Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people
A Detroit judge and three other residents were charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in a "years-long scheme" to embezzle money from incapacitated and vulnerable individuals.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, who is a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court, is alleged "to have used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar" and "money embezzled from the estate of a ward to pay a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for herself."
"We respect the authority that covers a black robe. This state judge and her cronies allegedly abused that high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court," U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. "This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust."
"Regardless of a person’s position in society, no one is above the law. These four defendants allegedly conspired to steal from some of our most vulnerable citizens — looting bank accounts, exploiting legal authority, and profiting off those who relied on them for care and protection," added Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.
The Attorney’s Office said Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Dwight Rashad, 69, and Bradley-Baskin, all Detroit residents, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
"The indictment also charges Bradley with one count of wire fraud, Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad with several counts of money laundering, and Bradley-Baskin with a single count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement agent," it added.
Lawyers representing Bradley-Baskin did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The Attorney’s Office, citing the indictment, said "probate courts regularly appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults, known as wards, who have been found by the court to lack the capacity to do so themselves."
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"The indictment alleges that Nancy Williams owned Guardian and Associates, an agency that was appointed as a fiduciary by the Wayne County Probate Court for incapacitated wards in over 1,000 cases. Avery Bradley is an attorney, who, along with his daughter (and fellow attorney) Andrea Bradley-Baskin, operated a law firm that often represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court and otherwise practiced regularly in that court," it continued. "Dwight Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards, who needed support and care."
"The indictment alleges that the four defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards, and to obtain and retain money for themselves that rightly belonged to the wards and the wards’ estates," it also said.
Prosecutors described how in one case, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad allegedly took around $203,000 in funds from a ward’s legal settlement, with "none of the money being used to benefit the ward."
"Williams is alleged to have paid Rashad rent for wards who did not live in one of Rashad’s homes," they said.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations.