Elder Law

Ex-lawmaker charged with felony sex abuse is acquitted by jury

A former state lawmaker being criminally tried in an unusual sexual-abuse case, based on his late wife’s dementia, was acquitted Wednesday by an Iowa jury. Henry Rayhons was charged in the felony case after staff at the nursing home at which Donna Rayhons was then living determined, with the help…

Apr 22, 2015 4:10 PM CDT

Sons charged with stealing from best-selling true-crime author Ann Rule

For decades, author Ann Rule has written one best-selling true-crime novel after another about people victimized by those they loved. Now it appears that Rule may have become a crime victim herself. King County prosecutors have filed theft charges against two of her sons, Andrew and Michael Rule, 54 and…

Apr 22, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Harper Lee probe is closed with no finding of abuse

Alabama’s probe of Harper Lee’s ability to make decisions has closed with a finding of no abuse or neglect. Lawyers for Lee, 88, said they were notified of the finding by the primary investigating agency, the Alabama Department of Human Resources, report the New York Times and the Wall Street…

Apr 6, 2015 7:05 AM CDT

Lawyer gets 10-year sentence for role in stealing $3.8M from elderly victims

A New Jersey lawyer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in a scheme to steal $3.8 million from 16 elderly victims. Barbara Lieberman, a court-appointed guardian and elder law specialist in Atlantic County who gave seminars to senior citizens on end-of-life issues and other matters,…

Mar 27, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Harper Lee was aware of book deal, one agency concludes

One of two Alabama agencies investigating Harper Lee’s decision-making capability has concluded she was aware of the deal to publish a new book. The Alabama Securities Commission announced on Thursday it was ending its probe, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). One of the…

Mar 13, 2015 8:42 AM CDT

Alabama investigators interview Harper Lee after at least one complaint

Alabama’s Human Resources Department has dispatched investigators to interview 88-year-old Harper Lee, as well as her friends and caretakers, after receiving at least one complaint. A doctor–who is friends with Lee but has not treated her–sought an investigation by filing an anonymous complaint, the New York Times reports. The doctor,…

Mar 12, 2015 7:52 AM CDT

Lawyer acted appropriately when representing client who wanted to leave nursing home, court says

The North Dakota Supreme Court has dismissed an ethics complaint against a lawyer who helped an elderly man revoke a power of attorney so he could leave a nursing home. A disciplinary board had found the lawyer, Gregory Runge, violated a disciplinary rule regarding clients with limited capacity and recommended…

Feb 27, 2015 2:05 PM CST

Estate of ‘kung fu judge’ wins $750K in suit over his claimed unlawful confinement in nursing home

A nursing home in New York has agreed to settle a lawsuit for $750,000 that claimed a former Brooklyn judge was confined there against his will for eight months prior to his death in 2008. The case, which was brought by a nephew, also noted that his uncle was in…

Feb 18, 2015 4:20 PM CST

Snapchat photo of incontinent nursing home patient leads to arrest and guilty plea for nurse’s aide

A former nurse’s aide at a nursing home in upstate New York has pleaded guilty to violation of health laws after he was accused of posting a genitals photo of an incontinent nursing home patient on Snapchat. The aide, 21-year-old Edward Melock of Depew, was accused of sending the photo…

Feb 4, 2015 7:50 AM CST

Financial commitment by Congress to address elder abuse issues is an encouraging step

Responding to a push by the ABA and elder rights advocates for a greater commitment from the federal government to address the growing problem of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, Congress has approved $4 million in new funding this year for the Elder Justice Initiative.

Feb 1, 2015 6:23 AM CST

Nursing homes seek guardianships of patients to ensure the bills get paid

Nursing homes in New York are seeking guardianships of their patients to ensure bill payment, even when a family member has been designated to perform that function. That’s the conclusion of the New York Times, based on research conducted for the newspaper and experts familiar with the system. Confidentiality concerns…

Jan 27, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Former lawmaker faces spouse-abuse case; AG’s office says wife’s dementia precluded consent to sex

By all accounts, Donna Lou Young and Henry Rayhons were happily married. But the former Iowa lawmaker is now awaiting trial in a felony spouse-abuse case. He is accused of having sex with his wife in a nursing home when she was allegedly incapable of consent because of her dementia,…

Dec 9, 2014 4:40 PM CST

Feds cite ‘epidemic’ of debt-collection abuse, charge 7 individuals and company in ongoing probe

A Georgia-based debt-collection company, its owner and six employees have been criminally charged in what is described by federal authorities as a $4.1 million national scheme that took advantage of more than 6,000 people. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of Manhattan, who is overseeing the case, says a larger investigation of…

Nov 18, 2014 5:17 PM CST

Elder law attorney accused of stealing from clients and estates takes plea, will forfeit $3M

A New Jersey attorney known for her elder law expertise has pleaded guilty to money laundering.concerning a scheme that allegedly stripped senior clients and some of their estates of millions of dollars. Barbara Lieberman, 62, also agreed to give up her law license, some $3 million in frozen assets and…

Nov 4, 2014 10:35 AM CST

Will Illinois become the sixth state to allow granny cams in nursing homes?

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is backing legislation that would allow families to place recording devices in nursing homes to monitor treatment of their loved ones. Madigan says the bill would require consent from nursing home residents being recorded as well as from their roommates, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago…

Sep 9, 2014 2:03 PM CDT