Rick Porrello's - AmericanMafia.com - Steve Miller

Jared E. Shafer, Las Vegas Private Guardian
and His Judges Fall Under Investigation

ABC Affiliate Releases Reports of Court Sanctioned Exploitation
of the Elderly and Disabled, Sin City's Darkest Secret

INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
March 9, 2015

LAS VEGAS - Elderly and disabled people being robbed of their assets by sociopathic private guardians with the help of crooked family court judges. This all sounds like the plot for a sequel to the B movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but unfortunately in today's Las Vegas, it's all very real and beginning to unfold on the local evening news.

The stories of the gruesome acts against the weakest of the weak were first told here on AmericanMafia.com, and now are about to make national news thanks to the efforts of KTNV TV CONTACT 13 producer Kean Bauman and investigative reporter Darcy Spears, VEGAS VOICE publisher Dan Roberts and political editor Rana Goodman, and the efforts of the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse.

After writing over a dozen articles on this sad subject, I'm proud to say the story has been picked up by other investigative reporters, therefore I have linked to their reports in this column.

Bauman and Spears' fearless report aired on Las Vegas Channel 13 News last Friday, March 6, turned Las Vegas upside down. The TV report followed a series in the VEGAS VOICE, Las Vegas' newspaper devoted to the interests of our valley's vast senior population. I say fearless because the subjects of these reports are some of the most politically connected people in our city. They are supported by a team of completely corrupt local attorneys who help them bilk the wealth of unsuspecting seniors and disabled people who have the misfortune of having no relatives living in Nevada who can become their guardian in the event they are deemed incompetent by a local family court judge.

But its not just victims with out of state relatives who are affected. If there's enough wealth involved (poor people are not provided guardians by the court), and there is family living in Nevada, the Family Court almost always finds another reason to ban the family from handling their Nevada loved one's finances.

Accusations of drug abuse, alcoholism, bad credit, being unfit, being an exploiter with no relationship with the relative, or "They are just after the money" are used in court so a private guardian can hang on to a sizable estate. The guardians use whatever excuse suits them to make sure the family will not ever have any power, and the judges always comply with the for-hire guardian's wishes. They use the same script with all families.

Appointed Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim obviously doesn't read briefs or motions, just rules time and again in favor of his friends the guardians. In one instance, Norheim approved an order for payment of services for an unrelated person from the account of one of Jared E. Shafer's "wards." He didn't even check to see if the person who was named on the payment was related to the ward whose account was charged, or if Shafer was double charging, Norheim just blindly signed the order.

This unrestricted power of attorney sanctioned by the court is what creates the Invasion of the Body Snatchers atmosphere I mentioned earlier.

Now, Sin City's second largest industry - retirement - is about to get a wakeup call because many of our city's wealthy retirees are being targeted for embezzlement through racketeering acts committed by court appointed private guardians under the color of arcane Nevada laws, one of the most insidious forms of organized crime.

The VEGAS VOICE has been circulating petitions throughout the Del Webb Sun City Anthem and Summerlin communities asking the Nevada Legislature to eradicate the part of our state's guardianship law that says no one who lives in another state can be the fiduciary of a Nevada relative's finances. So far, over 3,000 persons have signed the petition.

This story has wings. It affects retirement, the life blood of our community, and should send a warning to prospective Las Vegas retirees now living in other states. Until our laws are changed to allow your out of state relatives to act on your behalf after the death of your spouse, retire somewhere other than in Southern Nevada! If you retire here, your will or family trust can be changed by a court appointed guardian intent on robbing you of your assets, and your family of their inheritance.

If you are interested in knowing more, please watch this excellent KTNV News story about cerebral palsy and guardianship victim Jason Hanson that aired on Friday, March 6, 2015: http://www.jrn.com/ktnv/news/contact-13/contact-13-investigates/Valley-man-wrestles-with-guardianship-system-295413891.html?lc=Smart

For more backup information, KTNV's first story in this series can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O64VUQiNtCc

Also, I suggest you read the following column published in March 2014, and watch Jason Hanson's testimony as told to INSIDE VEGAS videographer Mike Christ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tgqmyKb8WI

Then, to get an idea of the power wielded by Jared Shafer of Professional Fiduciary Services of Nevada (PFSN), watch this court video of him ordering his Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim to close the court room to the public after Shafer was accused of not being able to account for a ward's missing half-million dollars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee8XnR56gow

My first AmericanMafia.com story on this subject is based on this court video of then-90 year old WW2 hero Guadalupe Olvera pleading with Norheim to be allowed to return to California to spend his final days with family, and being denied his civil rights after Shafer sends a hand gesture signal to Norheim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZixHgeOzko4

Clark County Family Court may be open to lawsuits from violating provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In the case of Mr. Olvera who is physically disabled, the court should have provided him accommodations. One of those accommodations was a personal lawyer. The fact that Clark County didn't provide that accommodation violated his civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

There is another provision of the ADA which is Title III. In this section of the ADA, private companies including guardianship firms and law firms are required to accommodate those with disabilities. This does not happen in Las Vegas, and the court has no explanation.

SOME OF THE PLAYERS:
...
(L to R) Family Court Judge Charles Hoskin and his appointed Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim,
PFSN guardians Patience Bristol (mug shot) and Jared Shafer

This is not the first time a Clark County Family Court Judge or private guardian have come under legal scrutiny. Judge Hoskin's former colleague, ex-Clark County Family Court Judge Steve Jones (mug shot on left), was sentenced on Feb. 25, 2015 to 27 months in Nevada State Prison for also helping bilk the assets of elderly people. Former Shafer employee Patience Bristol is currently serving 5 - 8 years in Nevada State Prison for stealing assets of PFSN wards.

Is Judge Hoskin, Guardianship Commissioner Norheim, and private guardian Jared E. Shafer next?