27 January 2015

To Collect Debts, Nursing Homes Are Seizing Control Over Patients


Lillian Palermo tried to prepare for the worst possibilities of aging. An insurance executive with a Ph.D. in psychology and a love of ballroom dancing, she arranged for her power of attorney and health care proxy to go to her husband, Dino, eight years her junior, if she became incapacitated. And in her 80s, she did.

Mr. Palermo, who was the lead singer in a Midtown nightclub in the 1960s when her elegant tango first caught his eye, now regularly rolls his wife’s wheelchair to the piano at the Catholic nursing home in Manhattan where she ended up in 2010 as dementia, falls and surgical complications took their toll. He sings her favorite songs, feeds her home-cooked Italian food, and pays a private aide to be there when he cannot.

But one day last summer, after he disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Mrs. Palermo’s copays, and complained about inexperienced employees who dropped his wife on the floor, Mr. Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed.

It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh, asking the court to give a stranger full legal power over Mrs. Palermo, now 90, and complete control of her MONEY!

Read the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/nyregion/to-collect-debts-nursing-home-seizing-control-over-patients.html


Police visit Richard Simmons amid elder abuse allegations


RIchard Simmons at the 2013 MTV VMAs. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)





















Veteran fitness guru Richard Simmons had unexpected visitors on Friday night after police officers stopped by his Hollywood Hills home to investigate allegations of elder abuse.

http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2015/01/26/police-visit-richard-simmons-amid-elder-abuse-allegations/

http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/24/richard-simmons-abuse-missing-investigation-depressed-home/



23 January 2015

Ex-cop gets jail; Father, daughter charged 60 counts; Happy ending?


Ex-Pinole cop gets jail time for bankruptcy fraud in elder abuse case

HAYWARD -- A former Pinole police officer accused of tricking an elderly Pleasanton neighbor into leaving him her estate was sentenced Wednesday to 66 days in jail and five years felony probation.

"You did everything you could to get your mitts on what Ms. Jones had," Judge Michael Gaffey told Matthew Messier, who had been second-in-command on the Pinole police force before his 2012 retirement while under police investigation.

"Instead of being a law enforcement officer, you are now a felon," Gaffey said.


Danville Father, Daughter Accused of Cheating Seniors Face Elder Abuse, Money Laundering Charges

Each defendant is charged with 60 felony counts, including financial elder abuse, burglary, forgery, conspiracy and money laundering.

The owners of a home improvement company accused of ripping off dozens of seniors by selling them customized showers based on bogus claims are scheduled to make their initial court appearances Wednesday in Riverside.


Thompson Falls man convicted of elder abuse

SUPERIOR – It’s difficult to call it a happy ending, but when Ben Poat died in August, he got to do it in his own home.

That was all he wanted.

On Thursday, the man who authorities said took advantage of the 84-year-old to obtain ownership of Poat’s property, vehicles and control of his money, was convicted in Mineral County District Court.

A jury found Daryl Enos Strang of Thompson Falls guilty of two felonies: Purposely or knowingly abusing or neglecting a victim, and exploitation of an elderly person resulting in losses in excess of $25,000.

$142,000 was drained out of Poat’s bank account over the course of a year.



13 January 2015

Woman charged; Plea deal reached; Elder abuse arrest


Woman Charged
A woman faces charges of elder abuse and theft after prosecutors say she took nearly $50,000 in cash and property… 
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/01/12/woman-charged-elder-abuse-theft/21645243/


Plea Deal Reached
Two nurse’s aides pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor battery of an elderly woman at a long-term care facility… 
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2015/01/09/plea-deal-reached-in-elder-abuse-case/a7eimsn/


Elder Abuse Arrest
Twin Peaks sheriff's deputies arrested 47-year-old Lake Arrowhead resident Isabelle Rose Flores (aka Isabelle Rose Pinkston) for alleged elder abuse after an alleged argument [assault] sent an elderly man to the hospital with a fractured bone…
http://alpenhornnews.com/elder-abuse-arrest-p5662-1.htm





10 January 2015

Woman accused of stealing from parents; Embezzlement charges; MONEY! GREED!














Agents with the S.C. Law Enforcement Division arrested a Fort Mill woman Thursday on accusations that she stole nearly $30,000 from her parents' checking account.

Amy Adams Baker, 49, of Baxter Village was charged with two counts of forgery, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison...

www.heraldonline.com/2015/01/09/6687674_sled-arrests-fort-mill-woman-accused.html


Elder abuse, embezzlement charges filed against piano shop owner

Schroeder Piano Company owner Peter Schroeder is the subject of 14 felony counts ranging from elder abuse to grand theft. PHOTO BY DAVE SCHWAB

After a months-long investigation, criminal charges have been filed by the District Attorney's Office against a Bird Rock merchant whose business practices have been called into question.

“There are 14 felony counts that I have filed against Peter Schroeder. Five are financial elder abuse, and the balance are either embezzlement or grand theft,” said Paul Greenwood of the DA’s office.



MONEY! GREED!

Viola Simonds

The tiny, frail senior sits on her bed in a sparse room, hungry, lonely and confused.

Her adult son yelled at the woman today and ordered her to stay in her room with no supper.

Although it’s her own home, she is too afraid to come out.

So she sits there, alone. And she cries.

Elder abuse.

It’s happening now, in your city, your town, even on your street.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/01/04/money-greed-usually-at-heart-of-elder-abuse




Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2015/01/09/6687674_sled-arrests-fort-mill-woman-accused.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy