Detroit, Michigan — Federal prosecutors have charged a Detroit-area judge and three other residents in an alleged scheme to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from vulnerable adults placed under court-ordered guardianship.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Nancy Williams, Avery Bradley, Andrea Bradley-Baskin, and Dwight Rashad were indicted on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bradley-Baskin, a sitting judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court, is also charged with making false statements to federal investigators. Bradley faces an additional wire fraud count, and Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad are charged with multiple counts of money laundering.
Prosecutors allege the defendants exploited their roles within the probate court system to divert money intended for incapacitated adults, known as wards, who depended on court-appointed guardians to manage their finances and care. Williams owned Guardian and Associates, a fiduciary agency appointed in more than 1,000 probate cases. Bradley and Bradley-Baskin operated a law firm that frequently represented the agency, while Rashad ran residential facilities that housed wards.
The indictment cites several examples, including allegations that Bradley-Baskin used about $70,000 of a ward’s funds to buy an ownership stake in a bar and that three defendants diverted roughly $203,000 from a ward’s legal settlement. Federal authorities described the alleged conduct as a serious betrayal of public trust and said the investigation is ongoing.
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