Guardianship Attorney Indicted for Bilking $800,000 from Incapacitated Wards

Guardianship Attorney Indicted for Bilking $800,000 from Incapacitated Wards


Newsbrief - Law and Order

Written by MC Prosecutor's Office

Tuesday, 01 November 2011 11:29

FREEHOLD, NJ - A guardianship attorney and her former paralegal were indicted today on chargesof theft and failing to make required disposition of more than $800,000, Prosecutor PeterE. Warshaw, Jr. announced.

The charges stem from a three-year investigation conducted by the MonmouthCounty Prosecutor's Office into the guardianship practice of attorney Lynn Kenneally, 50,of Wall. The investigation revealed that Kenneally routinely received guardianship appointments in Monmouth and Ocean Counties for individuals (“wards”) whose interests Kenneally was supposed to faithfully represent, such as senior citizens deemed by judges ofthe Superior Court to lack the necessary mental faculties to manage their own affairs. Inher capacity as a court-appointed guardian, Kenneally’s primary responsibility was the honest and faithful management of her wards’ finances. However, a forensic examination of Kenneally’s law practice revealed that, from October 2000 through December 2006,more than $800,000 of proceeds belonging to Kenneally’s wards was diverted into orthrough the personal bank accounts of Tara Howie, 40, of Brick, a former paralegal of Kenneally’s guardianship practice.

The investigation further revealed that Howie used approximately $500,000 of thismoney to pay for college tuition, mortgage payments, car payments and various otherpersonal expenditures; and that Kenneally repeatedly overpaid bills on behalf of herwards, causing the issuance of refund checks that were ultimately diverted. To further conceal the theft scheme, mandatory accountings filed by Kenneally failed to disclose the existence of checks that were ultimately deposited into Howie’s personal accounts.

If convicted, Kenneally and Howie face a maximum potential custodial sentence often years in New Jersey State Prison. The next court proceeding will be the arraignment ofthe defendants, which will be scheduled within the next several weeks.

Kenneally was arrested on October 31, 2011 and was released from the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on that date after posting bail in the amount of $75,000,with no 10% option, which was set by Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully, P.J.C.Howie was previously arrested in connection with these charges in September 2008 andwas released from the Monmouth County Correctional Institution after posting $75,000 bail, set by Superior Court Judge Edward M. Neafsey.


Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until foundguilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of thetrial rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and State law.

The case is assigned to Assistant Prosecutors Nicole Colucci and Andrew S. Fried ofthe Office’s Special Prosecutions Bureau.Defense counsel:James Fagen, Esq., Freehold, for KenneallyTo be determined for Howie

Please read complete article at link below:

http://www.ahherald.com/newsbrief-mainmenu-2/law-and-order/11985-guardianship-attorney-indicted-for-bilking-800000-from-incapacitated-wards

Editor's note: It sure sounds like the day to day operation of the corrupt Probate Court of Cook County. The main difference is the Cook County Superior Court Judges do nothing to stem the tide. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com