Emmet County conservator pleads guilty

Mardi Link, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

May 4—PETOSKEY — A Harbor Springs woman charged with multiple felonies following an investigation into her court-appointed work as a conservator has pleaded guilty to embezzlement in 57th Circuit Court.

Monday's guilty plea by Elise Page was made as part of an agreement with the Emmet County Prosecutor's Office, after a months-long investigation by two area law enforcement agencies.

The Harbor Springs Police Department and the Petoskey Department of Public Safety last fall began investigating Page, after receiving complaints she was mismanaging money belonging to at least two adults assigned to her by the Emmet County Probate Court.

One, George Pappas of Harbor Springs, disputes he needed a conservator but rather said he asked the Veterans Affairs Administrator for temporary bookkeeping help.

Pappas expressed relief about Page's guilty plea deal, though said he remained skeptical over whether he would ever be repaid.

"I'm still trying to find out what happened to my money and whether or not I'll get it all back," Pappas said.

Police documents show Page spent about $3,900 of Pappas money on retail purchases like electronic cigarettes and women's clothing and withdrew another $10,000 in cash from his account just weeks after being named his conservator.

Conservators are appointed by the probate court to administer someone's financial affairs when, through age, injury or illness, they are no longer able to do so for themselves.

Michigan law states a probate court can appoint anyone they like to be a conservator, so long as the person is older than 18 and "competent," though critics of the system say the term is not well defined.

Page's name had been on a list of conservators maintained by the Emmet County Probate Court, to disseminate to those like the VA which requested it, though officials said her name has since been removed.

Page pleaded guilty to two felony counts of embezzlement of more than $1,000 and less than $20,000, from a vulnerable adult, which each carry a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Page must also pay restitution of $17,333.88 as part of the plea deal, court records show.

In exchange for the plea agreement, several charges of embezzlement and using a computer to commit a crime were dismissed, records show.

Emmet County Prosecutor James Linderman declined comment and Page's attorney, Jonathan Steffy, could not be reached for comment.

Fifty-seventh Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Deegan recused herself and the hearing was overseen by 90th District Court Judge Angela Lasher.

Sentencing will occur following a pre-sentence report and has yet to be scheduled, court records show.

Recommended Stories

  • Man shot by FBI agent outside CIA headquarters

    The CIA said the suspect did not breach the compound.

  • Japanese waste disposal company transitions into recycling and restoration

    The Ishizaka factory in Japan recieves debris from construction sites and rerestores them to a carefully nurtured landscape through recycling. Lucy Craft reports.

  • Landlord refutes Keir Starmer claim he said 'COVID only kills old people' in Bath pub row

    The landlord told the Labour leader to get out of his pub last month.

  • The massive jump in broadband usage won't be going away after the pandemic ends

    Data: OpenVault; Chart: Will Chase/AxiosIncreased broadband usage is a pandemic trend that's here to say, analysts and telecom executives argue. The big picture: Broadband usage increased 40% over the past year, the highest annual growth rate in nearly 10 years, according to new data from OpenVault. The massive jump is attributed to people spending more time at home with their devices, primarily streaming video. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free."We predict that by December 2021, the average broadband consumption per household will be around 600-650 gigabytes," says Mark Trudeau, founder and CEO of OpenVault, a broadband data and analytics solutions provider. That's more than six times the average broadband consumption level since 2015.Driving the news: Comcast said last week that it anticipates it will see double-digit growth in broadband additions this year compared to 2019, which prior to the pandemic was its best year ever. In the first quarter of 2021, it added 461,000 broadband customers, helping to offset the heavy losses from its Pay-TV business. Comcast Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh said that time period "marked the lowest broadband churn in our history."Speaking to broadband spike trends, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told analysts "The demand for broadband will continue. We are just starting a total revolution of using technology, which is scalable and sustainable in the post era of the COVID."What's happening: High-speed internet access became vital for school and work during the pandemic, with lawmakers and the Biden administration citing it as a key part of the nation's infrastructure.Congress created a $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which launches May 12, that will give low-income households a $50 monthly subsidy for internet service.Yes, but: President Biden has said long-term subsidies are not the answer to covering the cost of “overpriced” internet service.Instead, his $100 billion broadband plan calls for lowering the prices for all Americans, raising concerns from the telecom sector about potential price regulation.Be smart: Broadband providers agreed last year to not kick anyone off of their internet plans who couldn't pay because of the pandemic as part of the FCC's Keep Americans Connected pledge.But that ended June 30, and major providers set up payment plans to collect outstanding balances.What's next: On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing on broadband equity that will address disparities in access and affordability.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Chile Wants to Fuel a Green Hydrogen Boom With $300 Million Fund

    (Bloomberg) -- A Chilean group is working on a $300 million fund to boost the development of green hydrogen as a tool in the transition to cleaner energy.Fundacion Chile, a public-private non-profit organization focused on sustainable development, is raising money to invest in green-hydrogen projects that are two or three years out from being profitable. The launch is planned for next year, with the goal of investing in 12 to 15 ventures, Chief Executive Officer Marcos Kulka said in an interview.Green hydrogen, which unlike its gray counterpart is produced from renewable power, is shaping up to be an alternative to fossil fuels in industrial operations and transportation. Companies from California to Chile are looking at how to use it, and governments are hoping to foster its evolution. Costs are one of the obstacles.The green-hydrogen boom “is here to stay,” Kulka said. “Where we see a gap that we could contribute to is paving the way to accelerate projects that are commercially viable.”Chile, a major exporter of raw materials with fast-growing wind and solar energy sectors, wants to become a leading hydrogen exporter, targeting 25 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity and the cheapest prices in the world by 2030. By comparison, the European Union, whose economy dwarfs Chile’s, is aiming for 40 gigawatts in the same span, according to BloombergNEF.The Chilean government plans to award $50 million in subsidies this year with a view to reducing the cost of electrolysis and scaling up production. Authorities want to nurture a local hydrogen industry to help meet its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and help companies make the switch at a time of rising scrutiny by investors.Fundacion Chile will focus on raising money from potential off-takers such as mining companies looking to wean themselves off diesel. It’s identified about 30 projects, Kulka said, and the goal is to show they can operate at competitive prices. The fund will consider acquiring equity interests in projects or provide convertible debt.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • FBI agent fires on armed man outside CIA headquarters, authorities say

    Unidentified suspect wounded and taken to hospitalFBI to conduct ‘thorough and objective’ review of incident Police cars are seen after an FBI agent opened fire on an armed man outside the CIA headquarters gate in Langley, Virginia. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images An armed man was shot and wounded after being confronted by at least one FBI agent outside the CIA headquarters in Virginia on Monday, authorities said. The incident occurred at about 6pm, the FBI said in a statement, describing it as an “agent-involved shooting”. The suspect “emerged from his vehicle with a weapon and was engaged by law enforcement”, the statement continued. The unidentified suspect was taken to a local hospital and his condition wasn’t immediately known. The FBI said it was reviewing the incident. “The review process is thorough and objective, and is conducted as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances,” the FBI said. Several news outlets reported that the shooting followed an “hours-long standoff” with authorities. Officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post that the person had pulled up to the CIA security gate hours earlier, and the shooting occurred after lengthy negotiations with him. The CIA said its compound had remained secure, and its security protective officers were “the only agency personnel directly involved” in the incident.

  • Suspected migrant boat breaks up off San Diego, killing four

    Four people die and some two dozen are injured after the cabin cruiser breaks up close to shore.

  • Storm drops May snow across Colorado

    A storm passing through Colorado on May 3 brought wintry weather to portions of the state, especially in higher elevations, which received several inches of accumulation.

  • Politics latest news: Sir Keir Starmer begins damage limitation as Tories take 17-point poll lead in Hartlepool

    Hartlepool by-election ‘is the Conservatives’ to lose’ Michel Barnier attacks EU vaccine ‘bureaucracy’ The countries declared safe for holidays by Foreign Office Tory staff angry over flat refurbishment after being denied pay rises Coronavirus latest news: No evidence drinking alcohol interferes with Covid vaccines Subscribe to The Telegraph for a month-long free trial Sir Keir Starmer has begun his damage limitation before the ballot boxes even open, after a new poll put the Conservatives 17 points ahead in the critical Hartlepool by-election. Tory candidate Jill Mortimer is in the lead with 50 per cent, while Labour's hopeful Paul Williams has slipped nine points to 33 per cent, according to Survation. The same poll showed a 4 per cent bump in personal favourability for Boris Johnson in Hartlepool, with Sir Keir Starmer sliding the same amount. The Labour leader told ITV's GMB, which commissioned the poll, he was "climbing that mountain" to reconnect with voters. Asked if he would resign if the Red Wall seat turns blue, he added: "I never thought, and I don't think anyone realistically thought, we could go from devastating defeat in 2019 and mend all that in a year and a half." He told Radio 4's Today programme: "I hope we won't lose Hartlepool ... [but] I take full responsibility for the results, just as I take full responsibility for everything that happens in the Labour party under my leadership." Follow the latest updates below.

  • Biden admin launches public request for feedback on federal govt equity

    The effort spearheaded by the Office of Management and Budget comes in response to Biden's racial justice executive orders.

  • Cigarette Vendors Are Currency Traders in Disguise in Caracas

    (Bloomberg) -- Editor’s Note: There are few places as chaotic or dangerous as Venezuela. “Life in Caracas” is a series of short stories that seeks to capture the surreal quality of living in a land in total disarray.Ibiza! Costero! Malibu!The cigarette vendors jog up and down the sidewalks and weave in and out of traffic, yelling out their wares. They sell a lot of brands you've never heard of on El Comercio, which has for years been cheap-tobacco heaven. But these days, not every patron is here for the smokes. The serious side-business on El Comercio is changing money—U.S. dollars for bolivars, the country’s ridiculously hyper-inflated currency.The cigarettes act as bluffs on the off-chance that police should happen to pass by and take umbrage at an activity that is, on the books at least, illegal. They’re also excellent laundering tools. “Cigarettes are the perfect machine to get bolivars,” said Carlos Gomez, a skinny 27-year-old in wrap-around sunglasses who was arranging his goods for display on a rickety wooden table. (His best customers: other street vendors or shopkeepers who buy cartons in bulk to resell in distant neighborhoods.)The crazy thing is that bolivars are hot commodities in a country that has for all intents and purposes adopted the legal tender of the U.S. But this dollarization of the economy was carried out in quintessential Nicolas Maduro-style—that is, haphazardly and chaotically—and as a result the bolivar was never truly killed off. It still circulates and curiously is still required to pay for certain things.The poor are hit the hardest by this glitch. For while people of means simply pay for stuff with dollars via foreign credit cards or debit cards or Zelle or cold-hard cash, the poor need bolivars to take buses and buy subsidized gasoline and shop for staples like flour and beans from merchants who are so desperate for bolivars themselves that they give big discounts for payment in that currency.And so a robust foreign-exchange market has grown up in Catia, a sprawling slum of low-slung buildings and shacks and dirt. It draws people like Rafael Vargas, 52, a security guard who is often paid in dollars and takes the bus across town to his job in a fancy apartment building in Campo Alegre.He could do his business at a bank, of course, but that would mean waiting in line for hours. And at many banks, there are daily withdrawal limits. Vargas needs at least 800,000 bolivars a day to cover the bus fare to and from his job.So he goes to El Comercio, in the middle of Catia, where he’s never happy with the exchange rate. “They end up stealing part of your money, but you can’t do anything to avoid it, because you have to go to work,” he said after changing a crumpled dollar bill. “If we don’t work, we don’t eat.”Right now, you’ll get about about 2 million bolivars for one buck in Catia. The official government rate, for what that’s worth, is 2.8 million. (For context, 1 million is the largest new bolivar the regime just started printing in its seemingly never-ending quest to create bills in giant-enough denominations; for further context, a bottle of beer in a reasonably priced bar costs around 3 million bolivars.)The cigarette crews see all kinds, from people like Vargas to gold miners who drive 14 hours from Las Claritas in southern Venezuela and arrive with suitcases full.“There are miners who bring $10,000 or $15,000,” Gomez said. “With those dollars, we buy cartons of cigarettes.”The vendors get them for dirt-cheap from wholesalers who import them (actually, smuggle might be the right word) from Colombia or Caribbean islands and sell them at very steep markups for bolivars, which they turn around and sell to the dollar-toting crowds. Tellingly, consumption of the not-famous cigarette brands the exchangers hawk has shot up about 300% since 2019, according to a report from Bigott, a local unit of British American Tobacco Plc.As for the miners, they're paid in dollars for the gold they illegally excavate and they need bolivars to live. Las Claritas is such a remote outpost that the economy is basically run exclusively on cash. Internet and cell signals are so weak that card transactions usually won't go through. Shops will give 50% discounts for payment in bolivars.Thus the trek to Catia, or to a few other Caracas neighborhoods, downtown or in Petare, the country's largest slum. There the subterfuge sometimes involves lollipops and coffee. “I buy, I buy, I buy,” the hardly-hidden currency exchangers shout at every corner.There are other methods for acquiring bolivars, of course. On some buses, drivers will make under-the-wheel exchanges, and people take whatever rate is offered. “It is the easiest way to get bolivars fast,” said Yajaira Meza, a 51-year-old housekeeper. “We don’t have a choice.”As precious as bolivars are, the most valuable bill in the country is a George Washington. The single is in short supply and so desired that if you can scrounge up eight of them, someone in Catia will give you the equivalent of $10 in bolivars.Still confused by it all? Don't feel bad. Venezuelans are too.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Bear cub abandoned during storm was ‘near death.’ Then Colorado officials stepped in

    “She was out in the storm last night, so she was very cold.”

  • George Conway says Rudy Giuliani is in deep ‘sh**’

    Husband of Kellyanne Conway says FBI search warrants 'tell you a lot' about FBI investigation into Donald Trump's former lawyer

  • Duchess of Sussex to publish children's book 'The Bench' based on Prince Harry's relationship with their son Archie

    The Duchess of Sussex has written a children’s book about the “special bond” between father and son which evolved from a poem she wrote for Prince Harry on Father’s Day. The story, called The Bench, is Meghan’s first foray into children’s literature. It was inspired by the relationship between her husband, the Duke of Sussex, and their son, Archie, who turns two on Thursday. Illustrated by San Francisco-based artist Christian Robinson, the 40-page book, aimed at children aged three to seven, will be published on June 8. The Duchess, 39, said: “The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born. “That poem became this story. Christian layered in beautiful and ethereal watercolor illustrations that capture the warmth, joy, and comfort of the relationship between fathers and sons from all walks of life; this representation was particularly important to me, and Christian and I worked closely to depict this special bond through an inclusive lens. “My hope is that The Bench resonates with every family, no matter the makeup, as much as it does with mine.”

  • 12 of the most expensive celebrity divorces ever

    Bill and Melinda Gates are divorcing after 27 years of marriage. High-profile settlements can range from $100 million to billions of dollars.

  • Photo of Chauvin juror wearing "BLM" shirt raises questions about potential appeal

    A photo of one of the jurors who convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has raised questions about his impartiality during the trial, and about whether the verdict could be overturned in an appeal.Why it matters: 31-year-old juror Brandon Mitchell said he answered "no" to questions in a juror questionnaire about whether he attended demonstrations or marches in Minneapolis after Floyd's death, and about protests against police brutality. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.A photo that surfaced on social media shows Mitchell attending the anniversary of the March on Washington last summer, while wearing a T-shirt depicting Martin Luther King Jr. with the words, “Get your knee off our necks" and "BLM." He is also wearing a hat that says "Black Lives Matter."Defense attorney Mike Padden told the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune it is "disconcerting" that Mitchell did not divulge his participation in the march, adding that he may have been removed from the jury pool had he done so. What he's saying: "I think I was being extremely honest, for sure," Mitchell told the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune about attending the event, which he characterized as a voter registration rally. "I gave my views on everything — on the case, on Black Lives Matter.""I'd never been to [Washington] D.C.," Mitchell added. "The opportunity to go to D.C., the opportunity to be around thousands and thousands of Black people; I just thought it was a good opportunity to be a part of something."Mitchell said the picture was posted by his uncle, and that he doesn't remember wearing or owning the shirt. He said the event was "100 percent not" a march for Floyd.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • All the 'Star Wars' movies, ranked from worst to best

    It's time to take on that age-old question: How do you rank all the feature-length "Star Wars" movies?

  • Anna Faris said she felt her 'hand was forced' in divorce from Chris Pratt

    Anna Faris and Chris Pratt, who have an 8-year-old son together, married in 2009 and divorced in 2018.

  • Corpse believed to belong to controversial cult leader found in a Colorado shrine covered in glitter with no eyes

    Seven group members arrested on various charges including child abuse and abuse of corpse

  • Lincoln Project airs one last ding at Trump before he leaves Mar-a-Lago for New Jersey

    With ex-President Donald Trump set to relocate from Mar-a-Lago to New Jersey for summer, The Lincoln Project is teasing him on Palm Beach airwaves.