>Former NV Supervising District Court Clerk Arrested for Felony Theft

>A former supervising Washoe District Court clerk has surrendered to face criminal charges stemming from allegations she siphoned more than $200,000 from a state court trust account to pay personal gambling debts.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that 45-year-old Teresa Prince was arrested Monday on a felony theft warrant. Bail was set at $7,500 pending an appearance in Reno Justice Court.

The Gazette-Journal reports that Prince resigned March 2, less than a week after money was found to be missing from a Second Judicial District Court account.

Full Article and Source:
Former Supervising Nevada Court Clerk Accused of Draining Trust Account to Pay Gambling Debts

>Las Vegas Lawyer Arrested on Theft, Embezzlement Charges

>A two-year investigation has led to theft and embezzlement charges against suspended Las Vegas lawyer Jeanne Winkler, who was arrested Tuesday evening by Washoe County sheriff’s deputies.

“Jeanne Winkler swore to an oath as an attorney and was entrusted by her clients to uphold that oath,” Las Vegas police officer J. Downing wrote in support of an arrest warrant. “Winkler was entrusted by her clients to protect their money which by her own testimony she used for her own personal use.”

According to the document, the victims who filed complaints against Winkler with Las Vegas police suffered a total loss of about $143,000.

A criminal complaint, dated Feb. 18, charges Winkler with seven counts of theft. It also charges her with two counts of embezzlement involving a victim who is 60 or older.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyer Arrested on Theft Embezzlement Charges

>Nevada Judges the Judges

>2010 Report: A biennial survey of local attorneys rating judges; Supreme Court justices

A total of 796 respondents completed online evaluation ballots and were qualified to be included in the statistical calculations and results in this biennial survey conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The survey has been published every other year since 1992 as a public service.

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>Woman Gets Probation After Stealing Over $330K

>Reno artist Peggy Viola Six, 64, befriended a woman 18 years ago while they were neighbors at a local trailer park.

Six, who described 88-year-old Gayle Savage as a mother figure, helped her buy a home and a vehicle after Savage received a large inheritance in 2004. But once Savage developed dementia in July 2008, Six’s greed “reared it’s ugly head and she took advantage of Gayle Savage,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Karl Hall. As a result, Savage is in a state-run nursing home in Carson City instead of being able to afford home health-care and own pets, he said.

In less than one year, Six and Reno real estate broker Robin Benjamin, 65, stole more than $330,000 from Savage’s bank accounts and unlawfully sold her Southeast Reno home. Six gambled more than $500 a day with Savage’s money, purchased a motor home for her personal travel, and used the rest to invest in her artistry business and other ventures suggested by Benjamin.

Washoe District Judge Janet Berry sentenced Six to probation for her guilty plea of elderly exploitation. Six was facing a term of four to 10 years, which the state parole and probation division recommended. But Berry said prison would not help Six pay back $337,166.58 in restitution for the money she stole. The exploitation increased after Six obtained power of attorney over Savage while she was hospitalized, Hall said.

Washoe County Public Guardian Case manager Pamela Johnston told Berry that the exploitation caused Savage to become a ward of the state, and the money recouped for her will run out next year. That’s when taxpayers begin footing the $8,000 monthly fee for her care through Medicaid.

Full Article and Source:
Reno Woman Gets Probtion in Elderly Exploitation Case After Stealing More Than $330,000

>Woman Jailed in Fleecing of Disabled Grandmother

>A Carson City woman was jailed, accused of abusing control over her disabled grandmother and spending the woman’s savings.

Leza L. Bulman, 37, a gas station employee, was booked into the Carson City Jail on suspicion of felony exploitation of an older person and felony embezzlement against a person over 60.

According to the arrest report, in 2008 Bulman was awarded guardianship of her grandmother Yvonne Crow, 84, described as having “cognitive impairments and … unable to independently meet her current care needs.”

At that time, Crow had more than $300,000 in the bank, the report states.

When the nursing home where Crow was staying reported payments weren’t being made on Crow’s account, Aging Services became involved, and then investigators.

The investigation allegedly revealed Bulman was using her grandmother’s money to pay rent, her sister’s rent, phone and auto repair bills and was loaning out money.

According to the report, when the investigation was opened in May, Crow’s account had a zero balance and Bulman was allegedly trying to sell her grandmother’s property in Palm Springs, Calif.

Bulman denied taking the money, telling investigators her grandmother gave her permission.

Bail is set at $3,000.

Source:
Woman Jailed in Fleecing of Disabled Grandmother

Las Vegas Lawyer Under Scrutiny

Las Vegas attorney Stanley Walton is not having a good month.

One week after he was arrested for contempt of court in a probate case involving millions of reportedly missing dollars he was supposed to safeguard, Walton failed to file a formal answer to a Nevada State Bar complaint alleging he misappropriated $20,000 given to him by a client in an unrelated case.

Along the way, Walton is alleged to have violated several rules of professional conduct that Nevada lawyers are required to follow, particularly as they relate to relationships with clients.

The complaint, signed by State Bar of Nevada General Counsel Rob Bare, details Walton’s relationship with Xiao Ping Wang, which began in 2003 when Walton was appointed a special prosecutor in a domestic violence case in which Wang was the victim.

A month later he was her divorce attorney, and for a brief period, they were intimate. Walton continued to represent Wang in a variety of legal matters and, according to the Bar, she considered him her “general practitioner” lawyer.

According to the Bar, Walton might have offered Wang a deal that sounded too good to be true: A $20,000 investment that just 22 days later would yield $100,000.

Because Walton failed to file a written answer to the Bar complaint within the required 20 days, his law license is imperiled. The Nevada Supreme Court has final control over law licenses.

Potential disciplinary measures range from a private reprimand to permanent disbarment. It is also possible the Bar could file a second complaint regarding the probate case.

In its four allegations of rule violations, two claim Walton had a conflict of interest with Wang, one accused him of failing to protect her property, and the fourth — and arguably the most serious — charges him with misconduct for engaging in conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”

Full Article and Source:
State Bar of Nevada Acts to Discipline Las Vegas Lawyer

Lynn EnEarl Resigns!

Less than a week after her husband resigned as East Fork Justice of the Peace, Douglas County Public Administrator Lynn EnEarl has resigned effective Dec. 1.

EnEarl, 59, denied her resignation had to do with the recent controversy over her public guardianship.

“No, this is all about family,” she said. “Our daughters and grandchildren live here. It’s almost like a job. It takes time to take care of family.”

“Since my husband’s retirement, I’ve been seriously thinking about what is important in life,” she said. “My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s and her health is deteriorating. It’s difficult for my husband to take care of her on his own.”

EnEarl said there are some probate cases she needs to complete.

Under Nevada law, EnEarl is required to report on each of her charges’ personal and financial welfare to the district court. Senior advocates reviewing the case files said the reports were not completed. EnEarl’s attorney, Michael Rowe, said that in some cases the court waived the annual reports, though advocates were unable to find written waivers.

A score of EnEarl’s guardian cases are passing through the district courts now to bring those reports up to date. In two cases, wards were placed in more restrictive care facilities than required by their condition.

During one hearing, EnEarl said she didn’t meet with her wards because she’s not a confrontational person. She was ordered by District Judge Dave Gamble to meet with her charges on a monthly basis.

In some of the cases, the wards said they’d never met EnEarl until they were in court.

Full Article and Source:
EnEarl Resigns as Public Administrator

See Also:
Judge Sets New Tone for Guardianships

Sentenced to 43 Months to 16 Years

A Fallon man who pleaded guilty to exploitation of an elderly person over 60 was sentenced Tuesday in District Court.

Crash Corrigan Streavel received 43 months to 16 years in prison for stealing about $250,000 from Myrl and Maie Nygren.

According to Deputy District Attorney Ben Shawcroft, Streavel was a caregiver for the Nygrens and then took control of their finances. Streavel paid himself, added his name to a credit card account and wrote checks to himself in the their names and took out cash advances.

As part of the sentence, Judge David Huff ordered Streavel to sign over the deed to the Idaho property, the title to the SUV and any remaining money in his bank account to Maie, 82. Myrl died of natural causes in the spring.

“This is a terrible crime to take advantage of elderly people,” Huff said. “I take this very seriously.”

Full Article and Source:
Exploitation of Elderly Ladies Costs Fallon Man

Judge Sets New Tone for Guardianships

Problems found in the management of wards under the county’s care are being addressed, according to District Judge Dave Gamble, who took responsibility for some of the issues in an interview.

“My first reaction when I saw some of the shortcomings was how I could have let certain things happen,” Gamble said about guardianships managed by Public Administrator Lynn EnEarl. “We tend to get into auto-pilot mode, and one of the things I made clear was that I myself have the ultimate duty with regard to these wards.”

EnEarl didn’t file annual reports on her wards or inventories in cases where she was named guardian by the court. The reports and inventories are required by state law, but EnEarl’s attorney, Mike Rowe, said that in some cases judges waived the requirement.

The issues with the public administrator were brought to light by Special Advocates For the Elderly, who were appointed by Gamble and District Judge Michael Gibbons.

Gamble said he felt that the court and the public administrator have a duty to the wards, and he laid down new rules for dealing with them.

“Certainly, there were shortcomings in the performance of Ms. EnEarl, but I believe those have been corrected and that all of us involved in guardianship cases have realized that we have not had the day-to-day needs of the ward foremost in our minds,” he said. “It was not just Ms. EnEarl’s fault. It was just as much mine as the ultimate authority in these cases. When a practice over decades has gotten into a pattern, it’s tough to break yourself out of that pattern. The SAFE advocates helped us break the pattern.”

Gamble said that he gave EnEarl direction for the care of the wards. He credited the Special Advocates For the Elderly for their help.

“It has been a boon for the system in Douglas County and led to a much better protective system for the wards,” he said. “My perception is that this has been really positive.”

Full Article and Source:
Judge Sets New Tone for Guardianships

See Also:
More Cases Against Public Administrator

More Cases Against Public Administrator Lynn EnEarl

Advocates for the elderly are claiming that Public Administrator Lynn EnEarl’s failure to file an inventory or provide annual reports on the status of her wards’ welfare is a pattern for her nearly two dozen clients.

Three more cases brought to the attention of Douglas County District Court by Special Advocates for the Elderly are expected to be heard on Tuesday.

Last week, EnEarl relinquished her four-year guardianship over an 83-year-old Gardnerville woman, saying in court documents filed by her attorney Mike Rowe, that ward Sharon Hicks’ clear desire to have another guardian prompted the move. Rowe objected to the accusations included in a July 1 petition filed by the advocates, and that EnEarl’s willingness to transfer Hicks’ guardianship was not an admission.

Douglas District Judge Michael Gibbons said he didn’t understand why Public Administrator Lynn EnEarl and her attorney failed to file reports and an inventory required by law.

“It’s a total surprise to me to find all this out,” Gibbons said. “I’m somewhat mystified as to how this happened.”

Special Advocate For the Elderly Coordinator John Giomi, who sought removal of EnEarl as Hicks’ guardian, told Gibbons that EnEarl failed to file an annual accounting, a report on Hicks’ welfare or to perform her other duties as required by law.

In a July 1 filing, Giomi said Hicks was transferred to Mountain View Health and Rehabilitation Center without any clothing or her belongings.

Special Advocate Dana Jantos called Hicks’ questions about what happened to her property heartbreaking.

“Mrs. Hicks has an excellent memory,” she said. “She has asked about her belongings many times.”

EnEarl told Gibbons she didn’t find any family photos or valuables when she entered the apartment.

“Even people who are incompetent have a right to have their property,” he said. “Not everything has to be disposed of. If they have jewelry and things just put them in a bag and give it to them. People are still going to want their things for some reason.”

Gibbons said the advocates are there to work with the public administrator.

“Despite the conflict here, all three of the people are here to help,” he said. “In the long run I think you’ll find the SAFEs will help you.”

Gibbons did not approve the accounting submitted by EnEarl and Rowe. He asked them to supplement the inventory they submitted with more information.

“You have submitted an accounting, but it’s not complete,” he said.

Full Article and Source:
More Public Administrator Cases Coming to Court

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Documents Produced