Sacramento caregiver to stand trial in death of 88-year-old

Both sides agree that Silvia Cata’s “Super Home Care” facility in Sacramento was “neat and clean,” and that 88-year-old Georgia Holzmeister seemed content to live there.

And that’s where the agreement pretty much ends.

On Tuesday – 16 months after the death of Holzmeister, who was hospitalized in June 2012 with gaping bedsores – Cata was ordered to stand trial in a unique criminal case being pursued by California’s attorney general.  Following a three-hour preliminary hearing, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Ernest W. Sawtelle found sufficient evidence that Cata be tried on felony charges of elder abuse and involuntary manslaughter.

The manslaughter charge is believed to be a first for state prosecutors in an elder-abuse case, filed by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. In addition to the felony counts, the case against Cata moves forward with two special allegations that the elderly victim suffered great bodily injury, and that neglect and abuse caused her death.

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Sacramento caregiver to stand trial in death of 88-year-old

Full Article and Source:
Sacramento caregiver to stand trial in death of 88-year-old

TN: Conservator Pleads Guilty to Sexual Battery, Theft

With his two victims looking on, a 76-year-old former court appointed conservator pleaded guilty Monday to theft and sexual battery charges, crimes he committed against the very people he was charged with protecting.

Speaking so softly he could barely be heard, Walter Strong of Celina entered the guilty pleas under an agreement where charges of rape by an authority figure were dropped. From 2004 until 2011, Strong was the conservator of a handicapped couple. He admitted to sexual battery on the woman and theft of $105,479 from both of them.

He will face 270 days of jail time under the plea deal, time that could drop to 200 days for good behavior.
Although Strong was also ordered to make restitution to the couple, his attorney, Jack Lowery of Lebanon, told Circuit Judge Judge David A. Patterson it was unlikely his client would ever be able to pay back the full amount.

“He doesn’t have $105,000,” Lowery said.

When the judge asked him directly if he would agree to make restitution, Strong said, “I don’t know how.”

Patterson warned Strong that, if he failed to make an effort at restitution, the full 10-year sentence called for under state law could be imposed.

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Conservator Pleads Guilty to Sexual Battery, Theft

See Also:
TN Conservator Charged With Raping Woman, Stealing From Couple

101-Year-Old Man’s Alleged Abuse Adds To Medicaid Crisis

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Thursday afternoon Julie Johnston, the granddaughter of the alleged abuse victim, held a press conference where she released audio recordings of her grandfather’s claim.

In the recordings, you hear the 101-year-old man claim that Desmond Kimbrough, a former Mount Pleasant Manor employee sexually assaulted him.

“I said you’re killing me, you’re hurting me so bad. My back was hurting me so bad and he was having sex with me,” Johnston’s grandfather said.

Now Johnston says she’s having a hard time getting her grandfather out of Mount Pleasant Manor, where the abuse is said to have occurred.

A hidden camera caught a lot of the activity. All of the video has not yet been released to the media but an attorney for the family did show a few clips.

The video recorded just last week, over a 24-hour period ending on December 7 resulted in the arrest of Kimbrough. He was in bond court on Tuesday morning charged with Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult.

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101-Year-Old Man’s Alleged Abuse Adds To Medicaid Crisis

Washington State Guardian Accused of Stealing From Elderly Clients

A 61-year-old Sedro-Woolley woman pleaded not guilty to charges accusing her of stealing money from at least two of her legal guardianship clients.

Sharon Nielson is accused of more than $370,000 of suspicious financial activity in her handling of two clients’ bank accounts between 2009 and 2011, according to police reports. She is charged with four counts of first-degree theft and one count of money laundering.

Nielson was the legal guardian of an 88-year-old Anacortes woman and a 77-year-old Sedro-Woolley man, both of whom lived in nursing homes, court documents say.

An audit of the woman’s finances after Nielson was removed as her guardian revealed more than $92,000 of unauthorized expenses from the woman’s estate, including payments to casinos and writing checks for cash to herself and her business.

She is also accused of writing checks for thousands of dollars to herself from the Sedro-Woolley man’s account.

Nielson appears to have used multiple accounts to conduct payments on behalf of her clients, making it hard to determine which transactions were on behalf of her clients, payments for her services and for her personal use, the affidavit said.

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Guardian Accused of Stealing From Elderly Clients

See Also:
In the Matter of Sharon Nielson, CPG: #10082
In the Court of Appeals in the State of Washington

Man Stole Elderly Woman’s Funds, Bought Houseboat, Police Say

 A St. Charles County man faces criminal charges after O’Fallon Police said he stole funds from an elderly woman, using the money to buy himself a houseboat.

Ben Huffman, 42, of the 100 block of Lake Village Drive in northwest St. Charles County, was charged with misappropriation of funds of an elderly nursing home resident; stealing more than $25,000, a class B felony; and marijuana possession.

O’Fallon Police said that Huffman, acting with power of attorney, stole more than $25,000 from the woman’s bank account between Dec. 3, 2010 and Aug. 24, 2011. He used the money for personal expenses, including buying a houseboat to live on, police said.

Huffman also was responsible for paying for the woman’s care at the nursing home, but she had an outstanding bill of $17,533 as of Aug. 15, 2011, according to court documents. The nursing home sent him certified letters regarding the bill.

Police also said Huffman tried to grow marijuana plants in the woman’s home.

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Man Stole Elderly Woman’s Funds, Bought Houseboat, Police Say