Page 5 - PGA Community News - May '21

May 2021 May 2021 PGA C.A.N.!, Page 5

Clerk Alert

Clerk’s Office Guardianship bright spotlight on the guardianship expertise we have here in This partnership took full effect in 2017 and has resulted

Investigations Making A Palm Beach County, and the work our office does to protect in high-profile arrests of professional guardians throughout
Florida.
people under guardianship in our community.
Difference Our office’s Division of Inspector General (IG) is Our team also serves as subject-matter experts, providing
responsible for conducting audits and investigations of testimony on best practices in guardianship fraud investigations
Guardianship has made guardianship cases filed in the 15th Judicial Circuit and works and giving presentations on prevention of guardianship fraud
national headlines in recent in conjunction with our Court Operations team to ensure throughout Florida and the country. Our Deputy Inspector
weeks, thanks to two movies – reports are submitted timely, completely and accurately. Should General and Chief Guardianship Investigator, Anthony
one documentary, one fictional any “red flags” appear during those reviews, it triggers a more Palmieri, also serves as the president-elect for the National
– that place court-appointed extensive review of the case by the IG. Guardianship Association and is a board member for the
guardianship squarely These reviews by our IG team can mean a world of Florida State Guardianship Association.
in the spotlight. Both the difference for the victims of fraud. Consider the case of Lynrod Movies like Framing Britney Spears and I Care A Lot can
documentary Framing Britney Douglas, who has six separate felony cases pending in Palm bring important issues like guardianship into focus for a short
Spears, about pop star Britney Beach County, with the most recent arrest in February. The time, but our team’s vital work in preventing guardianship
Spears, and the fictional film arrest reports in four of those six felony cases specifically credit fraud, waste and abuse will continue long after these movies
I Care A Lot examine court- our IG team for discovering a total of $79,210.07 that Douglas are forgotten. They also will shine a light on the good work
appointed guardianships and allegedly stole from his clients. Thanks to our IG team, Douglas being done by guardians in Palm Beach County and statewide.
the issues that can arise in those cases. is no longer registered in Florida as a professional guardian. This September, our IG team will celebrate the 10-year
At the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller in Palm The investigators from our IG team also play a key role in anniversary of the office’s Guardianship Integrity Assurance
Beach County, our work on guardianship has made headlines investigating guardianship fraud throughout Florida, as part Hotline. I look forward to building on this success for years
for years, thanks to our investigations into allegations of fraud, of the Statewide Investigation Alliance. This partnership with to come.
waste and abuse by court-appointed guardians and anyone the Florida Department of Elder Affairs’ Office of Public and Joseph Abruzzo,
willing to exploit vulnerable people. Professional Guardians (OPPG) allows accredited IG divisions Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
The clerk’s office has a proud history of leadership on within clerk’s offices to investigate legally sufficient complaints Learn more about the clerk’s guardianship fraud
guardianship issues. In my tenure as clerk, I plan to shine a about the conduct of professional guardians statewide. investigations at www.mypalmbeachclerk.com/fraud.

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