3 indicted in scam of elderly

Federal officers in Raleigh have indicted three Canadian men in a fraud scheme against older people that includes a devious new wrinkle -- using previous victims as unwitting money launderers in telemarketing scams against other seniors.

Canadians Clayton Atkinson, Jamaal McKenzie and David Stewart -- no ages or addresses were given, and all had aliases -- face a 34-count indictment charging them with using mail, wire and other methods to move stolen money and property.
A joint probe last year by the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found that about $900,000 was moved through Raleigh and other locations to the defendants in the Montreal area, an indictment handed down in March says.

"Between about December of 2004 and March of 2005, Atkinson defrauded an elderly resident of Raleigh ... causing a loss of approximately $80,000 to the victim," FBI agent Joan Fleming said in an affidavit.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Raleigh would not identify the victim and did not know the status of any extradition effort.

Experts in senior fraud have said that scam artists typically find new, more sophisticated methods to target victims and cover their tracks as law officers bolster their efforts to catch them.

As many as 5 million older Americans fall victim to financial abuse annually, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission says.

According to the indictments filed in U.S. District Court in Raleigh, the suspects first tricked vulnerable older people into believing they had won a lottery prize of up to $15 million. The victims were told they first had to pay taxes or other fees to collect their "winnings" -- a common tactic.

But the twist came when the original victim was told to send cash or a check to an address that turned out to be a second victim. The second person had previously been defrauded by the scam artists but was told he or she could get a "loan" to use as a final payment before getting the jackpot.

The second victim was allowed to keep part of the money -- some mailings held as much as $20,000 -- before shipping it to a Canadian drop site, where it was funneled to the scam artists.
Using telephone taps and package tracing, law enforcement found the Canadian apartment of Atkinson, known to the suspect as "Howard Clark," Fleming's affidavit says.
The Mounties waited outside, then called the cell phone.

For the full article please click the link below to go to Thomas Goldsmith's story:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/wake/raleigh/story/1052595.html

New problems with funeral plans

It is being reported that in some Michigan counties the Michigan Department of Human Services is causing unnecessary problems for certain types of funeral plans. First, DHS is contending that you may own only one burial space item for an individual. This means you could own a casket, but not a burial plot. This violates common sense and federal law. Second, DHS is contending that you cannot prepay funeral service expenses for a spouse. Again, this is against all applicable law and makes no sense.

This is just another example of the heavy-handedness displayed by the Michigan bureaucracy. DHS is making the illegal changes in policy in the hopes that our clients will not have the funds or resolve to fight these injustices.

Proposed PEM changes

The rules that govern Michigan's Medicaid are called "Program Eligibility Manuals" and are available online here: PEMS.

New changes have been proposed that would drastically change Medicaid planning for single people.

The first is that transferring non-countable assets - including cars - will/may be "divestment". Divestment means that a Medicaid applicant will be penalized for transferring an asset. The penalty is calculated by taking the value of the property transferred and dividing it by roughly $6,000. The resulting figure is how many months the Medicaid applicant will not receive Medicaid benefits.

The second proposed change is that partial amounts of transferred assets can no longer be returned. The entire amount must be returned for the penalty to be cancelled. This will be particularly concerning to attorneys who recommend "half-loaf" divesting, which is a technique utilizing gifting and returning gifts or purchasing short-term payout annuities.

Manufactured homes and probate

I recently had following issue arise: How do you ensure that a manufactured home avoid probate, therefore avoiding estate recovery, and be compliant with the Medicaid rules (ie. not be in a trust or gifted away.)

The Secretary of State advised our office that the Certification From the Heir to a Vehicle form will work to transfer the property as long as the combined value of the manufactured home and any vehicles is less than $60,000. This form can be filled out at the Secretary of State after the owner dies by the next of kin. No probate proceedings in court are necessary. This also works for a mobile home.