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REALITIES OF THE SYSTEM MORE CASES OF MORTGAGE FRAUD Addie and Tellie Addie is an 84-year-old woman who lived in her longtime home with her husband of 50 years and her children and grandchildren until she required nursing home placement due to her medical needs. Her husband, Tellie, is 90 years old and still resides in the home. The couple met and married after moving to Chicago from Mississippi in the 1950’s. Addie has dementia and other medical issues including renal failure. She has been in and out of hospitals and nursing homes since 2005. The Public Guardian filed an emergency petition to become Addie’s guardian in June 2006, as the home she and her husband owned was stolen by an exploiter. Due to Addie’s mounting medical expenses the couple fell behind in their monthly payments. The exploiter approached Tellie and offered to “refinance” the home and promised the couple that they could continue to live there and make rental payments that would be applied to repurchase the home. What the exploiter never explained was that he was taking the home and had plans to “flip” the house by selling it to a third party for a $100,000 profit and to evict the couple in the process. The Public Guardian was able to stop the eviction, recover the equity in the home, and return these funds to Addie and Tellie. Judith Judith worked as a pediatric nurse at Children’s Memorial Hospital taking care of sick infants and children most of her working life. As a result of her hard work and discipline in saving, she was able to purchase a beautiful home in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Sometime during the fall of 2003, Judith began to suffer the effects of a mental illness which would eventually render her unable to care for herself or make personal and financial decisions. She became isolated and reclusive. She allowed her once pristine home to fall into disrepair. Judith’s appearance declined as well. She became unable to communicate coherently. In March 2003, Judith purportedly took out a $97,000 refinance on her home. The bank instituted foreclosure proceedings. Although Judith had more than $300,000 of equity in her property, her mental illness prohibited her from acting to protect her interests. At a time when she was vulnerable to financial exploitation, two mortgage scavengers came to her home under the pretense of helping her save her home from foreclosure. They offered to “assist” Judith in reinstating her mortgage, but instead either forged or induced Judith to sign a warranty deed giving up all of her right, title and interest in her home, which was worth at least $400,000. The exploiters did not stop there. To add insult to injury, they initiated eviction proceedings against Judith, and succeeded in evicting her and all of her possessions rendering her homeless. They had Judith’s possessions placed on the street only to be stolen. As a result of the eviction, Judith’s mental illness was exacerbated and she was psychiatrically hospitalized after suffering a psychotic breakdown. The Public Guardian eventually became Judith’s guardian, and bereft of any other resources, was forced to place Judith in a public aid nursing home. The Public Guardian sued the exploiters and others. After months of litigation, the Public Guardian was able to recover the value of Judith’s home from the exploiters. NEGLECT AND THEFT BY FAMILY MEMBERS Police found 69-year-old Sharon T. living in deplorable conditions in a condemned house. There was raw sewage in the house along with feces, mold, mildew and filth. The police took Sharon to the hospital, where doctors discovered multiple bruises and injuries all over her body. She was covered with feces and wearing a diaper that had not been changed in a week. The hospital diagnosed Sharon with dementia. The police contacted the
Public Guardian. Upon investigation, the Public IDENTITY THEFT AND CREDIT CARD FRAUD Alice was exploited by a man named Alexander Peabody-Pandis. In addition to using several aliases himself, during the time he financially exploited Alice, Pandis changed her name on documents and accounts to obtain additional credit under this new name and social security number. Until Alice died, she and Pandis both resided in the same building, which is probably where Pandis met her. While Alice was alive, Pandis plundered more than $300,000 from her accounts. He used the money to pay his own credit cards and cards that he had opened in Alice’s name but used for his own benefit. The Public Guardian’s Office also received information from Marshall Field’s department store that Pandis requested a credit line increase and made substantial purchases on Alice’s card. These purchases included new furniture, men’s cologne, silk ties, new sheets, kitchen wears and gourmet candies. It was also reported that Pandis obtained Alice’s other credit cards and charged approximately $100,000 to buy a new Mercedes, trips to Paris, a cruise, new furniture and other luxury items. Alice also owned three properties on Chicago’s north side. Pandis sold one of the properties. He took the check for $115,975.35 which was payable to Alice and converted the proceeds for himself. Pandis placed the two other properties in his name in a trust. Alice died a few months after the Public Guardian was appointed as her guardian, but during that time the Public Guardian was able to recover two of Alice’s properties and more than $100,000 from Pandis. The matter is now being investigated further by the FBI. Stories posted October 1, 2003 |
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