OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi physician was sentenced Thursday to 39 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution to the federal Medicare program, part of a continuing investigation into fraud by end-of-life hospice care providers in Mississippi.

Dr. Nathaniel Brown of Cleveland pleaded guilty in January to guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, admitting he certified patients as terminally ill and thus appropriate for hospice care, when in fact those patients were not terminally ill. He was sentenced Thursday in Oxford.

One sign of hospice fraud is the share of patients that don't die while under hospice care but are instead discharged. The U.S. Center for Medicaid and Medicaid Services found that in 2014, Mississippi led the nation in live discharges, with 20.4 percent of patients outliving hospice care.
That compared with a national rate of 11 percent that year. The share fell in 2015, to 17.9 percent, but Mississippi still ranked third among the states.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has led a multiyear investigation into fraud in Mississippi called Hospice Storm. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Dabbs has called hospice fraud a "runaway problem" in Mississippi, and at least eight people have been charged in the state since 2014. Angelic Hospice owner Regina Swims-King was sent to prison for nearly six years and ordered to pay back nearly $8 million.

Brown, who was the medical director of two Mississippi hospices, received $47,750 in payments by check, plus additional cash. Those hospices, in turn are alleged to have received $1.94 million in inappropriate payments from Medicare.

Two other people involved in those hospices have also pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Sandra Livingston pleaded guilty in 2015 and was sentenced to three years in prison and $1.1 million in restitution. Lara Lynn Thompson, a nurse who recruited patients for both of Livingston's hospices, pleaded guilty in 2015 and was sentenced to 13 months in prison. She shares the $1.1 million in restitution with Livingston, with $272,000 assigned to Thompson and $737,000 assigned to Livingston.

Criminal charges against Livingston say she took $600,000 from the scheme and gave another $200,000 to relatives.

Investigators say people sometimes go door-to-door to solicit patients. Thompson was such a runner. The recruiter then takes patients to be certified by a medical director, such as Brown.

Full Article & Source:
Physician Gets Prison for Phony Hospice Certifications

ROCKFORD — Doug Hillenburg took comfort knowing his father met a female friend to keep him company in 2014.

His mother died two years earlier and his retired father, Tom, had little social life outside of his family and the time he spent at local coffee shops. And even though a 30-year age difference raised some concern when the new relationship appeared romantic, Doug said he looked the other way because his dad appeared full of life again—at least more than he had the previous two years.

But, little did Doug know, Tom was not as healthy on the inside. A diabetic, he also suffered from cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. Thankfully, the support of his children, grandchildren and a budding romance presented a calming port in the storm. But that alleviation would be only temporary.

By 2015, Doug’s financially independent father was suddenly in debt. He mowed through more than an estimated $30,000 in petty cash and increased his use of his only credit card. Attributing the extravagance to newfound love, Doug took no action. Tom’s companion had taken over the duties of paying his bills and the couple appeared to be taking their relationship to the next level. There was no cause for alarm.

But when automatic bank drafts, personal checks and random withdrawals started eating up Tom’s $4,000 monthly pension and household bills were left unpaid, Doug could look away no longer.

“The (electric) bill was $700,” Doug said. “They were going to shut it off. The water bill was racked way up. There was a big Verizon bill. There was no money. At one point, (his bank account) was overdrawn by $1,300.”

But that wasn’t all. When Doug and his fiancée, Tracy, opened Tom’s books, they were met with a mountain of credit card debt, department store charges and title loans—accounts Tom did not previously have. A $22,000 loan put his new valentine behind the wheel of a Chevy Camaro, the second vehicle she obtained from the union. She still owns the SUV that belonged to Tom’s late wife.

“He signed (the SUV) over to her because she told him she needed a car,” Tracy said.

Doug and Tracy’s nightmare did not end by reigning in the pocketbook chain. His girlfriend had other plans. With mounting debt and Tom without regular doses of medication, the spending continued—trips, expensive jewelry and clothing. Tom was also paying to keep her in a house across town.
Then came a series of twists all too common in thousands of elder exploitation cases each year in the United States.

The first began Feb. 2, 2017, at a police station 80 miles from Rockford.

“He went out to have breakfast and get a haircut but ended up LaSalle,” Doug said. “He stopped for gas but didn’t have any cash.”

A confused Tom attempted to pay for the fuel with a garage door opener so an attendant called police.

Four days later, Tom was diagnosed with dementia. A followup visit was scheduled, but Tom would not keep it. His girlfriend made sure of that.

“She canceled the appointment and took him to the courthouse and married him,” Doug said.

And while Tom and his new bride claimed to be in love, Doug and Tracy, combing through a paper trail of reckless squander, called it something else.

“The only thing left she could try to get was his house,” Doug said of the free-and-clear property that was his childhood home.

And she nearly succeeded.

A records search showed that Tom’s wife put herself on title to the property and applied for a home loan that would eventually be denied. The battle continued though. Because the marriage had been recorded, relief from the courts was Doug’s only option to save his ailing father’s life.

“Personally, I believe he would have been dead if we hadn’t intervened,” Doug said. “He wasn’t getting his medicine. He wasn’t getting his blood-sugar taken. Even though we were told he was being taken care of, I have pictures and proof he wasn’t.”

Doug is now Tom’s legal guardian and the marriage has been dissolved—ruled invalid because of the elder’s state of mind. He is now in a nursing home, safe. Although it was not part of the plan when they realized he was sick.

“We had a visiting nurse all set up,” Doug said. “He could have afforded to stay in the house for as long as he could—probably for the rest of his life. Then when he passed, my brother and I would have just sold the house and that would have been it.”

Instead, Doug has turned to Medicare. That means the house and Tom’s other equitable assets will likely be seized.

In total, he said his father was exploited out of more than $100,000. The $20,000 Doug and Tracy have paid to lawyers and creditors in the last few months have come out of their pocket. Tracy even left her full-time job to sort through Tom’s affairs.

According to the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA), home repair, investment and phone scams are common among seniors, along with unauthorized transfer of real estate, theft and fraud.

In Illinois, financial exploitation of the elderly and those with disabilities is a felony, and punishments increase depending on the ages of the victim and amounts taken. It is a Class 4 felony if property value is $300 or less. Class 3 felonies involve property between $301 and $5,000. If the property value is $5,000 or more, but less than $50,000, offenders can be charged with a Class 2 felony. Class 1 felonies involve property of $50,000 or more and the victim is 70 or older, and property value of $15,000 taken from victims 80 and older.

A Class 1 felony is punishable by between four and 15 years in prison.

“We have turned everything over to detectives,” Doug said. “We are now waiting to see what happens, but we are hoping she goes to jail.”

Full Article & Source:
Rockford man says father was bilked by younger girlfriend

As a recent federal audit made clear, the state of Maine is failing people with disabilities in many ways. Here’s a partial list that should cause outcry from the public and action from the Legislature:

— The Maine Department of Health and Human Services did not investigate a single one of the 133 deaths of people with developmental disabilities while under the care of community-based providers across the state between January 2013 and June 2015. It was required to under an agreement with the federal government.

— It failed to report suspicious deaths of adults with developmental disabilities to law enforcement agencies to determine if crimes had been committed. It’s required to under state law.

— When community providers who care for those with disabilities told the department about people potentially being physically or verbally abused, neglected, exploited, sexually abused or subject to medication errors, the state accepted only 5 percent of cases, out of 15,897, for an adult protective investigation between 2013 and 2015. The state was required to investigate all cases per the agreement with the federal government that allows it to receive federal Medicaid funds.

— DHHS failed to notify community providers of the results of its investigations. It is important for those running group homes or overseeing caseworkers to know the results, so they can remove people from possible danger, and prevent neglectful or abusive employees from continuing to work with vulnerable clients.

— The department failed to refer all of the cases of suspected abuse, neglect and exploitation to a district attorney or police department for an additional, potential criminal investigation. State law requires the department to “immediately” inform the appropriate district attorney’s office of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation.

— Maine lost 16 beds, likely two-thirds of the state’s capacity, to safely care for people with intellectual disabilities who are experiencing crises that put them and the people they live with in unsafe situations when the state’s contract with a nonprofit provider ended June 30 with no replacement. The organization gave the state months of warning that it would not continue the contract because it wasn’t receiving enough funding from the state to cover costs. Maine law requires that the state maintain “adequate capacity” to help people with disabilities who are experiencing a crisis and cannot safely remain in their own homes.

— DHHS has not made public information about crisis services for people with intellectual disabilities, such as how many crisis beds exist, since 2013, leaving providers in the dark about how to handle clients who may harm themselves or others. State law requires the department to publish a report on the matter at least once a year.

— Over the past decade, direct support providers — those who ensure people with disabilities take their medication, help them eat and use the bathroom, and run group homes to provide a safe place for them to live — have faced staffing shortages and vacancies as reimbursement rates for services paid for by MaineCare, Maine’s version of Medicaid, have been cut by 30 percent since 2007. The percentage accounts for inflation. Rates are set by the Maine Legislature.

— In the past year, a minimum of 24group homes have closed, leaving 69 people with disabilities displaced. In about the next six months, another 12 homes are expecting to close, bringing the total number of people with disabilities displaced up to 109.

This is a pattern of failure that deserves an outcry from the public. With DHHS giving no indication it will change course, it will be up to community members to tell their lawmakers they expect major improvements. If DHHS won’t change on its own, it will be up to the Maine Legislature to force it to.

Full Article & Source:
Here’s a list of the ways Maine is failing its most vulnerable that should prompt action

Lacey Sponsler

Sponsler was also arrested in March for stealing a woman’s Coach purse from a bowling alley in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, reported NEWSON6.

“The deal was after she got her plea bargain form the judge, she would use the money she had coming to by two bus tickets to Seattle, Washington,” Anderson told KJRH. 

Instead, Anderson and Denney allege Sponsler used a ladder to break a window and move into the home.

“She said that the while time that she’s been here this is her residence and we never gave her permission,” Sharon Denney said.

Full Article & Source:
Panty-less cartwheeling teacher now accused of squatting in elderly couple’s house

A personal care home employee accused of withdrawing money from an Alzheimer’s patient’s bank account is in jail on a charge of exploitation of the elderly.

Maxine Donaldson, 51, was arrested Monday on the felony charge that carries a potential prison term of up to 20 years. She is expected to be in Richmond County Magistrate Court on Wednesday for an initial appearance.

According to the arrest warrant, Donaldson added herself to the bank account of a 69-year-old resident of the Shavonna’s Place of Care on Fairview Avenue. The warrant states that Donaldson withdrew $27,989 from the bank account between Oct. 25 and July 24.

The warrant accuses Donaldson of obtaining access to the bank account through undue influence, coercion, duress, deception or false representation.

According to the Department of Community Health, Shavonna’s, a state-licensed home for up to six patients, had no violations during its latest inspection in March. In February 2015, an investigation of three complaints at the home also found no violations.

When The Augusta Chronicle checked earlier in the year on business licenses for local personal care homes, Shavonna’s did not have one, which meant it had not undergone a fire marshal’s inspection. The home has since then become licensed, according to the city’s licensing and inspection division.

Donaldson had been the administrator of another personal care home, Maxi Maxi on Damascus Road.

Full Article & Source:
Personal care home worker accused of exploitation of elderly

Ana Zaharia and Daniel Zaharia

BUFORD, GA (CBS46) - On November 17, 2016, a Gwinnett County Police Department Special Victims Unit detective was assigned an exploitation of an at-risk adult case.

The complaint was forwarded to GCPD from the Duluth Police Department after being initially reported by the victim’s bank.

The basis of the case was suspicions that Ana Zaharia, 34, and her husband, Daniel Zaharia, 41, may possibly be financially exploiting a 64-year old Buford woman and her late husband’s estate.

The 64-year old woman’s husband was a successful business owner prior to his death.

A forensic audit was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Financial Investigations Unit.

After receiving the results of the audit, it appeared as though the Zaharias were diverting significant sums of money--at least a half million dollars--from the victim for their own personal use.

This had been going on for several years.

The detective said that Ana was the victim’s housekeeper.

Ana arranged for her husband and children to move into the victim’s home.

On July 7, 2017, two detectives visited the victim’s home on Anna Ruby Lane in Buford.

Upon their arrival, they noticed the 64-year old woman on the floor of her bedroom suffering from an apparent fall.

She was taken to a local hospital to be treated. After she was transported from the home, both suspects were interviewed.

Following their interview with the suspects, the detectives followed up with an interview with the victim at the local hospital.

On July 13, the detectives, along with Gwinnett Senior Services returned to the residence. Ana and Daniel were then placed under arrest. They were both charged with:

 Exploitation of an At-Risk Adult (16-5-102)

 Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) (16-14-4)

 Theft by Taking (16-8-2)

 Records and Reports of Currency (7-1-915)

The victim refused to be placed in an alternate senior home despite numerous attempts made by the detectives and the representative from Gwinnett Senior Services.

Ana and Daniel were transported to the Gwinnett County Jail on Thursday, July 13, and have since bonded out.

According to the lead detective, Ana and Daniel have special considerations of bond stating that they are not allowed to have any contact with the victim.

Full Article & Source:
Gwinnett Special Victims Unit arrests couple for exploiting elderly housekeeper

Kansas' attorney general is leading a nationwide push to identify elder abuse and find ways to help in the fight against the growing problem.

It's estimated that one out of every 10 elderly people who live at home in their later years will become a victim of abuse. Elder abuse can include physical abuse, neglect and financial abuse or exploitation.

It is a crime in Kansas to commit abuse on seniors which, by Attorney General Derek Schmidt's definition, includes anyone 65 and above. As of 2010, there were more than 40 million people over 65 in the U.S.

Schmidt was elected recently to a one-year term as president of the National Association of Attorneys General and has enlisted the AGs in every state to study the problem and come up with possible solutions.

The results will be presented at a summit in Manhattan, Kansas, next April.

Full Article & Source:
Kansas AG Launches National Effort To Combat Elder Abuse

Nellie Keffer won an $80,000 award from a nursing home she claims had brutally abused her husband. Weeks later, her lawyers sent her a bill for $71,000.

There is no shortage of aggrieved nursing home negligence or medical malpractice plaintiffs who express serious misgivings about the quality of their representation, and the fees lawyers assess against them after securing awards. One such attorney is Michael Fuller of McHugh Fuller, a Mississippi-based firm specializing in nursing home litigation.

A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation suggests that McHugh Fuller and its allies bankroll a nonprofit that promotes litigation in the states where they practice. The firms then collect a huge percentage of the awards they secure, while quality long term care is compromised by their tactics.

Fuller‘s former clients describe an attorney who is elusive and inattentive, but all too eager to collect large percentages of the awards he secures. His firm also evidences a history of misleading advertising that has resulted in sanctions from state courts. What’s more, his law partner, James McHugh, is intimately connected to a Pennsylvania-based law practice that bankrolled a nursing home oversight group called Families for Better Care, which tax records suggests may be a front to provoke litigation in jurisdictions where the firm frequently practices.

As a result of relentless litigation in certain jurisdictions of the sort practiced by these firms, quality longterm care has all but withdrawn from states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

McHugh Fuller declined comment for this story.

Big Awards, Bigger Fees

Fuller represented Mrs. Keffer in litigation she brought against a West Virginia nursing home she claims abused her late husband, Ralph Keffer, while he was in their care. Mr. Keffer subsequently died while in the care of a separate facility. After a lengthy mediation process, the nursing home agreed to settle for $80,000. Mrs. Keffer recovered $50,000 of that award.

Per an initial settlement agreement reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation, Medicare and Medicaid were entitled to collect a $25,000 lien from the award, and McHugh Fuller kept $5,000 in attorneys fees. However, Medicare and Medicaid declined to collect the lien, so Fuller kept the $25,000.

“He didn’t ask me if he could take it or anything like that, he just took that amount,” Mrs. Keffer told TheDCNF. Thereafter, she attempted to contact him repeatedly over a period of several months.

“Every time I called him he would be out of the office, he would never call me back,” she said. “He just wouldn’t talk to me.”

After settling the case, Keffer received an itemized bill from McHugh Fuller for $71,000. TheDCNF obtained a copy of the statement. Ultimately, she was not made to pay out any of the charges.

In the early going, Keffer says Fuller was diligent in his supervision of the case and in communicating with her on a regular basis. As the litigation progressed over time, however, he became less and less interested.

“In the beginning, he cared about my case, but then as time went on … he didn’t want anything to do with [it],” she told TheDCNF. She further said she regrets her decision to settle the case, especially after learning of the full extent of the abuse to which her late husband may have been subject.

“He treated me very unfairly in the end,” she said of Fuller.

Keffer ultimately lodged a complaint against Fuller with the West Virginia Bar Association, which dismissed the claim. According to documents reviewed by TheDCNF, Fuller said he guaranteed the Keffer estate a $50,000 award. He further claimed that he told Mrs. Keffer any reduction in the Medicare/Medicaid lien would be retained by the firm.

“The remaining allegation in this complaint is a fee dispute,” the Bar Association’s ruling read. “The Lawyer Disciplinary Board will not resolve such disputes unless the fee charged is in violation of law or grossly excessive on its face and that does not appear to be the case here.”

Complaints about Fuller‘s fees have been voiced by other clients. McHugh Fuller represented another litigant, Lora Jarrell, in a wrongful death action she brought against the nursing home where her mother, Ursula Gerencir, died in 2009. Fuller secured a $250,000 award for her and her brother — and kept $150,000 of it.

“I never understood why they needed $150,000 for expenses, but I didn’t argue,” she told TheDCNF.

“They’re taking more of their share of the money than they’re supposed to,” she added.

Like Keffer, Jarrell also claims she did not confer often with Fuller. Neither Fuller nor his law partner came to the case’s final proceedings.

“I wasn’t happy about that,” she said. “But they took all the money.”

Jarrell was unable to produce an itemized bill from the firm for TheDCNF. She also said that she was pleased McHugh Fuller was able to secure an award against the nursing home.

Misleading Advertising

Some nursing homes around the country have accused the firm of deceptive, misleading, or false advertising. An Ohio nursing home, Heartland of Urbana OH, LLC, brought a suit against McHugh Fuller late in 2014 for violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and defamation. The firm bought full page ads in a local paper indicating the nursing home had been sanctioned by the federal government for “failing to provide necessary care and service to maintain the highest well-being of each resident.” The ad specifically solicited contacts from individuals whose loved ones may have suffered “bedsores, broken bones, unexplained injuries, or death” in Heartland’s care.

Heartland argues the ad falsely left readers with the impression the facility had been cited recently. In point of fact, the nursing home had not been cited for concerns even remotely similar to those expressed in the advertisement since 2010.

Nursing home citations are assessed across a spectrum of “A” to “L,” with “L” being the most severe. Heartland received an “E” level violation in 2010 because of three instances court documents describe as “relatively minor.” They include failure to document and administer a laxative prescribed for constipation, failure to reassess abdominal pain within 18 hours, and failure to administer an antibiotic. In these cases, no serious harm befell any of the residents, and no person in the nursing home’s care suffered the sorts of injuries referenced in the ad because of staff negligence or poor quality of care.

The facility was also cited for violations in 2012, though they were less severe than the 2010 citation. U.S. News awarded the facility a three out of five star rating, matching or exceeding three of the nearest four nursing homes.

An Ohio appeals court found that McHugh Fuller‘s ad was “literally false” by necessary implication in Sept. 2016. Though the fact, it concluded, of Heartland’s citation was literally true, “the words ‘considered in context necessarily imply a false message.'” A lower court initially sided with McHugh Fuller in the dispute.

A Front Group For Litigation?

McHugh Fuller partner James McHugh practiced law at a Pennsylvania-based firm called Wilkes McHugh for 17 years before joining his current firm. Wilkes McHugh is a multi-service outfit representing clients in appeals proceedings, bankruptcy court, and a wide range of personal injury areas, including nursing home negligence.

Tax records show Wilkes McHugh was the primary financier of an advocacy group called Families for Better Care (FFBC), a nursing home watchdog frequently cited as an authority on quality of care. The group’s director, Brian Lee, was cited in a newspaper report as recently as March 3. Lee previously served in Florida state government as an ombudsman for the Department of Elder Affairs, but was ousted from government service in 2011. He claims the administration of Florida Gov. Rick Scott forced him from office under pressure from the nursing home lobby.

The group frequently publishes a national report card ranking the quality of nursing homes in each state and the District of Columbia. The states in which both Wilkes McHugh and McHugh Fuller are active, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi, Ohio, and Kentucky perform dismally in the reviews.

A review of the organization’s tax records from 2011 to 2014 show that Wilkes McHugh essentially bankrolled the group. For example, FFBC reported $69,400 in revenue on their 2011 990. The same record shows the entirety of that amount came from a donation given by Wilkes McHugh. The following year, the group reported $130,000 in revenue, all of which came from a donation from the firm, as in the previous year. The pattern follows for 2013 and 2014. The firm was the group’s sole benefactor in three of the four years during this period.

“Families for Better Care has a diversity of supporters, that in the past, we can proudly state included Wilkes and McHugh,” the group told TheDCNF in response to an inquiry about their relationship to the firm.

Wilkes McHugh partner James Wilkes II denied that his firm directs the organization in any way in an interview with TheDCNF. He said his firm’s motives were entirely philanthropic.

“I don’t think we are the primary benefactor,” Wilkes told TheDCNF. “We got involved when Brian Lee resigned as ombudsman.” Wilkes claims their professional relationship began when he read accounts of Lee’s dismissal in Florida newspapers.

Wilkes claimed he could not recall if he has ever met Lee. He further claims the cumulative total of their conversations runs less than 30 minutes.

In a separate 2014 interview with local media, Lee went even further than Wilkes, claiming he has never spoken with anyone from Wilkes McHugh.

Wilkes has a five-star AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell for high ethical standing, and has won several awards for his work litigating around longterm care issues. He is a previous nominee for the AARP’s National Aging and Law Award.

FFBC also disputed that their advocacy was meant to promote business for the firm.

“In regard to our nursing home annual report, our methodology is included on the report card’s website, which shows it’s based on federal data,” Lee told TheDCNF. “Finally, we are proud of our determined advocacy on behalf of residents and their rights, to ensure they receive the best care possible.”

Lee’s activities raise questions about the tax-status of the group, which is a registered 501(c)3 group. The IRS requires nonprofits to disclose any and all lobbying activity and lobbying-related expenses on government forms. Lee has written in the Florida press about matters pending in the state legislature, identified as a “lobbyist” in applying for other positions according to court documents reviewed by TheDCNF, and describes himself as an “advocate for changes in laws and regulations” on his LinkedIn page. Despite this, the organization did not disclose any lobbying on its tax forms.

What’s more, Wilkes McHugh’s lobbying and media firm, Vancore Jones, is intimately connected to FFBC. The firm’s two principals, Steve Vancore and Andrew Jones, registered as officers of FFBC.

 Both previously registered as lobbyists for Wilkes McHugh in Florida, according to state records. The registrant-contact for FFBC’s domain name is also an employee of Vancore Jones.

All told, FFBC appears more closely connected to Wilkes McHugh than its principals contend.
In addition to client complaints, court sanctions, and its connection to FFBC, McHugh Fuller attracted notoriety for its involvement in the purchase of a private jet from a judge they had occasion to argue before, and for a bevy of campaign donations to the same judge that campaign finance experts say resembles an illegal straw-donor scheme.

Full Article & Source:
Anatomy Of A Scam: How Lawyers Hurt Clients And Crush Nursing Homes

Laura Hawkins

QUINCY -- A Keokuk, Iowa, woman was convicted of a theft charge Wednesday stemming from allegations that she stole from an elderly family member living in a Quincy nursing home.

Court records show that Laura Hawkins, 56, was found guilty in a bench trial before Judge Charles Burch after she waived her right to a jury trial.

Hawkins was initially charged with two counts of financial exploitation of the elderly, but those charges were dismissed Wednesday.

After Hawkins' arrest in February 2016, the Quincy Police Department said it was notified by Sycamore Healthcare of a 77-year-old resident who was possibly being exploited by a family member acting as a power of attorney for the resident. An investigation found that several thousand dollars allegedly had been misused.

Sentencing in the case was set for Sept. 6. Hawkins could be sentenced to two to five years in prison. She is eligible for probation.

Full Article & Source:
Keokuk woman convicted of theft from elderly relative

Maureen Callahan and her father,Vietnam War veteran Bill

In 2014, after it was revealed that at least 75 US veterans had died while waiting to get appointments at their VA hospitals — with more than 120,000 never tended to, just abandoned or deliberately shuffled from one bureaucratic boondoggle to another — public outcry forced the following: congressional hearings, an internal VA investigation, an Obama administration investigation, an FBI criminal probe, a RAND Corp. investigation, an Office of Special Counsel investigation, and the “early retirement” of VA chief Dr. Robert Petzel and Eric Shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs.

“I assure you, if there is misconduct, it will be punished,” then-President Barack Obama said. “I want every veteran to know we are going to fix what is wrong.”

Yes, the federal government was going to internally fix what was wrong with a massive, federally funded institution.

Last Thursday, more than three years and two new secretaries later, the New York Times reported that current head David Shulkin is fighting to keep out the director of the Washington Medical Center, Brian Hawkins, who was fired last month for running a hospital at “the highest levels of chaos.”

Hawkins has appealed to the government’s Merit Systems Protections Board, claiming wrongful termination. The board gave him a stay, even though President Trump signed a law in June eliminating appeals by senior department executives to that body. But because disciplinary action was initiated against Hawkins in April, his lawyer claims wrongful termination — such action predates the new law.

So Shulkin now says he’ll use new evidence to keep Hawkins out, even though Hawkins can then appeal to a new internal review board, about which we know little.

What is clear is that multiple federally appointed boards and committees are working at cross-purposes to ostensibly fix the VA.

Sound absurd? Like the height of dysfunction and bureaucratic infighting, siphoning time, money and attention away from the very people Veterans Affairs and the federal government are meant to protect?

Welcome to the VA.

If you’ve never dealt with the VA, it’s impossible to understand how infuriating, dispiriting and broken it is. My initiation dates back to November 2013, when my father, a Vietnam vet, was scheduled for surgery to remove a supposedly localized mass in one lung.

We were told to arrive at the hospital at 11 a.m., before he’d be wheeled into the OR — which we did, only to find an empty hospital room. Where was he?

Oh, we were told, he was wheeled in at 7 a.m.

Why? No one had an answer.

Four hours later, a very kind resident emerged to tell us they had been wrong: My father actually had Stage IV lung cancer. There was nothing they could do and they were closing him up now. The doctor who’d made this catastrophic misdiagnosis, it turned out, was also the lead surgeon, and I asked to speak with him.

The resident told me that wasn’t possible. Why? He couldn’t say.

“No, really,” I said. “Why can’t I speak to my father’s surgeon?”

“You just can’t,” came the reply.

It was a harbinger of stonewalling to come. The VA loves to claim all kinds of outreach, services and benefits, but you’d better know your way around. At the Brooklyn VA, the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) maintains offices, but if you seek help from them, you can’t seek help directly from the VA — and DAV reps often aggressively pursue confused veterans.


Who benefits and by how much is unclear, but DAV employees aren’t always transparent with these veterans, some of whom my father and I met one winter weekday.

These men were older, sick and frail. One had risen early, made a very long drive, and now sat with the others outside these offices. They were waiting for their representative to show for their scheduled appointments.

I asked how long they’d been waiting. Hours, they told me. Their rep might not show up at all. It happened all the time. They had no choice but to wait.

Couldn’t they complain?

They laughed. To whom?

My dad and I walked down the hall looking for help. There, in a big office overlooking the river, sat a well-fed, well-tended anonymous chief of something. His role was deliberately ambiguous, but he had a corner office. Surely he could do something.

We walked in and I asked where the DAV rep was. Did he know there was a line of older vets waiting for help?  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
My father and the dysfunctional, broken VA

Loretta Anne Woodward Veney and her mother Doris Woodward

Still, these books are all in their own way utterly essential reading. Few of us are prepared for the financial and emotional complexities of managing the last several years of our lives. But as we live longer, drain what may prove to be inadequate retirement savings and lean harder on already strained government programs, we’ll probably find ourselves facing ever more challenging questions and unfortunate compromises.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
Hard-Won Advice in Books on Aging and Elder Care

Dwayne "Deuke" Eukel 07/23/55 - 12/04/15

During the 1990's, I had pleasure of knowing and working with Dwayne "Deuke" Eukel. He was a highly skilled investigative reporter who worked briefly in Las Vegas for a weekly publication. During his tenure, Mr. Eukel authored the following articles that were recently discovered in his personal notes after his death in 2015.
- Steve Miller

"Criminal Extrodinaire"
By Dwayne "Deuke" Eukel
Senior Editor, Las Vegas Tribune, Monday, December 8, 2008
Seven years after writing a series of articles in the Las Vegas Tribune, about the abuses of former Clark County Public Administrator/Public Guardian, Jared Shafer; many individuals are contacting me asking for help to call attention, once again, to what they consider (as would any reasonable person) to be the continued abuse of certain citizens that have fallen into Shafer's hands as a "court appointed guardian."

Shafer started a private "guardianship" (Fiduciary) business in Las Vegas, Nevada, and had his first "client," before he even left the Public Administrator's office in 2003. A hearing conducted by the Clark County Commission's Ethic's Committee looked into the charge that Shafer had used his public office to further a private career.

The results of the hearing determined that while Shafer was indeed still "officially" in office, he took on the clients, with the convenient misunderstanding that he was already out of office. Records show that he had received his last pay check only days before he left office, not to mention a $70,000 payment for all the "sick time" he never took.

Many believe that his paycheck and his "sick leave" payment, wasn't all he took home with him to his new and exciting business of private guardianship. Some believe that Shafer probably got away with hundreds of millions in cash, and jewelry and other valuable items.

Recently, individuals have surfaced to tell me that Shafer's abusive practices are still ongoing. One client, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me that Shafer sits in the back of Family Court, waiting for uncontested guardianship issues that involve wealthy seniors; looks to the judge "who seems to be in his pocket, or on his payroll" and has the judge appoint Shafer as guardian of those individuals.

The law requires that an inventory list of property and assets are to be reported within 60 days by the guardian. It is reported that Shafer has not complied with this requirement -- "ever."

Complaints about personal property being pilfered; cash, known to be in the homes of these wealthy senior citizens, being stolen; antiques, jewelry, and later, real property, becoming liquidated, are numerous. Complaints that his clients get no care, or low quality care is so prevalent that it is incredible he has not been charged with serious crimes.

Jared Shafer seems to have gotten away with more criminal behavior than anyone I know. It is my belief that he does so with the blessing of judges, and lawyers and ultimately, law enforcement agencies that have either turned a blind eye to his practices, or do not have "iron-clad" cases tied up in pretty little packages with neat little bows on top.

In my opinion, the Justice Department should be scrutinizing Shafer with a powerful magnifying glass. And folks, be it known that this kind of thing goes on all over the country. This is an ugly blight in America and ought to be stopped immediately. How about it President Obama - could you look into these charges please?

The following articles are being republished in this format. Originally, I wrote the articles as the Senior Editor for the Las Vegas Tribune from 2002 to 2004. I will add updates to this ongoing story as they come in, because sincerely folks, according to several sources, Jared Shafer continues his so called, "Legal thievery and abuse."

These sources have indicated that Jared Shafer is reinforced through a corrupt judicial system in Nevada; that he continues "confiscating personal property for personal gain, and seizes real estate belonging to families caught in his web of lies."

All of this, we're told, through attorney-driven maneuvering, which on the face of it, seems legal. However, as my investigation back then proved, and sources today still accuse, Jared Shafer, either directly or through "minions," continues elderly abuse, grand theft, and fraud. "It still boggles our minds that he has not been arrested and thrown into jail; if anyone deserves it, it is Jared Shafer," states a family member of one of his Family Court appointed wards.

These latest allegations toward Shafer, are under investigation.

*********************

The following news article was originally published June 16, 2002

A News Story That Should Not Go Away
By D. "Deuke" Eukel
(former) - Las Vegas Tribune  Senior Editor

There are some news stories that just won't go away, especially when it involves serious events and determined individuals. Others in high places wish these particular stories and the persons writing them -- would just go away.

Anna Marie Gaule

The story of a wealthy elderly widow named Anna Marie Gaule, 70, and her son Thomas, who have been lifetime residents of Las Vegas; and of the story of Thomas, who was almost murdered by hired thugs, (they used 100,000 volt tasers on him), November 25th 1998, "Because," he said, "Since 1996, I have desperately been trying to rescue my mother from the hold of the public guardian’s office - namely Jared Shafer."

This intertwined story bears more scrutiny than most. Thomas told the Las Vegas Tribune that his mother, Anna Marie, was "abducted from her home by persons associated with the public administrator, Jared Shafer." And he added, "They have used their power and influence to steal every dollar they can get their devious hands on...and now they're trying to kill her with drugs and serious beatings."

The events surrounding Thomas and his mother -- is one of those stories that refuse to fade away. In a recent Las Vegas Tribune article, Thomas Gaule accused Jared Shafer, the retiring public administrator, and formerly public guardian, of being a "thief and a murderer." Gaule is not alone in his accusations. He said he "feels alone though...in his court battle, against the public administrator," which he says, have been able to "control courts, police and even the FBI. None of these entities have lifted a finger to help, or even care," Gaule said.

"This is what we have come to. Police won't take reports, charges aren't filed, courts won't listen to evidence and the FBI has decided not to investigate public officials’ criminal actions any longer," stated Gaule.

Gaule added that, "Maybe if Dan Rather were here... or that show, 48-Hours came to Vegas to look into these events, then people would listen to the emergency cries for help and get off their tush and look into what’s happening here. It’s as if we're screaming and there is no voice. It’s like everyone’s in a coma.... People say, oh that’s terrible, but what they don't realize is that it has been happening wholesale for years. You think my mother is the only one this has happened to? There are thousands of elderly people that have no family that have been taken by the public administrator’s office, stripped of any dignity, raped financially and then eventually drugged to death."

When asked to explain his volatile accusations, Gaule presented the Tribune with documents which gave proof of potentially lethal drugs that were being administered to his mother by at least three doctors in Las Vegas, who according to Gaule, "were being subtly contracted by the public administrator’s office. While in the ‘care’ of facilities controlled by Shafer," Gaule said.

He has continued an ongoing court battle -- "....to at least get judges to look at the evidence of Shafer’s pilfering of financial accounts, and blatant abuse by employees in at least one Las Vegas nursing home. If the employees at the nursing homes aren't beating her up, the psychiatrists are slowly killing her with drugs. If I hadn't had three different psychiatrists removed because of the drugs they had prescribed to her needlessly, she'd be dead...." Gaule said.

He added, "Look at this," he said, producing pharmaceutical documents, which describe various drug manufacturer's warnings. The pages explained the lethal dangers involved with the intake of particular drugs -- prescribed to persons with certain disorders.

"These are what psychiatrists were giving my mother...she has a minor illness that these drugs have exacerbated and that are slowly killing her," said Gaule.

Gaule then stated, "First it started as high doses of Ibuprofen," (an over the counter drug, which slows the circulation and oxygen to the brain) "... Then they gave her, Zyprexa, Mellaril, Effexor, Paxil and other drugs. All these chemicals have one thing in common: they harm specifically, women, the elderly and those with specific illnesses. There are descriptions of, Sudden Death Syndrome, and in several, unbelievably can create Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and other diseases. Also that 'death may occur' - due to respiratory and circulatory depression."

Gaule pointed to another portion of the startling information: "You see this, it's the telltale; ‘no known antidote,’ which is at the tip of the iceberg," he said. "The result of ingesting these drugs and others in certain patients is the same – the cause and conditions and diseases they are supposed to stop, can cause other diseases or death."

Thomas has been in court so often he says he has an in-depth understanding of how the system is working against the victim instead of protecting their rights as the courts should be, "especially here in Nevada," he told the Tribune.

"I have been to the so-called, ‘Family Court’ so many times that I could draw a picture of the stains on the walls." In two separate court hearings, Judge William Voy and Judge Diane C. Steele told Gaule -- that they "saw nothing wrong." Even after viewing pictures of Thomas’ mother, which depicted the results of several beatings she has suffered at the hands of caretakers employed at the now defunct Blanca Retirement Home often used by Shafer.

When Thomas discovered the brutality, he called police, (who filed no charges), and then had her removed and taken to the El Jen Center, where he says, "abuse has continued to take place there also."

A brutal attack on Thomas in 1998 was spotlighted on local TV news, but "....No one except the Las Vegas Tribune has done anything to publicize this story about my mother and Jared Shafer’s involvement, up till now. It was the whole reason for the attack on me. The two attackers were caught in my home riffling through my mother's personal files. Where was the RJ or the Las Vegas Sun then?" Gaule asks. "Reporters did not delve into the probable involvement of the Public Guardian's office," stated Gaule. "The only things taken were my mother's real estate and financial documents."

Though he has power-of-attorney, the courts and attorneys who seem to be controlling the affairs of his estate and his mother have turned a deaf ear, and are accused of violating many of Anna Marie and Thomas' Constitutional rights. "There seems to be no remedy," he said resigned. "If we could only get people to be angry enough for my mother and for the hundreds of others like her..." Gaule said. "They have seen shows, read newspaper stories, heard about the abuse that takes place all over the country. And in our own back yard, here in Vegas, there is an elderly woman, my mom, taken from her home, robbed of her estate, all because she became disoriented one day in 1996. And (formerly) the public guardian, now public administrator literally laughs in court at the injustice he has personally caused. He used my mother’s minor illness as an avenue to proclaim her ‘incompetent.’ He created the original document that had her forged signature on it that put her in guardianship in the first place. Her signature was completely different on the document than her actual signature. Its so tragic," stated Gaule, "That was the document that led to her eventual demise and death."

Gaule continued, “Shafer has taken money directly from our accounts, and, I believe, tried to have me killed, and my pleadings are completely ignored by the police and court. Why aren't people storming the halls of the courthouse? Are they afraid? Of course they are. Have they forgotten what it was we founded this country on? Most likely. and probably because they don't even know the history -- Is America no longer America? Maybe. But I can't believe people have become so callous or afraid that they will let these bullies, who have used a system of Machiavellian law to abuse us and steal our lives from us," Gaule said.

Last year, Anna Marie Gaule was taken to Summerlin Hospital from the El Jen Center from what appeared to be another beating at the Blanca Retirement Home controlled by Shafer. She was going "in and out of consciousness and having seizures," a doctor at the hospital told Gaule later.

Shelly Cher, a caseworker at the public guardian’s office called Thomas and asked him if he wanted his mother to be taken from life support. "I was shocked. I got to the hospital and talked to the doctor on duty and he told me that he 'didn't like what he saw. Dr. Lindsay Hansen, Anna Marie Gaule’s doctor, called the hospital to gloss over the incident at El Jen," according to Gaule. Dr. Hansen explained to the doctor at Summerlin Hospital that Mrs. Gaule was being prescribed Dilantin for her seizures. The Summerlin doctor was so angry that he refused to receive anymore calls from Dr. Hansen. I told the doctor that my mother was having the seizures from being beat up...tell them to just stop beating her," Thomas plead.

Thomas Gaule asked in court for an injunction against El Jen Center and Dr. Lindsay Hansen, to discontinue prescribing and administering ‘Dilantin’, which Gaule pointed out on the manufacturer’s label that it actually, "caused seizures." The Family Court judge refused.

Dilantin is the trade name for Phenytoin, which in the Merck Manual (so-called, chemical bible) states: "causes seizures." But, according to Gaule, under the guise of the public administrator’s office (Jared Shafer) and the El Jen Center, they refused to stop administering the drug, "which attacks the brain and stops blood to the brain of the elderly – with side-effects that could kill a horse.... Dilantin is primarily used to treat epilepsy, even though my mother never had the disease.”

"I thought with all the evidence, the District Court would certainly stop this nightmare. So I went to Judge Mark Gibbons -- where he told me his court only heard injunction cases." But on the day of the hearing, Gaule was told that the case should be sent to the probate court, even though Mrs. Gaule was still alive.

A new hearing in ‘Family Court' is set for Wednesday, June 19, 2002.

"Tell your readers, if they don't believe this is happening, show up in court and see it for themselves," Gaule concluded.

***********************

"Public Enemy Number One"
-- Jared Shafer –
By D. "Deuke" Eukel
(Former) - Las Vegas Tribune Senior Editor
Originally published September 11, 2004

A formal complaint was filed with the Clark County Commission in Las Vegas, Nevada, which names retired Public Administrator Jared E. Shafer as responsible for a bevy of crimes allegedly perpetuated by him and staff members while he was the Public Guardian.

The complaint, which was handed personally to Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera by Thomas Gaule, the son of Anna Marie Gaule, who is considered one of many victims of Shafer’s “exploits against the elderly,” names Shafer as the responsible party in the “abduction and exploitation” of Anna Marie Gaule, as well as being responsible for many other crimes concerning the Gaule estate.

Jared Shafer

Court documents show that several lawsuits have been filed against Shafer over the past 23 years, which claim that through his direction as Public Guardian and Administrator, “estates have been pilfered and exploited, beneficiaries discredited, and elderly persons have been drugged needlessly....”

In a previous article published in the Las Vegas Tribune, Shafer was accused by former Clark County employees of ordering that several savings bonds, which were already made out to family beneficiaries, be stamped with the Public Administrator’s seal and then cashed. Shafer has given no comment in that matter, and refuses to answer calls directed to his office.

Gaule calls Shafer, “Public enemy number one,” as do many others. In a letter addressed to Nevada officials, and media sources, Gaule writes: “If the elderly were treated as well as criminals, they would have more rights than what is allotted to them as 'wards of the State.' I ask, what has become of justice? These so called professionals take their victims by force silently out of their homes and imprison them and then poison them for what they say is 'their own good.'” According to Thomas, the very next business day it is down to the routine of stealing, pilfering and ripping-off all the victim’s finances and everything else under the sun, right down to their prepaid burial plots. The victims are warehoused in ‘unmarked group homes,’ or discreet secret facilities....

And then there are the "premature deaths" which occur as the inescapable result of being "under the care and custody and control, of Jared Shafer as the Public Guardian," according to Thomas Gaule.

According to Gaule's documents, Anna Marie is officially number 17,772 in real numbers that are now above 25,000 persons who have become “wards of the State," and in control of the State of Nevada, (and formerly, Jared Shafer.) And there are no more than 500 alive at any time with as many as 3,500 new potential victims added per month. Gaule added that the “cast of crooks" include, attorney Patricia Trent, Shafer’s public and private attorney, "who plays both sides of the fence against all victims." Gardner Jolley, Shafer’s personal and corporate attorney, "who stealthily steals every penny he can get his hands on under the veil of the Wells Fargo Bank," stated Thomas.

When Thomas went to Wells Fargo to withdraw over $2.3 million that was in his family trust account, attorney Gardner Jolly allegedly told him “sue us.”

“There are also judges that come into play from the head States Supreme Court to Family Court Judges, along with a cadre of crooked attorneys," according to Gaule.

In a telephone conversation with then-Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who is also a partner in the law firm Gardner Jolley, Woodbury, he told the Tribune that if a complaint was filed with the County Commissioners, it would be their practice to “turn it over to the County Manager or the DA, if the complaint is deemed to be serious enough.”

When asked if the County Manager’s office had investigators that would independently check out the allegations, Woodbury said that as far as he knew the County Manager would use whatever means he had to investigate the complaints, including using detectives at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Asked why the County Commission had been ignoring the allegations made by several “victims,” when reports of the abuses had been turned over to the FBI, the U.S. Attorney, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, and other official entities – Woodbury said that though he knew of articles in the Las Vegas Tribune, as well as other media sources, there had been “...no formal complaints filed recently with the Commission. "It's my understanding that the U.S. Attorney or other law enforcement agencies would have jurisdiction,” stated Woodbury.

When told of the NRS statutes that explain that the County Commissioners were the investigating authority in any complaint brought against a county official, Woodbury paused and said that he would look into the matter when presented with a formal complaint.
___________________________________
Thomas Gaule filed an official complaint. Other persons who claim to be “victims” of Jared Shafer’s “criminal actions,” told the Tribune they would be filing formal complaints as well.

(Editor's note: On April 22, 2015, the Clark County Commission began taking complaints from guardianship victims and their families. The Commission's action resulted in the removal of Family Court Judges Charles Hoskin and his appointed Guardianship Commission Jon Norheim from all guardianship cases. More Information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFNlNNS-vGs )

As parents, there are few moments that cause more anxiety than entrusting your child to the care of someone else. Regardless of the circumstances your first concern is always their well-being, and your worst fear is always a phone call from a caregiver, teacher or babysitter that something is wrong.

For parents like the Chans of Auburn, whose son, Nicky, is intellectually disabled and non-verbal, that fear is magnified many times over. Every parent can understand the terror that the Chans felt in reading a report by the Disabled Persons Protection Commission confirming that their son, Nicky, had been inappropriately restrained and struck by a caretaker. The abuse involved incidents on at least two different days.

Like any parents, the Chans sought to ensure their Nicky was safe, and that this abuser could never take advantage of their or another family’s trust again. The man who abused their child was fired from the day program. But when the Chans asked what would prevent him from finding employment at another provider, the lack of an answer was deafening.

This is what led Nicky’s mother, Cheryl Chan, to tell her story to a state legislative committee.

Research shows that individuals with disabilities, like other vulnerable populations, are more likely to be abused. Additionally, cognitive or speech difficulties in communicating what happened, and the burdens disabled people have in accessing the judicial system, and consequently lower rates of police follow-up and prosecution make criminal convictions extremely difficult. Despite these challenges, a criminal conviction history currently is the only way to prevent an abusive caretaker from being hired by an unknowing provider.

We commend the efforts of those who work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, especially the talented and compassionate caretakers who often work difficult hours for little pay. However, it is deeply concerning that there are no other means to prevent an abuser from switching agencies or providers to once again gain access and abuse individuals with disabilities.

That is why we have filed legislation to establish, for the first time in Massachusetts, a registry of individuals found by the state’s Disabled Persons Protection Commission to have committed substantiated abuse or financial exploitation on individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. We have worked extensively with victim families, disability advocate organizations and the relevant state agencies to address this critical issue. It was to help achieve such legislation that Cheryl Chan jointed us in testifying at a recent public hearing before the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities in support of the legislation and to share her son’s troubling experience.

The registry would be based on the findings of the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, which already investigates all allegations of abuse against individuals with disabilities. The legislation would mandate that providers serving these populations would be required to check the registry, which would be managed by the state Department of Developmental Services, during the application process. Providers would be prohibited from hiring such individuals listed in the registry. The bill also creates a robust appeals process for those who are listed, and includes important whistleblower protections for those reporting abuse.

Despite the Commonwealth’s history of leading on issues of injustice, we have fallen behind the pack on this issue. At least 13 states have a disability abuse registry and 40 percent of the states in this country have some form of developmental abuse registry, including New York and New Jersey.

Stories like Nicky’s are not uncommon. At the public hearing, another parent testified about an individual being arraigned on charges of abuse in the morning and applying for a new job at another hiring agency the same afternoon. As state legislators who are tasked with the protection of the most vulnerable in our society, and as parents, these stories offend our conscience.

But the evidence for action goes beyond these anecdotes. A federal audit of Massachusetts group homes from January 2012 to January 2014 found that an alarming number of emergency room visits by developmentally disabled Medicaid beneficiaries that involved reasonable suspicion of abuse and neglect were not reported by employers to the state DPPC.

Enacting this registry will help disrupt a cycle of abuse of individuals with disabilities, and put in place common-sense protections that families in the Commonwealth deserve.

Now is the time for Massachusetts to live up to its moral obligations, and care for those who are not always able to care for themselves.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Barbour County woman was sentenced Friday in connection to exploiting more than a dozen nursing home residents.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Medicaid Fraud Control Unit announced Mary Jane Brown, of Belington, was sentenced on multiple felony counts in Randolph Circuit Court, including Medicaid fraud, financial exploitation and fraudulent schemes.

The unit determined that over a four-year period, Brown had financially exploited 13 patients at an Elkins nursing home, stealing more than $50,000. She also caused more than $40,000 in fraudulent claims to be submitted to the Medicaid program, resulting in a total loss of $97,264.59.

Brown was arrested in July 2014. She was sentenced to serve one year in jail on one count of financial exploitation and two consecutive terms of one-to-ten years in prison on a count of fraudulent schemes and a count of Medicaid fraud. The prison sentences were suspended in favor of seven years of probation, which will begin after Brown is released from jail. She will also have to restitution.

The Medicaid Fraud Unit also announced Friday an approval of a waiver allowing it to conduct data mining activities to detect Medicaid fraud. West Virginia is only one of 10 states to have such a waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.

Full Article & Source:
Barbour County woman sentenced after exploiting nursing home residents

Lisa Chavez

PETALUMA, CA -- A Petaluma woman who works as an in-home care provider is suspected of stealing money from at least two of her elderly clients. According to a Petaluma Police Department news release, Lisa Chavez was arrested Monday following a week-long investigation that allegedly revealed she pocketed a combined $3,000 from the clients.

In one case, police say the victim had given her debit card and PIN number to Chavez for the purpose of making routine purchases.

"However, Chavez also used the victim’s debit card to withdrawal cash at banks, other than the victim’s, and the Graton Casino," said Petaluma police Sgt. Lance Novello.

The victim's loss exceeded $1,500, Novello said.

Through the course of their investigation, police learned that another elderly victim who employed Chavez found she was missing around $1,500 cash she had been saving for a medical procedure.

"The victim confronted Chavez, who then admitted to the theft and agreed to pay the money back in increments," Novello said.

Investigators pieced together account statements, surveillance images and Chavez’s payroll records, all which allegedly revealed a pattern consistent with the victim’s losses, the sergeant said.

Petaluma police contacted Chavez on Monday and after interviewing her, placed her under arrest on suspicion of fiduciary elder abuse and identity theft.

"Chavez was booked into the Sonoma County Jail with a bail enhancement due to the nature of the offenses, but was then released on bail," Novello said.

Police are continuing their investigation and encouraged anyone else who may have been victimized by Chavez to contact the Petaluma Police Department.

Chavez's employer was notified of the allegations and is cooperating with the investigation, Novello said.

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Petaluma Care Provider Accused Of Bilking Elderly Clients

LAUDERHILL (CBSMiami) — James Walker, 78, stepped through the pieces of his life, a scattered mess of personal papers and photographs left behind after he and his wife were evicted from their home of more than 25 years on Thursday.

An elderly couple’s belongings were left out in the rain following an eviction from their home of 25 years. (Source: CBS4)

The eviction came even as Walker was at the courthouse, in a last ditch effort to stave off foreclosure.

“He called me and I told him, ‘I want you to wait because my wife is in there.’ She is in the bed. He went in there and they got my wife out of the bed,” Walker said of the eviction crew.

His wife, 80-year-old Susan Walker, a wheelchair-bound invalid, was hospitalized after the stress of the eviction. Times were good when she was a school bus driver and James drove a truck, but in retirement, their income plummeted to a pittance. They didn’t pay their mortgage for well over a year.

James said the foreclosure process was confusing and the mortgage company didn’t help.

“They never came out, never sent nobody out here personally to talk to me about anything,” Walker said.

The Walkers’ daughter managed to get some of their furniture in storage, but not until after it got rained on after being tossed at the edge of the road way. He is sleeping on a neighbors couch, for the moment, but next week?

“I’m trying to get some help. I would appreciate whatever assistance I can get because I need to get this situation straightened out,” Walker said.

James rode his bicycle Friday to see his wife in the hospital. He will be back to retrieve the family Bible, among items left on the front stoop.

James Walker, 78, walks through an empty home following an eviction in Lauderhill. (Source: CBS4)

The Ocwen mortgage servicing company, which handled the Walker’s loan, issued a statement Friday saying in part, “we made attempts to find a solution for their situation, including exploring various loss mitigation options” but were unable to reach a mutual agreement.

The company says it has amended 740,000 distressed mortgages and taken billions of dollars in losses in order to keep families in their homes.

Anyone who would like to help the Walkers, financially or through other efforts, can do so at www.neighbors4neighbors.org or by calling Neighbors4Neighbors at: (305) 597-4404.

Full Article & Source:
Elderly Couple’s Belongings Left Out In Rain After Eviction

A daughter’s claims of excessive billing and millions of dollars of mismanagement by her mother’s corporate guardian/conservator were secret from the start. During four years of litigation, virtually all of the court case was sealed from public view.

Now the professional malpractice lawsuit – a rare case against a New Mexico court-appointed professional guardian/conservator – has ended with a secret out-of-court settlement.

The settlement came a month after the judge in the case reversed himself and opened up court files in response to a motion by the Albuquerque Journal. The terms of the settlement weren’t revealed publicly.

Without a public trial, which was set for October, the opportunity to learn more from Leonie Rosenstiel’s case against Decades LLC of Albuquerque appears all but lost, just as a commission appointed by the state Supreme Court is looking for ways to reform the system.

Nancy Oriola, founder of Decades, told the Journal on Friday that the settlement was “an economic decision by the insurance companies that I agreed to. Otherwise, I feel I had a very strong case.”

Rosenstiel, in a statement, told the Journal she believes she would have won at trial.

“However, I’m happy about the settlement, because I can now move on to other things. I am especially glad that the record of this case has been opened for all to see. It’s my hope that these sorts of cases become more transparent in the future. I’m deeply concerned that all the unwarranted secrecy has led to the perception among people caught in the system that commercial guardians and conservators are favored by the courts.”

Rosenstiel, the daughter of a New York financier, was an only child, and the personal representative for her mother, Annette Rosenstiel.

Annette Rosenstiel, who died in 2012, was a published author and lecturer who held a Ph.D. in anthropology.

After her father died and her mother began to show signs of dementia, Leonie sought to become guardian for her mother, but ultimately agreed to the appointment of Decades as both the guardian to make decisions on her mother’s daily care and as conservator tasked with overseeing her mother’s finances.

Rosenstiel’s lawsuit in 2013 alleged that over a nine-year-period, Decades “abused their position” as the appointed guardian and conservator for her mother, who died at the age of 100.

“The alleged abuse took multiple forms,” her complaint stated. She contended that Decades breached its fiduciary duty by negligently handling her mother’s assets and charging “astonishing expenses” for her mother’s care, which included nearly $250,000 in legal fees.

Rosenstiel’s securities expert estimated that her mother’s estate lost at least $10 million under Decades’ oversight, in part because the conservator firm failed to diversify her concentrated stock in New York Mercantile Exchange Holdings until after a dramatic drop in value.

Decades sought to disqualify that expert, maintaining that the firm had acted prudently, had no duty to act, and was bound by a court ruling that required prior court approval for any re-allocation of assets.

Leonie contended that the annual reports Decades was required to provide by law to the court didn’t provide enough information for Leonie to ascertain the status of her mother’s finances.

Only when Leonie went to court herself in November 2007, alleging mismanagement by Decades, did the company take steps to diversify the stock, she alleged. Then, six months before her mother’s death, Decades asked the judge in the case to relieve it of “all liability” in the performance of its duties from November 2008 to December 13, 2011, her lawsuit stated. Decades, in its answer, denied that allegation .

Decades stated that, after Annette’s death, her estate still had a total asset value of more than $5.6 million, “which was net of years of expensive in-home care, guardianship and conservatorship expenses and hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts” to her sole heir, Leonie.

Leonie Rosenstiel was “clearly disappointed that she has not inherited as much as she would have liked. …,” Decades’ attorney said in one filing.

Oriola told the Journal she had several experts who would have testified that her company provided “excellent” care to Rosenstiel. She also said the “estate did benefit by more than $6 million after her death. In our opinion we did well by Dr. Rosenstiel.”

Rosenstiel’s securities expert Douglas Schultz concluded that Decades had “neither the expertise or experience in how to deal with diversifying and hedging” such a large concentrated asset. For Decades to say there are no damages to the estate, “is like trying to take credit for the sun coming up in the morning because you happen to be on your porch watching,” he wrote in a report.

In the civil lawsuit against Decades, state District Judge Alan Malott rendered only one substantive ruling on the lawsuit’s allegations. In May 2016, he denied a Decades motion to dismiss Rosenstiel’s claim that Decades had been negligent in failing to diversify.

“There are genuine issues of material fact in dispute as to whether or not Decades LLC exercised due care and appropriate prudence in not seeking the Court’s permission to re-allocate Ms. Rosenstiel’s (New York Mercantile Exchange) stock until late 2007,” Malott wrote.

Closed from public view

For part of the case, the two sides argued over whether the filings in the case should be sealed from public view. Under state law, guardian/conservator court proceedings are closed to the public and all records filed in the case are sealed.

Decades argued that records in Rosenstiel’s civil case should also be sealed, because her allegations referenced the guardianship matter. The company stated that it welcomed “scrutiny” but added, despite “Defendants’ desire for public vindication in its 10 plus year battle with Plaintiff, it is still constrained to respect Annette Rosenstiel’s privacy.”

After various filings were sealed initially, Malott in 2014 imposed confidentiality on all further filings related to the guardian/conservator case, adding, “The Court further bemoans the ongoing level of vitriol which counsel feels is appropriate in furtherance of these proceedings.”

Guardianship matters are shrouded in secrecy – even after the incapacitated person is dead – and Malott’s initial sealing order was upheld by the Supreme Court after Rosenstiel’s lawyers appealed.

But when the Journal asked Malott to reconsider this summer, Malott on July 10 rescinded his order. He concluded that Leonie Rosenstiel, as personal representative, had the authority to waive confidentiality.

One month earlier, Malott ruled against Rosenstiel in finding there were no grounds to force his recusal on the case. Rosenstiel’s attorney David Garcia argued that the judge had an appearance of bias when he criticized news coverage of guardianship issues and defended the guardianship industry at an Albuquerque Lawyers Club panel earlier this year.

Malott, in that ruling, made it clear he didn’t want lawyers talking about the case publicly.

“The parties and counsel are reminded the appropriate place for the trial is in the Bernalillo County Courthouse, not the “Court of Public Opinion,” Malott wrote.

Until an Aug. 7 mediation, court records show both sides were continuing to spar. Decades also challenged the fact that one of its insurance companies had failed to defend the company in the case.

Decades was founded in 2001 and provides comprehensive elder care services in New Mexico, according to its website. The company has been appointed by judges in more than 70 guardian/conservator cases since 2004, state court records show.

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship legal battle ends in secrecy

A home health nurse is accused of stealing more than $8,000 from a 91-year-old patient in Decatur.

Lori Pendergrass Sconyers

Lori Pendergrass Sconyers, 43, used the elderly victim's bank account information and checks to pay her own bills and get cash, according to court documents made public today.

Police began investigating the theft in June when a woman reported her 91-year-old mother's credit card was stolen, Detective Michael Ferguson said in a news release. Initially Sconyers, a home health nurse from Athens, was arrested on a theft charge. But the investigation continued as multiple transactions were discovered on the victim's bank account, Ferguson said.

Sconyers is held in the Morgan County Jail with bail set at $10,000 cash only. She is charged with first-degree financial exploitation of the elderly. The Class B felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

In nearby Limestone County, Sconyers also has been indicted on two counts of fraudulent use of a debit card, according to court documents. Those charges were brought because Sconyers used the credit card, which was stolen from the Decatur woman, to make purchases in Athens, said Emme Long, a Decatur police spokeswoman.

Sconyers used the elderly woman's money to pay her own insurance, cellphone and credit card bills, Ferguson wrote in court records. Sconyers is accused of stealing $8,641.

Additional details haven't been released.

The Department of Human Resources has an Adult Services Division that investigates crimes against the elderly by working alongside local law enforcement agencies and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If anyone suspects an elderly person is being exploited, it can be reported to DHR's hotline at 1-800-458-7214 or by contacting a local office. A report also can be filed via email.

Full Article & Source:
Nurse accused of stealing more than $8,000 from 91-year-old Decatur patient