Update on My Dad's Estate

I believe it has been more than a year since I last reported.

Sixteen months ago I attended the mediatation that settled the NASD case against the brokerage whose employee (broker) stole from my Dad. That appeared at the time to be all that was left to take care of.

However, the estate is still open (going on four years now).

Starting two years ago I had badgered the attorney handling the estate to provide records to the tax preparer to resolve some issues I saw with state and federal taxes, things I could not pin down while analyzing my Dad's records for the securities case.

The attorney ignored my requests.

Now he is involved with the State, trying to resole those loose ends I brought to his attention, that he ignored. When the State contacted him, him asked me to provide him the records that I had asked him to provide me, but he never did!

In addition, the broker who stole from and defrauded my Dad has now stopped making restitution payments. In lieu of prison time he was given 5 years of probation and a 17-year restitution agreement. He has around $90,000 left to pay over about 15 years.

At the time of the Mediation with the brokerage I had also tried to cash out the balance he owed, by discounting it The perp's dad is really the one paying, and that family indicated at the time that after the probation period ended we would likely not see any more money. They offered to pay only the amount due during the probation period~~~at that time $21000 of the remianing $92000.

I contacted the County Prosecutor at that time and he was very sympathetic, saying how agregious the case was. He said he would see to it the the perp fulfilled his sentence, even after probation ends. He called a Probation Review Hearing back then.

Now he is not replying to either myself or the Executrix.

JLB said:

At the time of the Mediation with the brokerage I had also tried to cash out the balance he owed, by discounting it The perp's dad is really the one paying, and that family indicated at the time that after the probation period ended we would likely not see any more money. They offered to pay only the amount due during the probation period~~~at that time $21000 of the remianing $92000.

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Put a theif on the honor system. That's a great idea. Good grief! Was anyone surprised that he stopped paying? I know you weren't-- you've been expecting it all along...

Sounds like the never ending story. Hope you can get some satisfaction and closure on this in the near future, but doesn't sound like it. It is amazing that if a kid would go out and rob a convenience story the law would be all over him, but on white collar crime, they just dilly dally around. Not right!

Can you contact the Judge? What about a monetary judgement?

-David

Since posting this morning I got an email from the Prosecutor. He said he has talked to my stepsister and was surprised that she had not told me anything.

In a reply I told him I do not find my stepsister handling my Dad's affairs to be appropriate, that that should be done by one of Dad's issue. I am the one that has done everything else concerning the Estate, so I would be the natural choice.

The Prosecutor said we need to contact the probation officer.

I reminded him that a year ago I brought this possibility to his attention and that he assured me that the perp would fulfill his sentence. I reminded him of the Probation Review Hearing held on March 31, 2005. The last line of the judge's order from that hearing is, "Upon motion by any party, the Court will set a further hearing to address restitution."

I have suggested to the Prosecutor that he ask the court to accelerate the balance of the restitution, and that if it is not paid in full (the perp's family has the money to pay it) then declare a violation of probation and send the perp to prison.

There already is a monetary judgement. It is the non-payment of it that is the current issue.

Icarus said:

Can you contact the Judge? What about a monetary judgement?

-David

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Unbelievable that this is still going on......

I should have known you'd already gone down that road. Hope you can get Mr. Prosecutor to do his job.

-David

The judge's words, printed above, says any party can ask for another hearing. The parties for our side were the Prosecutor, the attorney for the estate, and the probation officer.

I have asked the Executrix to ask the attorney for the estate to do that.
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The idea to cash out the balance of the restitution came up during the Mediation with the brokerage. In the first round laundry list, one thing our side asked is that the brokerage pay off the balance of the restitution because the broker was thier employee. Their lead attorney discounted in his head, out loud . . . $92000 . . . so we're talking around $60000? . . . Yup

In the second round he reported that the brokerage did not go for that, but they threw some more money on the table to get us to move on. I believe our attorneys thought, "Wow! That money plus the $92000 (maybe) We done good!"

Of course, a third of the money on the table at Mediation went to the NASD attorney, so if we had gotten the $60000 it would have turned into $40000.

I haven't had to spend time on this matter in a long time, but now the attorney for the estate is forcing that. He has always had a nack for sending informational letters to the heirs that only raise more questions than they answer.

One came yesterday.

First, he said the estate has paid the inheritance tax for a non-lineal heir, a step-granddaughter, and enclosed a copy of his letter to her asking her to pay the $3000 back! I've never heard of that!

He did not even mention anything about the same issue with my two step-sisters, also non-lineal heirs, as to whether they paid inhertiance tax, or the estate paid it for them, or anything.

Then he talked about the $90000 in unpaid restitution, the payment of which has stopped. He mentioned me specifically as being the one asking the Excutor to ask him to call for a Probation Review Hearing. Then he essentially said he does not plan to pursue it as he does not feel it will amount to the collection of any money, which is his obligation in running the estate.

He is the sole person who drafted the restitution agreement. He ignored the heirs requests to be involved in putting it together. Of course, it is written such that the obligation is to the Estate, not to each of us as heirs. It is his doing and now he is planning on closing the Estate and telling the judge it is not worth pursuing.

He also enclosed a copy of a letter he has sent to the convicted thief's attorney. In that letter he indicates he is pursuing it!

Unbelievable!

I notice I forgot to mention that my uppity step-sister, the one who somehow has become in charge of handling the current matter, has sent two conflicting emails. I sent her one asking for a clarification, with a copy going to the other heirs, and she now has blocked my mail!

I talked to the Executrix today. I told her all I want is for someone, anyone, to call the creep before the judge for a probation review hearing. I told her we, the heirs, cannot do that since the restitution agreement is with the estate. She agreed.

But she said that since the attorney for the estate has already sent a letter to the creep's attorney, asking him to ask creep what his plans are, the attorney for the estate has to at least wait for an answer to that.

So I am going to let this ride. If in a couple of weeks it has not been handled, then I will make my phone calls.

The fact of the matter is that the money in the estate is all gone, so the attorney does not want to do anything any more, even the undoing of stuff he has done.

Unlike me, I have let this matter rest.

This week I picked it up again. The attorney for the Estate has told me nothing and the Executrix has basically covered for him, also not helping. I had resisted calling the prosecutor or the probation officer because I know their workload. My stepsister has not been reporting, but I assumed she had been contacting them.

I broke down and called the Probation Officer and he said there is a Probation Revocation Hearing on June 26. I made a few more calls to the court system and found a site to review the entire case. All the stuff the attorney for the estate and the executrix had not been telling us is there.

I now have my brother (estranged) and two stepsisters up to snuff and am awaiting for them to speak their mind, what it is they want done on June 26, assuming it does not get continued.

I also reviewed the restitution agreement and it gives the holder of the agreement the right to accelerate it, to demand full payment of the unpaid balance, without notice.

In reviewing the case file, I saw that creep has a 10-year suspended prison sentence, so I assume that would be an option if he does not pay. I have not mentioned it, but creep's family has money. The have a very successful family business, his dad is in his 70's, and has the ability to pay.

I say accelerate the balance and see if dad will let son go to prison. If he will, we weren't going to get the money any way.

JLB said:

In reviewing the case file, I saw that creep has a 10-year suspended prison sentence, so I assume that would be an option if he does not pay. I have not mentioned it, but creep's family has money. The have a very successful family business, his dad is in his 70's, and has the ability to pay.

I say accelerate the balance and see if dad will let son go to prison. If he will, we weren't going to get the money any way.

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Are you implying the Dad had something to do with this in any way?

Gadabout said:

Are you implying the Dad had something to do with this in any way?

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No, he's saying that since creep's Dad has the means, he might be willing to pay what his son owes in order to prevent his son from going to jail.

KristinB said:

No, he's saying that since creep's Dad has the means, he might be willing to pay what his son owes in order to prevent his son from going to jail.

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He probably wouldn't be going to *real* jail--more like a "Camp Cupcake" jail.

But I bet any one else standing to inherit from dear old Dad is telling him not to pay it....and I don't think he should either. Why punish the rest of the family for what he did?

Hi JLB:

I am so sorry to hear of your legal woes....

But I have a great idea !!!

You mention that the criminal's Father runs a successful business... Yes?

Wellllll, I would threaten to "go public" and tell them you are calling a reporter
or the local "help consumer" hotline unless you get some satisfaction.

What type of business does the Father run? Surely, he must be concerned
for his customers, I mean nobody wants BAD publicity.

I think you have suffered long enough !!!

Good luck, we are all hoping for a successful resolution !!

Regards,
Patricia

This has been going on since 2002, and there are things said before that I have not said here.

Creep's dad was not involved in the theft, which, BTW, led to the death of my dad, but I won't go there today. When I talked to the Prosecutor early 2005, he said it was the most egregious case of elder financial abuse that he has been involved in.

The creep's dad has the money. Creep is broke. When the attorney for my dad's estate negotiated the restitution agreement with the creep's attorney, it was actually with the creep's dad, who pretty much controlled it. It went from him paying all of the restitution lump-sum, to paying just a third upfront, with the balance to be paid monthly over 17 years, with no interest.

When we settled with the securities firm at mediation in November, 2004, they would not cash out creep's (their former employee) unpaid balance and when we asked creep to cash it out, at a discount, his attorney only offered the amount that would be due during the probation period, about 1/5 of what was still owing.

As far as going public with this, at one point when creep and the brokerage were jacking us around I contacted the editor of the newspaper. We had an email exchange and he said when I was ready they will take a look at it. The families of both sides are prominent locally. I did not take it further because I did not want to jeorpardize the proceedings.

I don't think there is anything in the settlement with the brokerage that would prevent that, but one has to be careful of liable and slander suits.

I did not take it further because I did not want to jeorpardize the proceedings.


Sorry to hear all the complications; however, at this point, it really seems
there is nothing that will jeorpardize the situation. I feel you have been
more then patient....time for action.

For example, if you called one of the TV consumer help shows, they are
pretty good at explaining the situation without any slander.

To my way of thinking, you would be helping ALL ELDERLY INVESTORS, not
just your Father. If it happened to your Father, it could happen to
anyone.

I think it should be publicized so other elderly people can be saved.

It really would a public service.

Just my two cents, but I hope you can find a resolution.

Take care,

Patricia

I won't go into the gory details, what getting ripped off by the one person in the world he trusted, a person that wrote a check to himself from my dad's bank account the day my stepmother died, but I spent a lot of time studying and working on exactly what you suggest.

There are some places, some states, where elder fraud is treated very harshly, and some states where there is no more weight given to the fact that the victim is helpless. Unfortunately, Iowa is one of the latter. There are no stiffer penalties because the victim is elderly.

My dad actually died, or allowed himself to die, in response to his victimization. That is not unusual. But do not make the mistake of saying that in Iowa!!!!

Despite the fact that the prosecutor said it was the most egregious case of elder financial abuse he has ever seen (and his dad was a long-time prosecutor, too), and despite a guilty plea, the perp got a suspended sentence, 125 hours of community service, and restitution. He's not paying the restitution and I doubt that he did the community service.

Once again I am trying to rally my two stepsisters and my brother, to inform them and see what they want to do. So far I think I have one stepsister refocused from her fairy-tale version of what will be, and I am waiting for the other two to reply.

Rather than wrap up this final loose end, the attorney for the estate, a person I hired for my Dad when my Dad was still living, and a person I paid out of my own pocket, just wants to dump it and leave.

The brokerage behaved just as badly, and when you get involved studying them, you learn that that is par for the course.

Patricia said:

I did not take it further because I did not want to jeorpardize the proceedings.


To my way of thinking, you would be helping ALL ELDERLY INVESTORS, not
just your Father. If it happened to your Father, it could happen to
anyone.

I think it should be publicized so other elderly people can be saved.

It really would a public service.

Just my two cents, but I hope you can find a resolution.

Take care,

Patricia

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Friday my uppity stepsister sent an email asking if the rest of us had gotten a letter from the attorney for the estate, saying he was turning this all over to us, the beneficiaries.

Today I replied that I had not gotten one yet, and would defer until I got a chance to read it.

She answered: "He basically says he won't deal with your stuff any more and neither will (the Executrix) and because of that they quit."

My stepsister always has been good with people, and words.

Anyway, I did not know Executors and attorneys for estates could do that, quit when a beneficiary asks them to do their job.

I think they are POed because I have caught them not doing their job, not even knowing what's going on with agreements they wrote. I also think the estate is out of money so they don't want to do any more work.

Yup, I got my nasty letter. I wish the attorney for the estate would have sent more of them to our adversaries and fewer to the beneficiaries.

He is turning it all over to us. Hiring another attorney to represent the beneficiaries, rather than the estate, is inevitable.

Now my uppity stepsister, the one who is there, knows everyone, and will have to take care of this for the rest of us, is yelling at me, "WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT ME AND MY SISTER DO NOT WANT TO SPEND MONEY ON ANOTHER ATTORNEY?!"

Ok, don't.

You would think I had sent the letter.

At the same time she is asking what my plans are to resolve it. Well, she has pretty much tied my hands. The assignment is to do a lot of legal things, file a lot of stuff with the District Courts, both Criminal and Probate, don't hire an attorney, and get it done in 19 days . . . from 500 miles away.

Okey dokey.

JLB said:

I think they are POed because I have caught them not doing their job, not even knowing what's going on with agreements they wrote. I also think the estate is out of money so they don't want to do any more work.

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It seems that they are the same the world over. They will string things out as long as possible, because more hours 'worked' means more money in their back pockets.

If the attorney is that bad, any chance of bringing him up before the Bar Association or the state?

And, from what you said earlier, it sounds like the news "human interest" story might be the way to go. Just stating the facts that "so and so is related to so and so". The public has a right to know about issues such as elder fraud.

I doubt that I'll toss any idea's on the table that you have not already looked at but here goes.

You have a monetary judgement that should be enforcable. Could you not put leins against anything owned by the perp, force liquidation of any bank accounts or monetary assets for settlement of the resitution order or garnish any future wages? Is it possible to hold the family responsible if it could be proven that they were the ones paying the judgement and have assumed financial responsibility (A reach I know but I'd ask). Can this judgement still be enforced even if the perp has or does file bankruptcy? If not already asked - and I'm assuming these questions have been - it's something that I'd want to know if I were in your place.

The restitution cannot be discharged by bankruptcy, which he filed last year, with no one notifying us.

He also has alimony and child support, from the divorce brought on by his drug problem and his legal problems.

I don't hold out any hope of getting money from him. The only hope of getting money would be from his dad and that would be to keep him from going to prison.

I find it fitting that we should try to take money from the dad of the jerk who took money from our dad, and caused his death.

So, in the next 19 days we need to accelerate the restitution agreement so that the full unpaid balance is due in full. Then we need to report that at the Probation Revocation Hearing. Then it will be up to a criminal court judge.

Even if the money is not paid, we will have this ridiculous 17-year restitution agreement over with. And we will still have a judgement, with interest running, that can never be discharged.

The attorney for the estate would be never be brought up on charges.

His letter asked me to cease and desist from sending emails to the Executor.

I sent her one more, to thank her for her four years of work, for always being there, and I said I am sorry things turned out the way they did.

She answered me saying she is still there and suggested I call her toll-free number. So, anything is still possible.

From the other side:

Update on My Dad's Estate
Update:

" I just spoke to the Executrix of my Dad's Estate and she said the attorney for the Estate has agreed to accelerate the Restitution Agreement entered into by my Dad's stock broker, prior to the Probation Revocation Hearing scheduled for June 26.

That means that instead of being $1500 or $2000 behind in payments, around $90000 will be due v. a 10-year prison sentence. It will also put an end to a very poor restitution agreement that had 14 more years to run!

This has been going on close to four years and a few folks have been following it Over Yonder, wishing me well with it over the years. Since I can't right now, could someone please add this good news to that thread?

Gracias."