Why You Should Care About Guardianship Abuse

By Michael E. Miller Wed., May 7 2014 at 10:30 AM

2 Comments

Categories: News

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Illustration by Carlo Giambarresi

New Times cover stories usually need no introduction. They are often straightforward profiles of the insane characters cluttering South Florida: a murderous male porn star, an internet Lolita, or a washed up professional football player now obsessed with orca whales.

This week's feature is a bit different, however. Yes, there are kidnappings, accusations of fraud, and brain-eating tapeworms, but it is, at heart, an investigation into something most Floridians have never heard of: guardianship abuse.

So here are a few reasons why you should care about the issue, starting with the fact that you, too, could catch a deadly parasite from uncooked pork and wake up in a hospital without any legal rights.

See also: Florida's Guardians Often Exploit the Vulnerable Residents They're Supposed to Protect

That's exactly what happened to the story's main character, Lacy Waters. The Nicaraguan mother of ten was working on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship when she was stricken with brain-eating tapeworms.

She nearly died before an American lawyer brought her to Miami for treatment. But while she was in the hospital, Royal Caribbean petitioned a Miami probate judge to have Lacy's rights removed. She was placed under the care of a professional "guardian": someone paid out of Lacy's own pocket to run her life for her.

Suddenly, Lacy wasn't allowed to decide for herself where to live, what medicine to take, even who she could marry.

Roughly 50,000 Floridians are currently in such guardianships. Many are elderly people who have been deemed "incapacitated" by a court due to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or dementia.

But Lacy's case shows that guardianship can affect anyone. She was just 46 when her ordeal began. In another case examined by New Times, a 2-year-old girl was placed into a guardianship after falling and hitting her head.

As people live longer, the age of the average American is increasing. This "graying of America" is particularly acute here in Florida, now the country's grayest state. Chances are that you, a family member, or a friend will one day have to deal with a guardianship case.

It's no surprise, therefore, that guardianship is a big industry here in South Florida. Professional guardians can make millions off of their wards. Yet, some counties do almost nothing to monitor the practice.

In the past three years, Palm Beach County has caught more than $3 million in guardianship fraud. But Miami-Dade, with 2.5 times as many cases, has yet to crack down on the issue. Statewide, hundreds of millions of dollars are at risk.

Our five-month investigation, which entailed reviewing thousands of pages of guardian files, has found the following:

• Miami-Dade has more than 7,000 guardianship cases -- more than any other county in the state -- yet has arguably the least oversight and no dedicated watchdog.

• By contrast, Palm Beach County has uncovered more than $3 million in guardianship fraud since starting its watchdog program in 2011 despite handling less than half as many cases as Miami, while Broward's watchdog has caught a dozen guardians engaging in fraud worth more than $4 million.

• There were regular failures to file basic information. Guardians were often years late in filing financial forms, and until this month, Miami-Dade lacked any electronic system to track the programs.

• Guardians have given thousands in donations to the election campaigns of the same judges who appoint them to cases and award them their fees.

In the past few months, there has been much media focus on child abuse and the failures of the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

Abuse at the other end of the age spectrum may be even more widespread, but often goes ignored. Miami probate courts strip people of their rights, putting them at risk of abuse from the very people that are supposed to protect them.

"The system is overwhelmed by the number of cases that are out there," says one guardianship attorney. "DCF is often accused of not acting fast enough, but I think it could be argued that in [guardianship] cases, the court acts too fast."

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Caretaker accused of spending $94K of elderly, disabled man's savings

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Anthony Kehle, 75, is charged with exploiting the elderly and fraud. (The Palm Beach County Sheriff's…)

July 9, 2013|By Brittany Shammas, Sun Sentinel

Investigators say a disabled, elderly man was evicted from his home and near death after his caretaker used more than $94,000 of his money to fund his own lavish lifestyle and left the man, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, alone for days.
Anthony Kehle, 75, of Jupiter, was arrested Sunday by city police. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on fraud and exploitation of the elderly charges.

 

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies began investigating in July 2010, after a woman filed a theft and fraud complaint on behalf of her uncle, Daniel Hull. Stacey Heathcote, 44, of Shadyside, Ohio, said while visiting her uncle, she discovered piles of invoices for unpaid bills, according to Kehle's arrest report. His phone rang constantly with bill collectors trying to get payment.
Heathcote said she looked through her uncle's bills and saw his money being used for spa treatments and expensive dinners. Further investigation showed it paid for jewelry, clothing, dinners at Morton's steakhouse, a plane ticket to Venezuela and a membership at the International Polo Club, among other expenses. It also funded companies owned by Kehle.
Hull died about a year ago. But news of Kehle's arrest was welcomed by Heathcote, who's being sued by Kehle for money he says her uncle owed. She said that after learning of his financial state, she moved her uncle to her Ohio home to care for him.
"Who goes and takes somebody's life savings away from them like it's theirs?" Heathcote said Monday. "Who does that?"
Kehle left Hull alone for days, according to the arrest report. His house was a mess, Heathcote said, he hadn't been taking his medicine and the shelves of the fridge were nearly bare.
A former friend and co-worker of Hull's, Kehle told Hull he could help him recover money from his late wife's estate, which he believed contained millions of dollars. None of it was recovered.
Investigation showed Kehle also convinced Hull to invest $25,000 into a company he owned. Hull was never given any money in return for the investment, according to the report
When investigators spoke to Kehle, he said Hull paid for help through the "use of his credit cards" and cash in his bank accounts.
Kehle told deputies "took it upon himself to help" Hull after learning his life savings was missing. Asked why he thought it was appropriate to spend Hull's money, Kehle explained he thought he would be able to recover the millions.
He remained in jail late Monday on a $100,000 bail.
Heathcote said she's angry and hurt over Kehle's treatment of her uncle.
"My uncle was a good man," she said. "He would do anything for anybody."
bshammas@tribune.com, 561-243-6531 or Twitter @britsham