Professional guardian’s registration revoked following allegations of exploitation

NAPLES, Fla. — Over the past year, the ABC Action News I-Team has reported on how professional guardian Kathy Johnson treated the vulnerable adults in her care.

She was removed from dozens of cases after audits found she exploited people and mismanaged their assets.

Now, the state is taking steps to ensure she never serves as guardian again.

“At best, it’s bad management. At worst, it’s something more,” Collier County Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Krier said during a February hearing.

She removed Kathy Johnson from her role as professional guardian in 34 Collier County cases at that hearing.

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“I’m also not going to allow money for these services to be flushed down the toilet for another minute,” Krier said.

Auditors found irregularities in Johnson’s records, including allegations…which auditors disputed…that his wards lost $85,000 to “hacker activity.”

An audit report also cited concerns that one neighborhood’s Mercedes Benz was not showing up in an inventory and that another neighborhood’s bank account had declined by nearly $609,000 in two years.

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Report Alleges Multiple Violations of Florida Guardianship Law

“You can be placed under a conservatorship, and all of your rights as a U.S. citizen can be taken away after a five-minute hearing that you probably won’t be allowed to attend,” said Hillary Hogue, a conservatorship advocate. guardianship reform.

Hogue said she complained about Johnson to the Florida Office of Public and Professional Guardians (OPPG).

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That office last month released a 65-page administrative complaint against Johnson, alleging “mismanagement or waste of assets,” “exploitation, self-dealing or fraud,” “breach of fiduciary duty.” and “an obstruction of the rights of wards”.

“You really have a target on your front,” Hogue said. We’ve introduced you to some of Johnson’s former wards.

“My intention was to get Johnson out.”

Bridget Manning, 85, was visiting a friend in Florida when she fell, injured her leg and ended up in a rehabilitation center.

She was later declared incapacitated.

Manning wrote seven letters to the judges complaining about Johnson and begging for his rights to be restored.

In the letters, Manning said she hoped to return to Ireland, where she lived most of her life.

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“My intention was to get Johnson out. She did a lot of things to a lot of people,” Manning said.

We met her at the home care facility where Johnson placed her, which had previously been cited by the state for its staff not having the proper training or certification.

When asked to describe his living situation, Manning responded, “Bad. Very bad.”

“I have to share a room. Kathy Johnson got us both in,” she said.

Two of Johnson’s wards shared a small room in the 1,400 square foot house.

Living in freedom with cell phones and cash

“I was employed as a registered nurse. I had two jobs,” Karen Federighi said.

When Federighi inherited the money in 2016, her sisters in Ohio hired a lawyer to put her under conservatorship.

She was only 56 years old.

Federighi lived independently at a LaQuinta Inn while Johnson controlled his money.

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Records show Johnson charged Federighi $90 an hour to run errands for him.

Federighi eventually fled to California with the help of supporters she met on Facebook.

“I literally lived on the run for almost a year, using cell phones and cash,” Federighi said.

A lawyer had his case transferred to California and Federighi finally obtained the restoration of his rights.

“She told me he had no more money”

In June, we told you about Wilkins Vilcin, a former Haitian high school athlete.

He suffered severe head trauma when he fell on his head while doing a flip at a prom.

Vilcin found himself under conservatorship and Johnson was named guardian.

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The court asked him to supervise his care and manage his money.

This included $614,000 from legal settlements related to the accident.

Reports say Johnson failed to help Vilcin apply for citizenship after the accident, which left him unable to qualify for government benefits such as Medicaid and Social Security, which would cover his around-the-clock care.

Vilcin’s sister, Fabiola Vilcin Borgelin, said she didn’t know her brother’s money was about to run out until it was too late.

“She told me he had no more money. If he has nowhere to go, he will end up on the streets,” Borgelin said.

Johnson resigned his guardianship when his funds were almost exhausted, owing thousands of dollars to the facility that cared for Vilcin.

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He has since gone to live with family members who supervise his care 24 hours a day.

His family members and supporters worked with a volunteer attorney to create the Wilkins Vilcin Special Needs Trust.

Donations are being coordinated through Wilkins’ Old School…they can be mailed to St. John Neumann High School, 3500 53rd ST SW, Naples, FL 34116.

For more information about the trust you can email the organizers at [email protected]

The OPPG report says Johnson “at best, mismanaged financial resources and the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhoods she was guardian of and, at worst, engaged in criminal activity.” .

Response from Johnson and the State

We tried to speak to Johnson during her court hearing in February, but she refused to answer our questions.

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Last month, the state revoked Johnson’s registration as a guardian.

We have contacted OPPG regarding the revocation of Johnson’s registration.

A spokesperson wrote in an email: “The Ministry of Elder Affairs expects all registered professional guardians to comply with the laws and standards governing their profession. »

According to the spokesperson, Johnson was the 15th public or professional guardian in Florida to have his registration revoked since 2019.

When we called Johnson for comment, she hung up.

“What happens to these elderly people whose nest egg was this? It’s their money, and some of them are still alive. Who is fighting to get their money back? Hogue said.

For now, the answers are unclear.

You can learn more about the issues surrounding professional guardianship in Florida by reading our multi-year investigation, “The Price of Protection.”