Detroit Judge and Three Others Charged in Federal Scheme to Loot Incapacitated Wards’ Estates

Federal prosecutors in Detroit have charged 36th District Court Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin and three other local residents in what they call a years-long scheme to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from incapacitated and vulnerable adults whose finances were under court‑appointed control. An indictment alleges Bradley-Baskin used about $70,000 from one ward’s funds to buy an ownership stake in a local bar and diverted estate money to lease a Ford Expedition, while attorney Avery Bradley, guardian-company owner Nancy Williams and group-home operator Dwight Rashad allegedly siphoned roughly $203,000 from another ward’s legal settlement without any benefit to the victim. Williams’ firm, Guardian and Associates, reportedly served as fiduciary in more than 1,000 Wayne County Probate Court cases, with Avery Bradley and his daughter Bradley-Baskin representing the agency in court and Rashad housing many wards in his facilities. All four are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, with additional counts of wire fraud, money laundering and, for Bradley-Baskin, making a false statement to federal agents; the FBI says they "looted bank accounts" and "exploited legal authority" to prey on the people they were supposed to protect. The case highlights long‑running concerns, amplified on social media after other conservatorship scandals, that probate and guardianship systems can become vehicles for financial abuse when lawyers, judges and care‑home operators are insufficiently supervised.