CLICK on image to view explosive KTNV News story
For profit "guardian" Jared
E. Shafer shows up at hearing, attacks victims,
then abruptly leaves when
confronted by families of exploited "wards"
The system
isn't that bad. I've been doing this for 35 years. And until
a couple cases
came up, there's never been a problem with the
system. It's
not the guardians you got to be aware of.
It's more
family members. - Jared
E. Shafer
The guardians
are in control, and the family court is facilitating the fleecing
of the wards
by blindly rubber stamping anything they filed due to lack
of personnel,
time, research and oversight. - Elizabeth
Diana Indig
It feels like
a crime for how much is being charged.
- Deputy Clark County
District Attorney Jay Raman
CLICK on image to view explosive KTNV News story
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
July 20, 2015
Today's INSIDE VEGAS is dedicated to the memory of "Lupe" Olvera
LAS VEGAS - The courtroom was full of people who had been called "exploiters," "unfit," "drug addicts," "alcoholics," or "gamblers" by a band of local for profit private guardians who, with court approval, bilked the fortunes of their loved ones. Each had a story to tell the newly formed Commission to Study the Administration of Guardianships in Nevada's Courts consisting of 25 people including several judges appointed by the Nevada Supreme Court. Lurking in the back of the crowded room was the one person who is most blamed for creating the system that allowed certain Clark County Family Court Judges and one non-elected Hearing Master to transform so many lives into a living hell, and the reason behind the formation of this Commission.
Since 2013 when INSIDE VEGAS first reported the fleecing of then-90 year old WW 2 hero Guadalupe Olvera, the name Jared E. Shafer has been prominent in every story involving the exploitation of elderly or disabled wards of the local family court. I've made numerous attempts to contact Olvera's court appointed "guardian" Shafer to get his side of this horrific story, but he never returned my calls, emails, or faxes. Until last Wednesday when he surfaced at the end of an inaugural meeting of a commission formed to study the aftermath of the effects of his and other for profit guardian's exploits, Shafer has remained silent, refusing to talk to reporters.
"As I sat in the audience, I was astonished at Jared Shafer's opening comment which was something like, 'I guess I was the one that started this whole thing....' He said it chuckling and with a great deal of arrogance," stated Janet Quilty who had a loved one exploited by a for profit guardian.
Quilty continued, "It was plain that Shafer's appearance did not impress the Commission, and I am pretty sure that Commission members Elyse Tyrell and Judge William Voy were not pleased when he named them as his character witnesses. Tyrell and fellow Commissioner Julie Arnold of Southern Nevada Senior Law Program both defended the current Guardianship system as predicted, they were the only ones to do so. Judge Voy wisely stuck to discussing the juvenile guardianship system, and did not attempt to speak about adult guardianship issues."
Victim Elizabeth Diana Indig told INSIDE VEGAS, "My outburst was because Shafer said the families could have taken their family member back at any time, and I tried to say NO they couldn't because you took all their money to pay lawyers to keep them from taking them back!"
"At the end of Shafer's speech he said he will talk to any of us if we want, then walked out of the room. Victim Julie Belshe did go after him and I went after her. He apparently ran away because we could not catch him. The press also ran after him, but he vanished," according to Indig.
Another audience member stated, "Not highlighted is the lack of accountability and responsibility by the government and its rules that allow a takeover of an individual's entire existence and supporting assets/family/options. This is not constitutional 'freedom.' This aspect should be strongly pushed in future hearings. Amazingly, Shafer's allegations about the potentials of family members is just a diversion of his responsibility. His comments are effectively a confession; 'I robbed so the family couldn't.' "
Victim Richard Black told INSIDE VEGAS, "Yesterday was my first opportunity to watch Jared in person. His arrogance and entitlement was beyond belief. Judge Steel had been asked to leave the room as most of the public comments related to ongoing litigation are in her court. Shafer demanded Judge Steel return to the meeting before he spoke as he claimed he had no cases before her. (Jared Shafer has 75 open cases, 43 of which are being heard by Judge Steel, 32 in probate.) Chief Justice Hardesty honored his request. Shafer immediately went on a tirade about how the press was misrepresenting him, 'there's never been a problem with the system', and the real issue was with the whiny families as 'they're upset because they didn't get their loved one's money.' " (Then who did?)
(This was not the first time Shafer tried to take over a court room. In this 1:25 sec. court VIDEO, he orders his lackey, Hearing Master Jon Norheim, to "Close the court" after being asked the whereabouts of $500,000 missing from one of his wards. Norheim obediently had his bailiff throw the public out)
Black continued, "Before Shafer finished and exited the room, he highlighted his good intentions the past 35 years and pointed out commission members Judge Voy and attorney Elise Tyrell would be happy to defend and speak for him. (Both, Elyse Tyrell currently, and Judge Voy prior to becoming a judge, have represented Jared Shafer.) Demanding Judge Hardesty wait until someone gets Judge Steel back in the room so she sees and hears his comments was like a baby having a temper tantrum...and it only got better when Steel arrived. Everything that has been said about Shafer was validated in that 5 minutes."
(During his 35 years of good intentions, it would be interesting to know how millions of dollars Shafer, Tyrell, Voy, Arnold, and their associates bled from unsuspecting "ward's" savings and trust accounts? And how much real estate they liquidated without the heir's permission?)
Black went on to say, "Having him control things for so many years exemplifies the lack of leadership in Clark County Family Court. He is an idiot and quite dangerous with the power he wields. He should have been removed or jailed 20 years ago. The disparity between Clark County's approach and the rest of the state was concerning."
"Our momentum to correct the suspect corrupt decisions made in Clark County Family Court has never been better. In Wednesday's session three new voices were heard which greatly broadened and personalized our message. Jared Shafer speaking was a gift! He is a disturbed and polarizing figure. Having the rest of the state see him in action and knowing he was a prominent and protected figure for 35 years is an indictment of Clark County leadership in general. Watching the faces of the panel as he spoke was priceless, they were in as much shock as the victims present. For him to name Elyse Tyrell and Judge Voy as supporters is not only true but further indicts their judgment and future credibility with the rest of the panel. I only wish he would have also named Commission members Julie Arnold and Kathleen Buchanan in his tirade. Shafer did more than any of us could have done to make believers out of non-believers in that room," stated Black.
"At the end of the meeting each panel member was asked to speak on their observations of the day and specific improvement actions they wanted the commission to take. Many great ideas were highlighted but there was an overwhelming observation by many that there are major issues on protecting families, ward's rights, and ward's estates that must be addressed. Judge Voy, Elyse Tyrell, and Julie Arnold's public comments were striking as all concurred with Jared Shafer that the Clark County adult guardianship system has worked well," concluded Black.
Evident at this hearing was the extent of this cruel white collar crime wave being perpetuated against our city's wealthy elderly and disabled citizens by a group of well organized, politically connected racketeers including at least three sitting members of the Commission empowered by the Nevada Supreme Court to stop the practice before any more lives can be ruined, and guardians made richer. Hopefully, the panel will discount future comments by Tyrell, Voy, and Arnold, and be highly critical of remarks made by Buchanan based on their long term affiliation with for profit guardians Shafer, Patience Bristol, and April Parks.
Patience Bristol, a former employee of Shafer's Professional Fiduciary Services of Nevada, Inc., is serving 5 - 8 years in Nevada State Prison for exploiting the elderly. Parks, one of Shafer's protégés, is under investigation by the Boulder City, Nevada Police Department for also exploiting her wealthy "wards" including the parents of Elizabeth Diana Indig and Julie Belshe.
The next meeting is set for August 17, 2015 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm at the Clark County Regional Justice Center. The public is again invited.
MORE INFORMATION ON JARED SHAFER:
Sparks fly at first State
Guardianship Commission meeting
By Kean Bauman
KTNV TV News
July 15, 2015
http://www.scrippsmedia.com/ktnv/news/Sparks-fly-at-first-State-Guardainship-Commission-meeting-315599341.html
Ex Official of Clark County
Guardianships says System "isn’t-bad"
By Colton Lochhead
Las Vegas Review-Journal
7/15/15
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/ex-official-guardianship-system-isnt-bad
State Guardianship Commission
holds first meeting
By Kean Bauman
KTNV TV News
July 14, 2015
http://www.scrippsmedia.com/ktnv/news/State-Guardianship-Commission-holds-first-meeting-315114621.html
Jared Shafer's Cronies Elyse
Tyrell And William Voy
Appointed To Nevada State
Panel To Oversee
Guardianship Abuse Cases
Involving Shafer
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
July 6, 2015
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/7-6-15_Inside_Vegas.html
INFORMATION ABOUT
MR. OLVERA'S FINAL YEARS AFTER
BEING LIBERATED
FROM SHAFER'S CUSTODY:
Escape was only option for an old soldier trapped in guardian system
By COLTON LOCHHEAD
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
April 11, 2015
(Video included)
APTOS, Calif. — Guadalupe Olvera sits in his tall green chair, blowing a familiar tune on his harmonica as a baseball game plays on his television. The harmony echoes off the walls of his daughter's 1960s-era home, filling the air with an enticing melody.
That wasn't the case a few years ago, when he was isolated and alone, a prisoner in his Henderson home — a ward of Clark County, surrounded by people he didn't know who were supposed to protect him, but who ended up with more than $420,000 of his money, most of his estate.
Against all odds
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
September 2, 2013
LAS VEGAS - On August 21, 2013, California Superior Court Judge Paul M. Marigonda restored the rights of 94-yr-old WW2 hero Guadalupe Olvera after a court appointed Nevada guardian bled $300,000.00 from Olvera's family trust, deprived him of his civil rights, and held him captive in his Henderson, Nevada home from the beginning of November 2009 until the end of September 2010 when Olvera defied Nevada for-hire guardian Jared Shafer's orders and moved back to California to spend his final days with his family.
http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/9-2-13_Inside_Vegas.html
GUADALUPE OLVERA'S WAR!
I'm going to go to California no matter
what! I'm not going to live here. I don't need that man either. I don't
need Jared (Shafer) -Guadalupe
Olvera
Ms. Schultz kidnapped Mr. Olvera during the night and brought him to California. - Jared Shafer
(COURT VIDEO) 91 year old WW2 hero pleads to be allowed to spend his final days with family in California. Private Guardian Jared E. Shafer signals his displeasure to Family Court Judge Jon Norheim who refuses to permit Olvera to leave LV. Family defies court and moves patriarch to Santa Cruz County while funds continue to be drained from his account in Nevada to pay lawyers to fight for his return.
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 25, 2013
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/2-25-13_Inside_Vegas.html
Guardianship Case Highlights
Plight of Elderly
By Georgia Perry • July 31, 2012
Santa Cruz Weekly
http://www.santacruz.com/news/guardianship_case_highlights_plight_of_elderly.html
Lupe Olvera - National Association
to Stop Guardian Abuse
Dec 3, 2011 - World War II hero Guadalupe
Olvera and his wife Carmela in 2003 moved from California to Del Webb Sun
city Anthem in Henderson, Nevada.
http://stopguardianabuse.org/L.O.htm
Documents Entered As Evidence
In OLVERA vs. SHAFER Federal RICO Lawsuit:
http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/ShaferFinancialRecords2.html
OLVERA vs. JARED E. SHAFER
& WELLS FARGO BANK TRUST DEPARTMENT, et. al.
http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/OlveravsShafer.pdf