Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced Friday that a federal grand jury had indicted four Detroit residents, including a sitting judge, in connection with an alleged years-long scheme to embezzle funds from vulnerable, incapacitated adults under court-appointed guardianship or conservatorship.
The primary defendant is Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, who serves as a judge in Michigan’s 36th District Court in Detroit. She was first elected to the position in November 2024.
The other individuals charged are Nancy Williams, 59, owner of Guardian and Associates, a fiduciary agency; Avery Bradley, 72, an attorney and Bradley-Baskin’s father; and Dwight Rashad, 69, who operates group homes for elderly individuals and wards of the state.
All four face a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Additional charges include one count of wire fraud against Avery Bradley; several counts of money laundering against Bradley-Baskin, Avery Bradley, and Rashad; and one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent against Bradley-Baskin.
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds belonging to wards, the legal term for adults deemed legally incapacitated by probate courts. These individuals require appointed guardians or conservators to manage their personal and financial affairs.
Williams’s company, Guardian and Associates, was frequently appointed by the Wayne County Probate Court to handle over 1,000 such cases.
Prosecutors state that the group diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from these wards and their estates for personal use. In one example, Bradley-Baskin allegedly used approximately $70,000 from one ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar.
Funds embezzled from a separate ward’s estate were used to pay for a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for Bradley-Baskin, prosecutors allege. In another instance, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad allegedly embezzled $203,000 from a ward’s legal settlement.
“Regardless of a person’s position in society, no one is above the law. These four defendants allegedly conspired to steal from some of our most vulnerable citizens — looting bank accounts, exploiting legal authority, and profiting off those who relied on them for care and protection. Let me be clear: if you prey on the vulnerable, we will find you and bring you to justice,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.
No trial date or plea information has been publicly disclosed as of this report. The maximum penalties for the charges include up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and substantive wire fraud, up to 10 years for money laundering, and up to 5 years for making a false statement.
According to a report from The Detroit News, Judge Bradley-Baskin has been administratively removed from her docket but will continue to receive pay during this period. The Michigan Supreme Court has ultimate authority for any further suspension actions.
