Probate Court: Where Some Elderly Citizens Disappear; the Case of Former WestConn Professor Eli Schutts (Second in a Series; Updated With Daughter's Reaction)
August 17, 2012
By ANDY THIBAULT
And JACK CORAGGIO
.
Latest update: New Twist in Former Philosophy Professor's Health Care and Probate Saga: Document Shows Power Of Attorney Revoked For Longtime Companion
Also read: Daughter of Ailing Former WestConn Professor Caught Up in the World of Probate Backs the Conservator.
Previously on countytimes.com: Eli Schutts and Edith Johnson of Bethlehem: A Tragic Love Story at Life's Final Turn, and Probate Court’s Most Recent Ruling On Eli Schutts And Reaction.
TORRINGTON—Probate court rulings and administrative practices vary widely in Connecticut, which has a sordid history of failing to oversee commitments of elderly citizens to nursing homes.
The horror stories are legion: Tales of officials draining the estates of those they are charged with protecting, and friends and neighbors disappearing into the bowels of a secretive system with little, if any oversight. One significant case of unlawful imprisonment culminated with a state Supreme Court ruling this year, stripping layers of immunity from lawyers appointed by probate courts, and from conservators and nursing homes. Aggrieved family members can now sue those officials and nursing homes if they ignore the wishes of the clients they are charged with serving.
Daniel Gross had been held against his will in a Waterbury nursing home, the victim of collusion among a court-appointed lawyer, a conservator and a probate judge. He was freed after a year by superior court Judge Joseph Gormley, who called the case “a terrible miscarriage of justice.” Mr. Gross died in 2007, but a civil rights lawsuit filed by his daughter resulted in the high court ruling five years later.
The operations of probate courts still lack consistency, according to several elder care lawyers interviewed by The Litchfield County Times. Two of the lawyers who practice in the probate courts requested anonymity for fear of retribution. They had been asked to review court records and other documents related to the case of Eli Schutts, Ph.D., a retired philosophy professor at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury who is now at the Litchfield Woods nursing home in Torrington, based on a probate court ruling.
(A case worth following. Please go to SOURCE)
Abridged
SOURCE: The CountyTimes
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August 29, 2012
Senior Advocates Urge More Help to Stop Financial Exploitation (USA)
Scam artists are often trusted relatives and caregivers of the elderly
By Eileen Ambrose, The Baltimore Sun
August 26, 2012
Baltimore police arrested five people last week accused of impersonating city tax collectors and going to the homes of elderly residents to rob them.
These are disturbing allegations. But apparently, scam artists who pretend to have ties to the government so they can take advantage of older consumers aren't all that rare.
That's what senior advocates are telling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency with a mandate to promote financial literacy among those 62 and older and protect them from fraud and abuse.
Since mid-June, the CFPB has been gathering public input on the financial exploitation of older Americans. It received more than 750 comments by last week's deadline.
Consumer advocates submitted reports on a wide range of the abuses they've witnessed, including con artists pretending to be affiliated with the government in a ploy to sell investments. Often, though, it's not a stranger ripping off seniors but a trusted family member, caregiver or financial adviser.
"It's a very difficult message," says Sally Hurme, an elder law attorney with AARP. "How do you tell seniors the person most likely to rip you off is your son and daughter?"
The CFPB says it will use the comments to develop tools for seniors so they can make sound financial decisions and safeguard their assets.
It better act soon. By many accounts, financial exploitation of older Americans is widespread — and growing.
"It's going to continue and get worse as more seniors move into their so-called golden years," says Don Blandin, president of the nonprofit Investor Protection Trust, or IPT. "They are still going to have a lot of wealth that could be taken from them."
Two years ago, the IPT reported that one in five people age 65 and older had been swindled. But Blandin says the problem is likely much worse, given the findings of the IPT's latest poll.
The online survey of more than 750 experts — including regulators, social workers, elder-law attorneys and financial planners — found that nearly 80 percent said the greatest financial threat to seniors comes from family members.
"Think of what that really means if family members are engaged in ripping off money from one another," Blandin says. "How much of that is really going to get reported?"
But, of course, relatives aren't the only bad actors. Many older investors are exploited by the financial advisers they hire to help them manage their money through retirement.
A recent poll of about 2,650 planners by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards found that more than half worked with an older client who had been a victim of deceptive or abusive practices by another adviser. Planners say they encourage victims to report abuse to authorities but estimate that only 5 percent do so.
These figures don't surprise Barbara Korenblit, chief of the individual and family services division at the Baltimore County Department of Aging.
Most often, she sees exploitation by family members, such as a relative dipping into a joint account shared with an older person, Korenblit says. Or a young adult might have a grandparent co-sign a loan and then not repay it.
"Sometimes older clients have lost their homes as the result of the debt they have taken out to help young relatives," she says.
Older consumers often don't complain because they don't want to get a relative into trouble, particularly if that person is the caregiver, Korenblit says. Even when an adviser takes advantage of them, she adds, seniors don't report the abuse because they aren't aware of it or are too embarrassed to admit it.
Senior advocates urge the CFPB to beef up protections.
The Virginia-based National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys suggests that stronger penalties be adopted against those exploiting seniors. It also suggested a law that would require doctors and bank employees to report financial elder abuse.
SOURCE: The BaltimoreSun
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August 22, 2012
Free Class on Preventing Elderly Financial Abuse in Kona (HAWAII)
Free Class on Preventing Elderly Financial Abuse in Kona Sept. 19
August 20th, 2012
by Denise Laitinen
Bank of Hawaii is offering a free seminar on preventing elderly financial abuse in Kona on September 19 from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. as part of its “Smart Money Seminars” series.
The event, held at the new Bank of Hawaii Kailua-Kona branch in the Kona Commons, is geared for senior citizens and will educate Big Island residents about the different types of scams that target seniors.
Attendees will learn:
• What is senior financial abuse?
• How to identify different types of scams
• How to protect yourself from fraud
The number of senior citizens on island is growing. Earlier this year the County Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Big Island’s population of elderly ages 60 and older increased 43.5% between 2000 and 2010.
And according to the latest census data, 13.5% of the 185,000 residents in Hawaii County are over the age of 65 with another 26% becoming senior citizens over the next two decades.
As large numbers of baby boomers hit retirement age, more and more of them are being targeted for fraud. Nation wide, seniors lose $2.9 billion a year to fraud and the majority of victims are women, according to a 2011 study conducted by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech.
The extent of financial elder abuse on the Big Island is difficult to gauge because the County Prosecutor’s Office estimates that for every reported case of elder abuse—financial or otherwise—another five incidents goes unreported.
To register for the Bank of Hawaii seminar on fraud awareness for seniors or to request Bank of Hawaii bank offer the free seminar for your civic or senior-related group, email seminars@boh.com or call 808-694-8820.
SOURCE: The BigIsland Now
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August 20th, 2012
by Denise Laitinen
Bank of Hawaii is offering a free seminar on preventing elderly financial abuse in Kona on September 19 from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. as part of its “Smart Money Seminars” series.
The event, held at the new Bank of Hawaii Kailua-Kona branch in the Kona Commons, is geared for senior citizens and will educate Big Island residents about the different types of scams that target seniors.
Attendees will learn:
• What is senior financial abuse?
• How to identify different types of scams
• How to protect yourself from fraud
The number of senior citizens on island is growing. Earlier this year the County Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Big Island’s population of elderly ages 60 and older increased 43.5% between 2000 and 2010.
And according to the latest census data, 13.5% of the 185,000 residents in Hawaii County are over the age of 65 with another 26% becoming senior citizens over the next two decades.
As large numbers of baby boomers hit retirement age, more and more of them are being targeted for fraud. Nation wide, seniors lose $2.9 billion a year to fraud and the majority of victims are women, according to a 2011 study conducted by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech.
The extent of financial elder abuse on the Big Island is difficult to gauge because the County Prosecutor’s Office estimates that for every reported case of elder abuse—financial or otherwise—another five incidents goes unreported.
To register for the Bank of Hawaii seminar on fraud awareness for seniors or to request Bank of Hawaii bank offer the free seminar for your civic or senior-related group, email seminars@boh.com or call 808-694-8820.
SOURCE: The BigIsland Now
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Care Home Worker Drugged 6 Dementia Patients (UK)
Southern Cross care home worker drugged six dementia patients 'so she could get a good night's sleep'
• Mirela Aionoaei, 37, accused of using unprescribed anti-insomnia, anti-depressant and anti-psychotic pills on patients
• Court hears patients at the west London care home often had to be taken to bed in wheelchairs after the doses
By Leon Watson
21 August 2012
A senior carer at a Southern Cross nursing home drugged six dementia patients with anti-insomnia, anti-depressant and anti-psychotic pills so she could get a good night's sleep during her shift, a jury was told yesterday.
The patients, four women and two men, who usually wandered around during the night, often had to be taken to bed in wheelchairs after the unprescribed doses and were unsteady on their feet and suffered slurred speech.
Mirela Aionoaei, 37, of Hayes, west London, routinely shoved two chairs together to form a makeshift bed during the night shift and drugged the patients to ensure she would not be disturbed, Harrow Crown Court heard.
'The residents were being poisoned, of that there is no doubt,' said prosecutor Guy Dilliway-Parry. 'The defendant liked to sleep when on duty. Why else put two chairs together?
'She was seen to administer on many occasions over a considerable period of time and the residents would fall asleep almost straight away.
'A sleep so deep they would have to be taken to their beds in wheelchairs.'
Aionoaei has pleaded not guilty to six counts of administering a poison or noxious substance to the six residents of Ashwood Care Centre, in Hayes, between July 1 and December 31, 2010.
There were twenty-two residents on the dementia ward - aged between 58 and over 100-years-old - and Aionoaei was the senior member of staff in charge and the only one permitted to dispense medicine as a trained and authorised health professional.
'They all suffered from mental health conditions that left them vulnerable and unaware of their surroundings,' explained Mr Dilliway-Parry. 'They could do very little for themselves.
Mirela Aionoaei is on trial at Harrow Crown Court where a jury was told she drugged six dementia patients
'Some would walk around at night and needed hourly checks, but Aionoaei would put two chairs together and go to sleep, even if the residents were walking around.
'Her priority seemed to get some sleep herself.'
A suspicious colleague began observing Aionoaei because the residents only became excessively drowsy when she was on duty and she was keen to get them into bed only 30 minutes into her shift.
'The residents were being poisoned, of that there is no doubt.'
Prosecutor Guy Dilliway-Parry
'She was observed approaching residents with a glass of orange juice in one hand and observed putting a small cream-coloured tablet in the residents' mouths and they would all be asleep within five to eight minutes.
'She had taken something from the pocket of her overalls and the drugs trolley remained untouched in the nurse’s station.
'Other staff noticed the residents were very sleepy after being administered medication by Aionoaei. They would be unsteady on their feet and slur their words more than usual.'
On January 31, last year the suspicions were reported to police and hair samples were taken from a total of nine residents - one at their post mortem - and six returned positive for the presence of unprescribed drugs.
Among them were a fast-acting sleeping pill, which usually works for six hours, a drug prescribed to patients with depression and panic attacks, which has a side-effect of drowsiness and an anti-psychotic drug used to treat restlessness.
'They were detected in the hair samples and had been administered over a considerable period of time,' added the prosecutor. 'It shows they were being drugged.'
When questioned by police Aionoaei admitted pushing two chairs together, but denied she slept, and claimed the reason for turning off the light near her was to prevent residents being disturbed.
'She denied ever taking medication from her overall pocket and giving it to a resident.'
SOURCE: The Daily Mail, UK
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• Mirela Aionoaei, 37, accused of using unprescribed anti-insomnia, anti-depressant and anti-psychotic pills on patients
• Court hears patients at the west London care home often had to be taken to bed in wheelchairs after the doses
By Leon Watson
21 August 2012
A senior carer at a Southern Cross nursing home drugged six dementia patients with anti-insomnia, anti-depressant and anti-psychotic pills so she could get a good night's sleep during her shift, a jury was told yesterday.
The patients, four women and two men, who usually wandered around during the night, often had to be taken to bed in wheelchairs after the unprescribed doses and were unsteady on their feet and suffered slurred speech.
Mirela Aionoaei, 37, of Hayes, west London, routinely shoved two chairs together to form a makeshift bed during the night shift and drugged the patients to ensure she would not be disturbed, Harrow Crown Court heard.
'The residents were being poisoned, of that there is no doubt,' said prosecutor Guy Dilliway-Parry. 'The defendant liked to sleep when on duty. Why else put two chairs together?
'She was seen to administer on many occasions over a considerable period of time and the residents would fall asleep almost straight away.
'A sleep so deep they would have to be taken to their beds in wheelchairs.'
Aionoaei has pleaded not guilty to six counts of administering a poison or noxious substance to the six residents of Ashwood Care Centre, in Hayes, between July 1 and December 31, 2010.
There were twenty-two residents on the dementia ward - aged between 58 and over 100-years-old - and Aionoaei was the senior member of staff in charge and the only one permitted to dispense medicine as a trained and authorised health professional.
'They all suffered from mental health conditions that left them vulnerable and unaware of their surroundings,' explained Mr Dilliway-Parry. 'They could do very little for themselves.
Mirela Aionoaei is on trial at Harrow Crown Court where a jury was told she drugged six dementia patients
'Some would walk around at night and needed hourly checks, but Aionoaei would put two chairs together and go to sleep, even if the residents were walking around.
'Her priority seemed to get some sleep herself.'
A suspicious colleague began observing Aionoaei because the residents only became excessively drowsy when she was on duty and she was keen to get them into bed only 30 minutes into her shift.
'The residents were being poisoned, of that there is no doubt.'
Prosecutor Guy Dilliway-Parry
'She was observed approaching residents with a glass of orange juice in one hand and observed putting a small cream-coloured tablet in the residents' mouths and they would all be asleep within five to eight minutes.
'She had taken something from the pocket of her overalls and the drugs trolley remained untouched in the nurse’s station.
'Other staff noticed the residents were very sleepy after being administered medication by Aionoaei. They would be unsteady on their feet and slur their words more than usual.'
On January 31, last year the suspicions were reported to police and hair samples were taken from a total of nine residents - one at their post mortem - and six returned positive for the presence of unprescribed drugs.
Among them were a fast-acting sleeping pill, which usually works for six hours, a drug prescribed to patients with depression and panic attacks, which has a side-effect of drowsiness and an anti-psychotic drug used to treat restlessness.
'They were detected in the hair samples and had been administered over a considerable period of time,' added the prosecutor. 'It shows they were being drugged.'
When questioned by police Aionoaei admitted pushing two chairs together, but denied she slept, and claimed the reason for turning off the light near her was to prevent residents being disturbed.
'She denied ever taking medication from her overall pocket and giving it to a resident.'
SOURCE: The Daily Mail, UK
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Calgary Seniors Group Fights Back Against Elderly Fraud (CANADA)
By Lucas Meyer
Aug 20, 2012
Seniors beware.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, those over the age of 60 account for 73% of those defrauded for more than $5,000.
That's why Calgary's Home Instead Senior Care is out with the Protect Seniors from Fraud kit, a guide for protection against scams and identifying potential threats.
The Director of Care at the franchise, Debbie Franchuk said according to Statistics Canada seven in 10 crimes against older Canadians go unreported.
"Our elderly don't want to look like they're not on top of things and so they'd have to then admit to their families that there's a problem, or something has happened," she said.
Franchuk added some of the most common types of scams against the elderly include telemarketing and donations to fake charities, among others.
"Identity theft is a huge thing, where they ask them to please verify the last three digits of their social insurance number," she said. "By invoking fear, these scammers take full advantage of the elderly."
She said an easy step seniors can take is let their families help them with their finances and documents and to report any suspected fraud calls to city police.
SOURCE: 660 NEWS
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Aug 20, 2012
Seniors beware.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, those over the age of 60 account for 73% of those defrauded for more than $5,000.
That's why Calgary's Home Instead Senior Care is out with the Protect Seniors from Fraud kit, a guide for protection against scams and identifying potential threats.
The Director of Care at the franchise, Debbie Franchuk said according to Statistics Canada seven in 10 crimes against older Canadians go unreported.
"Our elderly don't want to look like they're not on top of things and so they'd have to then admit to their families that there's a problem, or something has happened," she said.
Franchuk added some of the most common types of scams against the elderly include telemarketing and donations to fake charities, among others.
"Identity theft is a huge thing, where they ask them to please verify the last three digits of their social insurance number," she said. "By invoking fear, these scammers take full advantage of the elderly."
She said an easy step seniors can take is let their families help them with their finances and documents and to report any suspected fraud calls to city police.
SOURCE: 660 NEWS
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August 17, 2012
Elderly Suffer as Financial Abuse Grows
Elderly suffer as financial abuse grows
By Christine Dugas, USA TODAY
Aug 15, 2012
Financial abuse of the elderly is getting worse, and most seniors don't know how to seek reliable financial help.
"There is no silver bullet that will end the financial abuse of America's seniors," says Don Blandin, president and CEO of the non-profit Investor Protection Trust (IPT), which released a survey Wednesday about elder exploitation. IPT conducted the survey after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requested more information about the problem.
The experts IPT surveyed said the most common type of abuse is when family members steal or divert funds or property. The next biggest problems are caregiver theft and financial scams perpetrated by strangers.
"Some of those financial scams by strangers can be ones that actually deplete the entire life savings of a senior at the worst possible time in their life," Blandin says.
Abridged
SOURCE: USA TODAY
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By Christine Dugas, USA TODAY
Aug 15, 2012
Financial abuse of the elderly is getting worse, and most seniors don't know how to seek reliable financial help.
"There is no silver bullet that will end the financial abuse of America's seniors," says Don Blandin, president and CEO of the non-profit Investor Protection Trust (IPT), which released a survey Wednesday about elder exploitation. IPT conducted the survey after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requested more information about the problem.
The experts IPT surveyed said the most common type of abuse is when family members steal or divert funds or property. The next biggest problems are caregiver theft and financial scams perpetrated by strangers.
"Some of those financial scams by strangers can be ones that actually deplete the entire life savings of a senior at the worst possible time in their life," Blandin says.
Abridged
SOURCE: USA TODAY
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Family Calls Out Long-Term HealthCare Facility Over Alleged Elder Abuse (CANADA)
ctvmontreal.ca
Aug. 15, 2012
The family of an 83-year-old woman wants criminal charges brought against the long-term healthcare facility where she died, claiming she was a victim of elder abuse.
Gilberte Lemieux-Vachon died of a bedsore she received while at the Manoir Saint-Eustache on April 1, 2011. She lived at the centre following a stroke.
A Quebec Ombudsman’s report released Wednesday revealed there were gaps in the care provided to the elderly woman, and that she had no access to psychosocial and nutritional services.
With little use of her arm following the stroke, Lemieux-Vachon needed extra care from staff and was given a bell next to her bed to signal for assistance.
“Our mom told us they pushed it out of the way so she couldn't contact them,” because they thought she was too demanding, said Gilbert Vachon, her son.
When she developed a bedsore, it became a major concern for the family, he said.
“I didn't know what a bedsore is before I saw this. I thought it was a redness thing, but it is a hole. The whole is two inches by two inches in diameter,” he explained.
The Lemieux-Vachon family said it was first spotted in October 2010, but the coroner's report noted it was only mentioned in her file the following February, and she only visited a doctor a month after that.
By then, the doctor noted it was badly infected and producing a nauseating odour.
At that point, Lemieux-Vachon was admitted to hospital, where she died
The coroner concluded the bedsore led to the death, and called it preventable
Her family, along with the Association québécoise des retraité(e)s des secteurs public et parapublic say her treatment is unacceptable and are demanding better care for elderly residents of long-term care centres.
"I was deeply moved by Ms. Lemieux-Vachon's story. The circumstances under which she passed away are appalling. Nothing like this should ever happen again," said AQRP president Lyne Parent in a statement.
No one from the Manoir Saint-Eustache would comment, except to say Lemieux's death is sad, but an isolated case.
Abridged
SOURCE: Montreal CTV News
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Aug. 15, 2012
The family of an 83-year-old woman wants criminal charges brought against the long-term healthcare facility where she died, claiming she was a victim of elder abuse.
Gilberte Lemieux-Vachon died of a bedsore she received while at the Manoir Saint-Eustache on April 1, 2011. She lived at the centre following a stroke.
A Quebec Ombudsman’s report released Wednesday revealed there were gaps in the care provided to the elderly woman, and that she had no access to psychosocial and nutritional services.
With little use of her arm following the stroke, Lemieux-Vachon needed extra care from staff and was given a bell next to her bed to signal for assistance.
“Our mom told us they pushed it out of the way so she couldn't contact them,” because they thought she was too demanding, said Gilbert Vachon, her son.
When she developed a bedsore, it became a major concern for the family, he said.
“I didn't know what a bedsore is before I saw this. I thought it was a redness thing, but it is a hole. The whole is two inches by two inches in diameter,” he explained.
The Lemieux-Vachon family said it was first spotted in October 2010, but the coroner's report noted it was only mentioned in her file the following February, and she only visited a doctor a month after that.
By then, the doctor noted it was badly infected and producing a nauseating odour.
At that point, Lemieux-Vachon was admitted to hospital, where she died
The coroner concluded the bedsore led to the death, and called it preventable
Her family, along with the Association québécoise des retraité(e)s des secteurs public et parapublic say her treatment is unacceptable and are demanding better care for elderly residents of long-term care centres.
"I was deeply moved by Ms. Lemieux-Vachon's story. The circumstances under which she passed away are appalling. Nothing like this should ever happen again," said AQRP president Lyne Parent in a statement.
No one from the Manoir Saint-Eustache would comment, except to say Lemieux's death is sad, but an isolated case.
Abridged
SOURCE: Montreal CTV News
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August 15, 2012
Clayville Man Accused of Stealing Over $250K from Elderly Woman
Clayville man accused of stealing over $250,000 from an elderly woman
by Maren Guse
08.13.2012
A Clayville man was arrested for allegedly stealing over a quarter million dollars from an elderly woman.
Police in Utica say an 85-year-old woman contacted them in April regarding inconsistencies in her financial accounts. She was concerned about the activities of her accountant, 60-year-old Craig Podosek.
Police say she contacted her financial advisor who agreed there was cause for concern. An investigator and an Elder Abuse Coalition Program Coordinator met with the victim and officials at the banks.
Their investigation found that on four separate occasions, Podosek closed multiple accounts belonging to the woman. Police say he then transferred her money into his business accounts at Podosek Accounting on Genesee Street as well as into his personal accounts.
Police say Podosek was able to move her money because he was her accountant and had power of attorney.
Podosek transferred over $294,000 of the woman’s money, police say.
Podosek is charged with three counts of second degree grand larceny, a felony.
SOURCE: CNY CENTRAL
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by Maren Guse
08.13.2012
A Clayville man was arrested for allegedly stealing over a quarter million dollars from an elderly woman.
Police in Utica say an 85-year-old woman contacted them in April regarding inconsistencies in her financial accounts. She was concerned about the activities of her accountant, 60-year-old Craig Podosek.
Police say she contacted her financial advisor who agreed there was cause for concern. An investigator and an Elder Abuse Coalition Program Coordinator met with the victim and officials at the banks.
Their investigation found that on four separate occasions, Podosek closed multiple accounts belonging to the woman. Police say he then transferred her money into his business accounts at Podosek Accounting on Genesee Street as well as into his personal accounts.
Police say Podosek was able to move her money because he was her accountant and had power of attorney.
Podosek transferred over $294,000 of the woman’s money, police say.
Podosek is charged with three counts of second degree grand larceny, a felony.
SOURCE: CNY CENTRAL
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Family Says Caregiver Abused Elderly Woman (USA)
Family Says Caregiver Abused Elderly Woman; Installed Stripper Pole, Pool And Urinal In Home
Woman's Caregiver Also Reportedly Added Swimming Pool, Lounge
August 13, 2012
FAIR OAKS (CBS13)
She was trusted and paid to look after an elderly woman. But now there are new caretaker concerns after what that woman’s family says they found inside her home.
“She had a stripper pole right here,” Jayne Ramsey said on what was inside the home were accused abuser Naquita Trotter looked after Ramsey’s great aunt, Daisy Goering.
Ramsey, her sister and mother are nieces of the 92-year-old Goering. Ramsey says the backyard is filled obvious signs of abuse.
“She was pretty much brain-washed by her and it’s taken years,” Ramsey said.
Trotter was sentenced to 56 days in the Sacramento County Jail after pleading no contest in 2008 to charges of elder abuse and impersonating a nursing assistant.
That patient died under her care. Trotter never showed up for sentencing and was cited twice for failure to appear in 2009 before finally being arrested last month.
“She’s a really scary person,” said Susie Dilley, another of Goering’s nieces.
Not knowing Trotter was still on the run and posing as a certified caregiver, Daisy’s family trusted her to take care of her. Daisy suffers from dementia.
Her nieces live in Indiana and came out to check on Daisy this summer.
“We did not have a clue that things were this bad,” Dilley said.
For seven years they say Trotter took over Doering’s house and banks accounts.
“It’s been really terrible,” Dilley said.
They say under Trotter’s supervision, a swimming pool, entertainment lounge and odd things like an outhouse with a urinal were built.
“And with the stripper pole on the deck,” great niece Susie Hatfield said. “Who puts that in for a 92-year-old woman?”
Abridged
SOURCE: SacramentoCBS Local
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Woman's Caregiver Also Reportedly Added Swimming Pool, Lounge
August 13, 2012
FAIR OAKS (CBS13)
She was trusted and paid to look after an elderly woman. But now there are new caretaker concerns after what that woman’s family says they found inside her home.
“She had a stripper pole right here,” Jayne Ramsey said on what was inside the home were accused abuser Naquita Trotter looked after Ramsey’s great aunt, Daisy Goering.
Ramsey, her sister and mother are nieces of the 92-year-old Goering. Ramsey says the backyard is filled obvious signs of abuse.
“She was pretty much brain-washed by her and it’s taken years,” Ramsey said.
Trotter was sentenced to 56 days in the Sacramento County Jail after pleading no contest in 2008 to charges of elder abuse and impersonating a nursing assistant.
That patient died under her care. Trotter never showed up for sentencing and was cited twice for failure to appear in 2009 before finally being arrested last month.
“She’s a really scary person,” said Susie Dilley, another of Goering’s nieces.
Not knowing Trotter was still on the run and posing as a certified caregiver, Daisy’s family trusted her to take care of her. Daisy suffers from dementia.
Her nieces live in Indiana and came out to check on Daisy this summer.
“We did not have a clue that things were this bad,” Dilley said.
For seven years they say Trotter took over Doering’s house and banks accounts.
“It’s been really terrible,” Dilley said.
They say under Trotter’s supervision, a swimming pool, entertainment lounge and odd things like an outhouse with a urinal were built.
“And with the stripper pole on the deck,” great niece Susie Hatfield said. “Who puts that in for a 92-year-old woman?”
Abridged
SOURCE: SacramentoCBS Local
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August 10, 2012
Documents Show Woman Previously Posed as Licensed Caregiver (USA)
Documents Show Fair Oaks Woman Previously Posed As Licensed Caregiver
August 8, 2012
SACRAMENTO (CBS13)
New revelations have surfaced about a woman accused of elder abuse after her patient died in her care.
Naquita Trotter is the mother of Moses Trotter, the suspect accused of breaking into an elderly woman’s Fair Oaks house and beating her to death. Deputies arrested him outside the home naked and covered in blood.
Naquita Trotter was arrested last month when she showed up to her son’s court hearing.
Investigators say she had been on the run since 2009, after pleading no contest to elder abuse and impersonating a nursing assistant.
CBS13 has learned those charges stem from the death of elderly patient Mattie Crawford. She died in January 2008 from neglect with bed sores that exposed muscle, bone and tendons.
The court document says Trotter posed as a certified caregiver, deceiving Crawford’s sons.
It says “Trotter assured them she qualified as a licensed vocational nurse and certified nurses assistant to provide such home care when in fact she was not.”
The document also states Trotter hired other unqualified workers and told them to use household bleach to treat Crawford’s wounds.
SOURCE: The Sacramento,CBS Local
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August 8, 2012
SACRAMENTO (CBS13)
New revelations have surfaced about a woman accused of elder abuse after her patient died in her care.
Naquita Trotter is the mother of Moses Trotter, the suspect accused of breaking into an elderly woman’s Fair Oaks house and beating her to death. Deputies arrested him outside the home naked and covered in blood.
Naquita Trotter was arrested last month when she showed up to her son’s court hearing.
Investigators say she had been on the run since 2009, after pleading no contest to elder abuse and impersonating a nursing assistant.
CBS13 has learned those charges stem from the death of elderly patient Mattie Crawford. She died in January 2008 from neglect with bed sores that exposed muscle, bone and tendons.
The court document says Trotter posed as a certified caregiver, deceiving Crawford’s sons.
It says “Trotter assured them she qualified as a licensed vocational nurse and certified nurses assistant to provide such home care when in fact she was not.”
The document also states Trotter hired other unqualified workers and told them to use household bleach to treat Crawford’s wounds.
SOURCE: The Sacramento,CBS Local
_____________________________________
Click for Updates, More Cases and Resources
Search LABELS for More Resources
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