In yet another sick, awful, and infuriating story regarding America’s judiciary, four Detroit-area residents, including both a sitting judge and a local attorney, have been charged over a years-long scheme in which they stole and embezzled immense amounts of money from the vulnerable who relied on them, particularly incapacitated individuals.
The judge involved in the alleged scheme is Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46 years old. She sits as a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court and is alleged to have, alongside three co-conspirators, stolen tens of thousands of dollars from wards of the court to, amongst other things, pay off a car loan and buy a stake in a bar.
Such is what the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced in a press release, saying, “Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, and Dwight Rashad, 69, all Detroit residents, 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.”
Continuing, the statement described the scheme in which the judge and the three co-conspirators were involved. It began by noting the sorts of vulnerable individuals from whom they stole so much money, saying, “According to the indictment, 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.”
Building on that, the statement described the various individuals involved, and how their key positions in the apparatus that cares for wards allowed them to steal from those for whom they were supposed to care. It said, “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. Bradley-Baskin is currently a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court. Dwight Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards, who needed support and care.”
Then, giving a brief explanation of what it was that the various players in the case did, the statement explained, “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.”
Giving one example of how that worked, the statement said, “The indictment sets forth numerous examples of the co-conspirators working together to misappropriate money belonging to wards. In one instance, Bradley-Baskin is alleged to have used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar.”
"*" indicates required fields
Giving another, it noted, “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.”
U.S. Attorney Gorgon, commenting on the situation and the fact that a judge was involved, said, “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.”