Late last month, Tablet Magazine published my investigation into the abuse of elders by guardians which primarily focused upon the Oakland County Probate Court in Pontiac, Michigan.
https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/264932/guardians-from-hell
The investigation profiled the case of Virginia Wahab, a then-92-year-old senior who was placed into guardianship and denied family visitation at Lourdes Senior Community in Waterford, Michigan. The petition was filed with the Oakland County Probate Court because of a back due bill owed to Lourdes who wanted a Medicare application to be filed. Ms. Wahab had given her daughter Mimi Brun a durable power of attorney. At a June 29, 2016 hearing of the petition, Ms. Brun was not permitted legal counsel and Ms. Wahab was not present. No Michigan statute exists permitting guardianship over a past due bill. Yet Ms. Wahab’s POA was tossed out by the presiding Judge Linda Hallmark and attorney and professional guardian Jon Munger was assigned to her.
Mr. Munger subsequently denied visitation for Ms. Brun. By June 21, 2018 mother and daughter had not seen each other for two years.
Following the article's publication, I visited Oakland County Probate Court for a June 27, 2018 hearing on Ms. Brun's petition to be permitted visitation.
Ms. Wahab was present at the hearing, in a wheelchair surrounded by at least five employees from Lourdes including their attorney and the organization's CEO Maureen Comer.
The reunion between mother and daughter was tearful. I asked Ms. Brun if I could film a more private reunion at the main entrance to the Probate Court. She agreed. Within two minutes, Mr. Munger’s friend and attorney Joseph Ehlrich (who was neither Ms. Wahab's guardian nor an employee or representative of Lourdes) appeared from inside the court and, for no stated reason other than words "my turn", violently snatched the wheelchair carrying Ms. Wahab away from Ms. Brun while a Lourdes employee took Ms. Wahab back into the building. Ms. Brun was injured during the altercation.
The incident was caught both on mine and Oakland County's own security cameras and was witnessed by at least six people.
Oakland County Probate Court sheriffs asked the witnesses to write out and sign statements.
In subsequent inquiries to Oakland County Probate Court, Ms Brun and her attorney have been told that the Oakland County security cameras were not functioning for the 15 minutes during which the altercation took place and that all the witness statements are "missing."
Mr. Munger was not present during the subsequent hearing which I was able to capture on tape, Mr. Ehrlich delivered a 20-minute deposition to Judge Hallmark that is inaccurate and, given the documentary evidence, dishonest. He even misstated the date of the first petition hearing as June 19 2016. It actually occurred ten days later.
Despite the pleas of both mother and daughter, whom she threatened to hold in contempt, Judge Hallmark ruled that an evidentiary hearing be held on July 30. Ms. Wahab was transported back to Lourdes.
Ms. Wahab is now 95-years-old and her condition is deteriorating.
A change.org petition has been started for Ms. Wahab’s release:
www.change.org/…
This is not a case in isolation. My subsequent investigation has uncovered the following thus far:
1) According to anonymous source connected with Oakland County Probate, Mr. Munger has had over 1,600 wards.
2) He still declares himself as a public administrator despite being fired from that role by the Michigan AG's office late last year (no reason provided) nor listed as one by the Oakland County Probate Court.
3) I have discovered court documents which demonstrate similar actions in violation of Michigan statutes, questionable billing and financial exploitation of wards by at least six guardians employed by the Oakland County Court: Mr. Munger, Ms. Barbara Andruccioli, Mr. John Yun, Mr. Fraser Thomas Brennan and Ms. Jennifer Carey. These actions have all been rubber-stamped by three out of the four judges there: Judge Linda Hallmark, Judge Jennifer Callaghan and Judge Daniel O'Brien.
My request for comment to the Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, Governor Rick Snyder and State reps and senators have gone unanswered.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also declined to comment.
This is one of the most shocking cases of systemic misconduct by a court that I have ever seen which raises at least one important question:
In articles written by my peers in the media, numerous legal experts have been cited each of whom suggest a family creating a durable power of attorney which specifically denies the appointment of a professional guardian.
However, if such a document can be dismissed by a Probate Court (as in Ms. Brun and Ms. Wahab's case) what sort of protections remain on which seniors and their families can rely?