County Attorney Amends Charges in Guardianship Embezzling Case

A Bayard woman accused of embezzling from state wards now faces nine felony and two misdemeanor charges.

Amended charges against Judith (Judy) Widener, 70, were filed Feb. 24 in Scotts Bluff County District Court, according to court records. Four Class IV felony counts of theft by taking, five Class III felony counts of theft by taking and two Class II misdemeanor counts of theft by taking were filed.

 

Widener is believed to have embezzled more than $14,000 from guardianship accounts using a variety of methods, according to previous testimony given during a December preliminary hearing held in Scotts Bluff County Court.
 

During the preliminary hearing, Craig Kubick, of the Nebraska State Auditor’s Office, testified he discovered a series of red flags when he reviewed the state’s Assistance to Aged, Blind and Disabled Program, a program administered by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Kubrick established that an investigation by the Nebraska State Auditor’s Office determined that Widener had embezzled more than $14,000 by using a variety of methods when she served as executive director of Safe Haven and acted as a guardian to state wards.
 

Kubrick testified that Widener had allegedly accepted funds on behalf of dead state wards, had double billed for services and had even used funds for wards to make personal payments to credit cards and for phone and television services to her home. He testified that the woman had also written checks from guardianship accounts for birthday and Christmas gifts to herself.
 

Widener’s case has served as an example of the need for reform of the guardianships overseen by the Nebraska courts. The Nebraska Legislature has proposed a bill to establish a state Office of Public Guardian. The bill would create an office to provide guardians to serve as conservators when a ward does not have a family member or other suitable person to oversee affairs.
 

During the annual State of the Judiciary address in January, Chief Justice Michael Heavican also promised changes in the way that the courts oversee guardianships. The courts are developing an internal audit system for guardianship to notify judges when a guardian has been removed from a case for cause, he said.
 

Widener is currently scheduled to be tried during the June jury term.

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County Attorney Amends Charges in Guardianship Embezzling Case

See Also:
Nebraska State Auditor:  Guardian Fleeced State Wards