DETROIT — Four Charged in Alleged Scheme to Embezzle Funds From Incapacitated Individuals

Four Detroit-area residents — including a sitting district court judge and a local attorney — have been charged for their alleged roles in a years-long scheme to embezzle money from incapacitated individuals, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced today.

The announcement was made alongside Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, and Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Detroit Field Office.

Those charged are Nancy Williams, 59; Avery Bradley, 72; Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46; and Dwight Rashad, 69, all of Detroit. Each was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment also charges:

• Avery Bradley with one count of wire fraud
• Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad with multiple counts of money laundering
• Bradley-Baskin with one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement

According to the indictment, probate courts appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults deemed unable to do so themselves. These fiduciaries are legally required to act in the best interests of their wards.

The indictment alleges Nancy Williams owned Guardian and Associates, an agency appointed by the Wayne County Probate Court to serve as fiduciary for incapacitated wards in more than 1,000 cases. Avery Bradley, an attorney, and his daughter Andrea Bradley-Baskin, also an attorney, operated a law firm that regularly represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court. Bradley-Baskin is currently a judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court. Dwight Rashad operated multiple group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards.

Prosecutors allege the defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards and their estates for personal gain. The indictment outlines numerous examples, including:

• Allegations that Bradley-Baskin used approximately $70,000 in ward funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar
• Allegations that Bradley, Williams, and Rashad misappropriated approximately $203,000 from a ward’s legal settlement without benefiting the ward
• Allegations that Williams paid Rashad rent for wards who did not reside in his facilities
• Allegations that Bradley-Baskin used ward estate funds to pay a two-year lease on a Ford Expedition

“We respect the authority that comes with a black robe,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon. “This state judge and her alleged co-conspirators abused that honor by preying on individuals protected by the court. This would represent a grievous breach of public trust.”

“Regardless of position or status, no one is above the law,” said FBI SAC Jennifer Runyan. “These defendants are accused of exploiting vulnerable citizens who depended on them for care and protection. If you prey on the vulnerable, we will find you and hold you accountable.”

IRS-CI SAC Karen Wingerd added, “What makes these allegations particularly disturbing is that the victims were among our most vulnerable populations and trusted the accused to act in their best interests.”

Anyone with information regarding wards associated with Guardian & Associates or Tri-State Guardian Services is encouraged to contact the FBI. https://forms.fbi.gov/victims/DEwards/view

An indictment is a formal accusation and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert A. Moran and John Neal.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/sitting-judge-and-three-others-charged-scheme-steal-hundreds-thousands-dollars

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The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s latest report, NIBRS, 2017, presents data about victims, known offenders, and relationships for offenses reported in 52 categories.

In addition, the report provides information on arrests for those crimes as well as 10 additional categories for which only arrest data is collected.

In 2017, 6,998 law enforcement agencies, whose jurisdictions covered more than 105.6 million U.S. inhabitants, submitted NIBRS data to the UCR Program. These agencies comprised 42.0 percent of the 16,655 law enforcement agencies who submitted data to the UCR Program in 2017.

Based on NIBRS submissions, the FBI compiled aggregate tables on 5,369,204 incidents involving 6,290,042 offenses, 6,631,461 victims, 5,266,175 known offenders, and 3,361,416 arrestees. (Currently, the FBI does not estimate for agencies that do not submit NIBRS data.)

Of the reported offenses, 61.0 percent were crimes against property, 23.0 percent were crimes against persons, and 16.0 percent were crimes against society.

Victims

Victim types, collected for all reported NIBRS offenses, include individuals, businesses, institutions, or society as a whole. For 2017, the data regarding victims who were individuals revealed the following:

• Of the 4,524,968 individuals, 23.4 percent were between 21 and 30 years of age.
• A little more than half (50.9 percent) were female, 48.3 percent were male, and the gender of 0.8 percent of victims was unknown.
• Most victims (71.5 percent) were white, 21.0 percent were black or African-American,1.5 percent were Asian, 0.6 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native, and less than 0.1 percent were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. The race of 5.3 percent of victims was unknown.

Known Offenders

In 2017, law enforcement identified and reported information on 5,266,175 known offenders, meaning some aspect of the suspect—such as age, gender, or race—was known.

• Of these offenders, 41.9 percent were between 16 and 30 years of age.
• By gender, most offenders (62.4 percent) were male, 25.5 percent were female, and gender for 12.1 percent was unknown.
• By race, more than half (55.7 percent) of known offenders were white, 27.1 percent were black or African-American, and 1.9 percent were of other races. The race was unknown for 15.3 percent of reported known offenders.

Victim-to-Offender Relationships

Concerning the relationship of victims to known offenders, there were 1,448,833 victims of crimes against persons (e.g., murders, sex offenses, assault offenses) and robbery offenses from the crimes against property category.

• More than half (52.2 percent) of the victims knew their offenders (or at least one offender when more than one was present) but did not have a familial relationship to them.
• Nearly one quarter (24.4 percent) of the victims were related to their offenders (or at least one offender when more than one was present).

Arrestees

Law enforcement agencies submitted data to the UCR Program through incident reports and arrest reports for 3,361,416 arrestees.

• Of these arrestees, 33.2 percent were 21 to 30 years of age.
• By gender, 71.6 percent were male, and 28.4 percent were female.
• By race, most arrestees (70.7 percent) were white, 24.5 percent were black or African-American, and 2.7 percent were of other races. The race was unknown for 2.1 percent of arrestees.

Drug/Narcotic Offenses

A brief look at data collected through NIBRS for 874,003 drug/narcotic offenses shows the more expansive data NIBRS offers, particularly offender data, and the types of connections available through NIBRS.

• Law enforcement counted at least one drug/narcotic offense in 16.3 percent of all criminal incidents reported through NIBRS in 2017.
• Of the 5,266,175 known offenders, 21.3 percent were connected to drug/narcotic offenses.
• Of the 3,361,416 arrestees reported through NIBRS, 16.1 percent were arrested for drug/narcotic offenses.

Agency-level NIBRS data for the reporting year is available through the interactive NIBRS map found on the home page of the publication, as well as in offense tables which present statistics for each agency reporting 12 months of NIBRS data. 

See Also: 2017 National Incident Based Reporting System 

More: FBI Federal Crime Data

More: Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program

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Joining in the announcement was Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Martez Bailey, 24, of Detroit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson. Bailey’s plea agreement calls for a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison. Bailey’s co-defendant, and fellow Bandgang member, Khalil Wilson, 25, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the drive-by shooting. Wilson’s plea agreement also calls for a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison.

According to court records, Bailey and Wilson were both part of Bandgang, a local street gang on the west side of Detroit. On June 21, 2016, Bailey and Wilson drove to Biltmore Street in Detroit and fired repeatedly into a house, hoping to kill two rival gang members. Bailey fired a .45 caliber handgun repeatedly while Wilson unloaded an Uzi with an extended magazine capable of holding 50 rounds. A woman in the house unrelated to the gangs was severely injured in the shooting. The attempted murder stemmed from a dispute with two rival gangs, Trust No One (TNO) and Too Much Cash (TMC), prompted, in large part, by jealously over credit card fraud, as well as an earlier shooting by Bandgang members in February 2016 that left a five-year-old girl permanently disabled.

“This type of credit card fraud and identity theft is actually a deadly crime, because gangs are using extreme violence to protect their illegal income,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said. “But if gangs in Michigan think they will get off easy, they are wrong – several gang members have been sentenced to a decade or more in prison for credit card fraud.”

This case is the latest in the FBI Violent Gang Task Force’s investigation into Bandgang. In total, twenty-four members and associates of the gang have been charged in sixteen different cases and have received sentences ranging from 36 to 154 months on charges related to attempted murder, credit card fraud, identity theft, firearm offenses, and obstruction of justice. Four different credit card labs have been seized from Bandgang members during the investigation (not counting individual skimmers and embossers), and over 15,000 stolen credit card accounts have been linked to Bandgang members.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shane Cralle and Terrence Haugabook.

Source: FBI

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Detroit Gang Members Plead Guilty

Two members, including the top leader, of the Detroit branch of the Rollin 60s Crips street gang pleaded guilty yesterday to various racketeering and firearms offenses based on their roles in gang-related murders, shootings, and drug distribution.

The guilty pleas are the result of the collaborative efforts of law enforcement and the community to reduce homicide and other violent crime under the Detroit One program, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch.

Joining in the announcement was S. Robin Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Chief James Craig of the Detroit Police Department.

According to the indictment, the Rollin’ 60s Crips is a national street gang founded in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1970s. In 2008, Jerome Hamilton, who pleaded guilty yesterday, started a Detroit line of the Rollin 60s, which now boasts approximately 150 members and who operated primarily on the west side of Detroit in the vicinity of Seven Mile and Tracey.

The Rollin 60s Detroit chapter is a violent organization responsible for numerous assaults, robberies, carjackings and the unlawful possession and trafficking of firearms and narcotics in and around the Detroit metropolitan area over the last nine years.

The gang uses violence as a means of retribution for acts done by rival gang members, to intimidate witnesses, and as a means for individuals to maintain or advance their position within the gang.

The leader, Jerome Hamilton, 24, of Southfield, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death.

As part of the underlying racketeering activity, Hamilton took responsibility for the August 8, 2011 homicide of Kionte Atkins during a drive-by shooting and being involved in the distribution of marijuana as part of his membership with the Rollin 60s Crips. plea agreement calls for a sentence of 30 to 35 years in prison.

Another gang member, Roderek Perry, 22, of Detroit, also pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and use and carry of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to his plea documents, Perry was a member of the Rollin 60s Crips from 2011 to 2016. Perry admitted to participating in the drive-by shooting of Kionte Atkins on August 8, 2011, as well as a June 20, 2012 attempted robbery that left Perry’s fellow gang member dead after Perry inadvertently killed him during the robbery.

In addition, Perry sold narcotics to fund activities of the gang. Perry’s plea agreement calls for a sentence of 30 to 35 years in prison.

“Violence in our communities will not be tolerated and this investigation should serve as a warning to others threatening the safety of our citizens,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Robin Shoemaker. “ATF will continue to partner with our law enforcement partners to protect our neighborhoods from violent organized street gangs.”

“Violent Gangs should have no place or acceptance in our communities. It should be clear from today’s outcome that gang members cannot avoid responsibility for their crimes and law enforcement will not stop going after them,” said David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI.

Hamilton and Perry are the tenth and eleventh members of the Rollin 60s Crips to plead guilty in this investigation.

Other Rollin 60s Crips members have pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy for acts involving carjackings, armed robberies, firebombing, unarmed robberies, and distributing narcotics on behalf of the gang. Those members are:

– Darriyon Mills, 25, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence;

– Jonathan Barber, 25, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy;

– Deaires Foster, 23, of Irondale, Alabama, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy;

– Timothy Price, 27, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy;

– Sadeisha Johns, 32, of West Bloomfield, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy;

– Soumo Kennedy, 23, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy;

– Brandon Kennedy, 23, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy;

– Charles Anthony Smith, 32, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy; and

– Tre Tigner, 23, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy.

Three other alleged members of the gang are scheduled to begin trial on July 11, 2017, before Chief Judge Denise Page Hood.

The case is being investigated by the ATF’s Comprehensive Violence Reduction Program, which includes representatives of the Detroit Police, Michigan State Police, and Michigan Department of Corrections, in coordination with the FBI Violent Crime Task Force, and Detroit Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eaton Brown and Shane Cralle.

FBI

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