposed to protect.
Professional guardians received 174 complaints in two years
“This is actually a follow-up audit we did. And to be honest, in some
respects, it was worse the second time around,” Deputy Auditor Matthew
Tracy told a State Senate committee last month, sharing results from a
33-page audit report.
The audit shows the state’s 566 professional guardians received 174 complaints.
It said OPPG “had not developed and implemented an effective monitoring tool” to make sure guardians complied with state law.
“The
extent of the department's oversight of this was a self-asked
questionnaire that asked basically did you comply with our requirements
and how many wards did you monitor? Basically it was like grading your
own test in school,” Tracy said.
The report also said OPPG didn’t promptly address serious complaints.
“People are being kept from their families. They take their money. They sell the house from underneath them,” Tracy testified.
The I-Team previously reported how OPPG often took years to investigate complaints.
“They go to a black hole,” Black said.
Gov. DeSantis acknowledged problems in 2019
Our reporting got Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attention in 2019.
“What
troubled me about some of the issues you guys raised was obviously bad
things are happening but there doesn’t seem to be anyone held
accountable,” he said.
“I
never thought anything like this could have happened,” White said in a
cell phone video Kennedy recorded the last time she saw her aunt.
Lillie was isolated from family after a dispute over who would inherit her fortune.
“Every month I’m calling and saying another year, another week, another month. Where’s the report?” Kennedy said.
Three
years after filing a complaint, OPPG finally sent Kennedy a letter
saying her allegations were substantiated, finding her Aunt Lillie’s
guardian wasn’t registered and improperly billed her.
But OPPG didn’t discipline the guardian and closed the case.
“I was so angry when I got the OPPG letter,” Kennedy said.
Lillie died the next year.
“She died alone without her family knowing, and two weeks later we find out,” Kennedy said.
We uncovered that OPPG found that at least 8 other guardians broke the law but were allowed to continue serving as guardians.
“They
got maybe a requirement to take a couple of continuing education
classes, but you can keep the money that mysteriously disappeared,”
Black said, describing how OPPG handled cases of guardians who were
found to violate the Florida Guardianship statute.
Lawmakers at the hearing where the audit was presented were shocked by the auditors’ recent findings.
“The things that we're hearing in this committee are really appalling,” said Sen. Tom Wright (R-Port Orange).
“Accountability is something we owe our population,” Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa) said.
Advocates
say unless OPPG begins to hold guardians accountable, more people like
Willi Berchau will be isolated, exploited and abused.
“These are
our most vulnerable members of our population. And they have almost no
protections when they are in the adult guardianship system in the state
of Florida,” Black said.
“I think it should be shut down and something else put in place,” Hogue said.
The Department of Elder Affairs Secretary didn’t agree to an interview
Approximately 1.5 million adults are under active guardianship or conservatorship, according to Bloomberg Law.An
unknown number of these adults are young adults with disabilities,
often intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). These young
adults are often funneled into guardianship by what the National
Council on Disability (NCD) in its 2018 report
called the “school-to-guardianship pipeline,” a phenomenon where
schools are, by default, recommending to parents that they start the
process of assuming guardianship over their disabled child before they
become an adult. The NCD stated that schools often recommend
guardianship due to the widespread and erroneous belief that people with
disabilities are less capable of making autonomous decisions. This line
of thinking is unnecessary, Jonathan Martinis, Senior Director for Law
and Policy, Esq., J.D. at Syracuse University’s Burton Blatt Institute,
said in an interview with the American Bar Association’s Commission on
Disability Rights, because it frequently strips adults capable of making
their own decisions of their rights.
“What rights are the most important to you?” Martinis asked,
rhetorically, then enumerated some examples of freedoms that the average
American has, such as the freedom of speech or to determine one’s
living or work arrangements. He added, “If those rights are important to
you, then that answers the question” of why guardianship should not be
the default for students who have reached the age of majority. “Because,
by definition, guardianship takes away rights from people.” Studies
have shown that when people with disabilities have more control over
their lives, when they have self-determination, they tend to thrive at
school, work, and in their communities.
Schools should be suggesting alternatives to guardianship to parents instead, Martinis said. He is best known for his work on Supported Decision-Making (SDM),
an alternative to guardianship and a process of making decisions with
the support of one’s community. Through SDM, adults with disabilities
can make informed decisions, maintaining their autonomy and
independence, and fulfilling one of the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act to enable students to “be prepared to lead productive and independent adult lives, to the maximum extent possible.”
Martinis secured a major victory for proponents of SDM more than a decade ago. On August 2, 2013, a judge declared
that Jenny Hatch, then a 29-year-old woman with Down syndrome under a
temporary guardianship she did not want, could, after one year, regain
decision-making authority. Most significantly, the Court determined
that, while in guardianship and after the guardianship terminated, Hatch
should use SDM. Since then, more than half of the states in the U.S.
have changed their laws to recognize SDM as an alternative to
guardianship. Particularly noteworthy, six states and D.C. have passed
laws that recognize SDM within transition planning and
transfer-of-rights discussions for students with disabilities
approaching the age of majority.
Asked how parents, many of whom don’t have the money to hire an
attorney, can determine whether guardianship is necessary, Martinis
responded that they can ask the school, “Where is my child needing
support?” Once it’s clear what those needs are, parents and school can
start to address them. And it’s best to include the student, who can use
SDM to develop a plan, Martinis said.
The District of Columbia Public Schools created the first education policy
on SDM. “They talk about working with kids in pre-K on building
networks to help them make decisions,” Martinis said. “I always say it
sounds like a joke. You have a three-year-old trying to decide between
cookies and crackers or orange juice and apple juice. But here’s why
it’s brilliant. Because if you take a pre-K student and tell them that
they have a choice to make, and [that] it’s their choice to make, and
that they should seek help and support in making that choice, what
you’ve done is you’ve started a habit. And as decisions get tougher, as
they get older, they’ll use that habit, and they’ll know that
decision-making is important, and that support is important, and those
things carry through the rest of their lives.”
Rebecca Smith-Hill, Ph.D., serves as Associate Director, Center for
Transition Research and Leadership at the University of South Carolina,
and is a social worker, a former middle school and high school special
education teacher, and an adjunct professor. She agrees that teaching
students SDM skills early on is critical. She said that the issue at the
heart of the pipeline is “the over-protection of people with
disabilities—in particular, those with an intellectual disability.”
Smith-Hill added that “the whole idea of low expectations for people
with disabilities, particularly intellectual disabilities, must be
changed for the guardianship conversation to change substantially.”
Smith-Hill has written
about the role of social workers in improving transition outcomes
through alternatives to guardianship. She noted that there are “so many
alternatives to guardianship—and there are alternatives along a
continuum as well,” including medical or financial power of attorney.
Social workers should learn as much as they can about SDM and then share
their knowledge with other social workers, professionals, teachers, and
parents. Smith-Hill added that “social workers who are doing direct
service/support work with students with disabilities can empower these
folks by giving them opportunities for and teaching them skills toward
self-determination,” and that their parents should be educated on their
importance.
Shawn Ullman serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Quality Trust, a
DC-based nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that
people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the
supports and services they need to live full and meaningful lives. In an
interview with the Commission, she stated that lawyers working with
young adults with disabilities and their families “have a responsibility
to ensure they understand and are guiding their clients through the
wide array of decision-making options available beyond guardianship.”
Quality Trust helped create the National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making,
launched in January 2015. For more than a decade, the Center has
trained thousands of people throughout the country on SDM and continues
to provide training and technical assistance. They also assist young
adults residing in the District of Columbia to execute legal documents
that implement alternatives to guardianship, such as SDM Agreements and
Powers of Attorney.
Funding cuts to federal programs and other legislative decisions
could exacerbate the school-to-guardianship pipeline, Ullman and
Smith-Hill said. For example, if Medicaid is cut or restructured, fewer
services funded through Medicaid such as in-home care will be available,
which could “roll back decades of advocacy for people with disabilities
and a possible regression to large, congregate facilities where people
are isolated from their families and support networks, have limited if
any choices, and little opportunity for employment or growth toward
independence,” Ullman explained.
In conclusion, where guardianship is being considered for special
education students who age out of IDEA eligibility (usually age 21 or
upon graduation), it is essential that schools, parents, social workers,
and lawyers explore alternatives such as SDM that empower individuals
with disabilities to make informed choices about how they want to live
their lives.
Witness the harrowing 911 call of Kimberly Sullivan, a stepson's captivity horror that will leave you shaken to the core. With a shocking testimony that's reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw level terror, the son recounts his emotional survival story of true crime and victim testimony. This crime documentary real story is not for the faint of heart, but for true crime fanatics, it's a must-listen. In the face of harrowing experiences is a testament to the human spirit, Kimberley's 911 call to action will leave you wanting more. So, buckle up and get ready for a true crime story that will haunt you long after the call ends.
Since 2017, three generations have taken care
of Gladys Ortiz, an 83-year-old woman who lives in Miami and struggles
with Parkinson's and dementia. Among them is her daughter, Yanira
Portuondo, who views being a caregiver for Ortiz as a second, full-time
job.
"She's having hallucinations. Sometimes she doesn't recognize
me. There are days that, going from the living room to the bathroom,
she gets lost," Portuondo said.
Without help, Portuondo says her mom "wouldn't last a week by herself."
The
family is luckier than some. Medicaid pays for a home care aide to
pitch in 38 hours a week. But that still leaves 130 hours in a week —
every week — where the family's spending time and money on her care.
"Everyone
has a life of their own, of course, but the priority is making sure
she's okay. We try to make sure that everybody's needs have been met,"
Portuondo said.
Nearly 70% of Americans aged 65 and older will require some form of long-term care
during their lifetime, according to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services — and the cost of this type of care will likely be
difficult to pay out of pocket for many Americans.
"If you're not a
caregiver, you'll either need caregiving or you'll become a caregiver,"
said Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, the CEO of AARP.
That's why the issue is one of the organization's top priorities.
"I
definitely think it's a crisis. How do I make decisions about their
care? How do I have the financial means to be able to do this?"
Minter-Jordan said.
In the U.S., family caregivers, on average, spend a quarter of their income taking care of loved ones, according to AARP.
Some
states are looking to help ease the burden. In 2023, Washington state
added a payroll tax, money now used to fund long-term care insurance for
its residents. A dozen other states are considering variations of long-term care taxes. AARP is also advocating for a $5,000 federal tax credit to benefit caregiving families.
"It's not going away, and the problem is only going to increase," Minter-Jordan said.
Meanwhile, Portuondo worries about the future — in 20 years, will her daughter have to care for her?
"I
could never have imagined I would be in this position ever," Portuondo
said. "Most of the time, I'm exhausted. But every time she gives me one
of those smiles, you know, it gives me a little strength to keep going."
For millions of American families, caregiving is a labor of love that can demand every bit of both.
IndyStar investigation reveals billions diverted from Indiana nursing homes
State inspection report, Aperion Care Arbors Michigan City, May 20, 2019.
Just
what is essential and exclusive local journalism, you ask? IndyStar
investigative reporter Tony Cook has been delivering it for years.
Cook's latest reporting is a continuation of a 2020 investigation into Indiana county hospitals diverting Medicaid funds meant for the nursing homes they operate.
That scheme has allowed the hospitals to to pad their bottom lines and
pay for construction and other projects unrelated to nursing home care
at a time when nursing home staffing in Indiana is among the worst in
the nation.
A companion piece
published Thursday shows that despite efforts to slash federal spending
in President Donald Trump's second term, there's little appetite so far to address this scheme that's impacting the care of Indiana's most vulnerable residents.
Cook's
dogged reporting is emblematic of IndyStar's commitment to watchdog and
accountability journalism. Our investigative and expanded government
accountability teams have worked independently and in collaboration to
bring readers revelatory reporting about how decisions by Indiana's most
powerful organizations impact our daily lives.
Rescuing Hearts Assisted Living Facility owner, caretaker guilty of exploiting victim
by Kayla Morton
BALTIMORE —
An owner
of a Baltimore assisted living facility has been sentenced to five years
after using a bank account of a patient in her care, the Maryland
Attorney General's Office said Friday.
Tavonia Stackhouse, the
owner of the Rescuing Hearts Assisted Living Facility, pleaded guilty to
financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and caretaker Monica
Brown was also charged, the attorney general said.
Officials said the vulnerable adult ended up hospitalized after
having confronted Stackhouse and Brown in May 2023. The attorney
general's office said Stackhouse pleaded guilty on March 3 and Brown
pleaded guilty shortly thereafter.
A judge sentenced Stackhouse to
five years, suspending all but 60 days in jail, with three years of
supervised probation, the attorney general's office said. Stackhouse was
also ordered to pay more than $25,000 in restitution.
Brown also
pleaded guilty to financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. She also
must serve five years, pay $3,000 in restitution, complete 100
community service hours and face three years of supervised probation,
the attorney general's office said.
Stackhouse and Brown's
probation terms also state that they are ordered not to provide care for
vulnerable adults or participate in Medicare, Medicaid or any other
federally funded health program.
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced the sentencing of Tavonia
Stackhouse and Monica Brown for financially exploiting a vulnerable
adult at Rescuing Hearts Assisted Living Facility in Baltimore City.
Stackhouse was sentenced to 60 days in jail and restitution of
$25,291.80, while Brown received time served, restitution of $3,000, and
100 hours of community service, with both defendants barred from
providing care for vulnerable adults or participating in federally
funded health programs.
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today
announced the sentencing of Tavonia Stackhouse, 47, of Randallstown,
Maryland, and Monica Brown, 49, of Baltimore, Maryland, relating to the
financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult while the victim lived at
Rescuing Hearts Assisted Living Facility in Baltimore City. Stackhouse
owned the assisted living facility, and Brown was a caretaker at the
facility.
From August of 2022 to May of 2023,
Stackhouse and Brown used the bank account of a vulnerable adult who
lived at their assisted living facility as if it were their own. When
the vulnerable adult confronted them, Stackhouse and Brown said the
victim was delusional and aggressive. This allegation led to the victim
being hospitalized and later relocated to a different facility.
“Residents of assisted living
facilities depend on their caretakers to look out for their best
interests—not to exploit them,” said Attorney General Brown. “Financial
abuse of vulnerable adults is a serious betrayal of trust, and our
Office will always stand up for Marylanders who cannot advocate for
themselves, holding accountable those who take advantage of them.”
On March 3, 2025, Stackhouse
pleaded guilty to financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult before
the Honorable Judge Althea Handy of the Circuit Court for Baltimore
City. Judge Handy sentenced her to five years, suspending all but 60
days in jail with three years of supervised probation, and to pay
restitution of $25,291.80.
On March 18, 2025, Brown pleaded
guilty to financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult before the
Honorable Judge Barry Williams of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
Judge Williams sentenced her to five years, suspended all but time
served, with three years of supervised probation, restitution of
$3,000.00, and 100 hours of community service.
As terms of probation, both
defendants were ordered not to provide care for vulnerable adults or
participate in Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally funded health
program.
In making today’s announcement,
Attorney General Brown thanked his Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims
Unit, particularly Deputy Director Lisa Hyle Marts, Assistant Attorney
General Kurt Davidson, Investigator Kevin Clements, Investigator Edward
Gray, and Fraud Analyst David Minzer for their work on this case.
The Maryland Office of the Attorney
General, Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit receives 75 percent
of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
under a grant award totaling $6,845,828 for Federal fiscal year (FY)
2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,281,939 for FY 2025, is
funded by the State of Maryland.
Imposter scams are on the rise, with criminals posing as representatives
of businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits to steal personal
information and money. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
business and government imposter scams were the most reported form of
imposter scams in 2023, resulting in over $1.1 billion in losses.
This research report reveals the following:
Over the past three years, approximately one in eight adults
(around 40 million individuals) have attempted to report an imposter
scam they experienced to the impersonated company via its website.
Banks and credit unions were the most contacted (44 percent), followed by online retail stores (29 percent).
More
than half (55 percent) of adults found it easy to navigate to the fraud
reporting section on the company website to report their experience of
imposter fraud. However, about a third faced difficulties, and 10
percent were unable to find the reporting location at all.
A
majority (58 percent) successfully reported their fraud experience on
the website, with most (56 percent) not needing to log in. As a result,
80 percent felt very or moderately satisfied with their website
experience.
The report highlights several important considerations for businesses to improve their fraud reporting mechanisms:
User-Friendly Design: Websites should be easy to navigate with clear instructions on how to report fraud.
Accessible Reporting Tools: Businesses should provide dedicated forms, hotlines, and prominently displayed email addresses for fraud reporting.
Regulatory Compliance: Adherence
to regulations like the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) is crucial for safeguarding sensitive data
and detecting suspicious activities.
Customer Education: Informing
customers about common fraud schemes and how to protect themselves
through FAQs, tutorials, and alerts about recent fraud trends is
beneficial.
Methodology
This national omnibus survey was conducted from July 25,
2024, through July 29, 2024, among a sample of n=1,102 adults age
18-plus, using NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability-based sample of
pre-recruited panel participants. The data are weighted to the latest
Current Population Survey (CPS) benchmarks developed by the U.S. Census
Bureau and are balanced by gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, and
region.
For more information, please contact Alicia R. Williams at arwilliams@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.
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