Judge, 3 others accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands from incapacitated people

article

One of the suspects is Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin, who serves on the 36th District Court.

FOX 2 - A sitting judge and Detroit area attorney were among four suspects charged in an embezzling scheme victimizing incapacitated individuals' estates.

Dig deeper:

The US Attorney's Office said Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, and Dwight Rashad, 69, were charged via indictment 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.

Bradley-Baskin is a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court.

"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. This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon.

Allegations against the group, all Detroit residents, is they conspired to embezzle funds in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from wards for themselves from the wards and their estates.

Investigators said 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 Bradley-Baskin, operated a law firm that often represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court and worked in that court.

Dwight Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards, who needed support and care.

The indictment shares examples of the group working together to misappropriate money belonging to wards.

Judge Bradley-Baskin is alleged to have used $70,000 in stolen funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar.  

In another, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad are alleged to have taken for themselves some $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.  

Bradley-Baskin, in yet another case, is alleged to have used money embezzled from the estate of a ward to pay a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for herself.

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.

Guardians and conservators are fiduciaries who are obligated to act in the best interests of their wards. 

"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," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "Let me be clear: if you prey on the vulnerable, we will find you and bring you to justice."

If you have information concerning a ward of Guardian & Associates or Tri-State Guardian Services, please visit the FBI website HERE.