Chicago is known for the White House Chef, who Previously Cooked for President Barack Obama and for First Lady Michelle Obama in their South Side Home and Chicago is known for Mrs. Obama's private Lake Shore Drive Fashion Designer who has become a Multi-Millionaire.  Chicago is also known for Professional Scam Conservators/Alleged Attorneys who Prey on the Elderly.  Chicago is full of Shady People.

No one wants to hear it. Innocent elderly women and men being scammed by welcoming seemingly sweet, lovely, and well-versed swindlers disguised as conservators. These so-called conservators are entrepreneurs who see an aging population with checkbooks. Some of the alleged caregivers cultivate aging people for their own financial gain and interest.

While they may promise to take care of their charges, the victims soon discover that their lifetime finances have ended up in the hands of their conservator.

It can happen to you. In 1990, a bearded man full of charisma, lies, and charm began courting (not literally) a wealthy older Lake Shore Drive woman. According to the woman's friend, “I remember the man entering her life that night. He seemed to be carefully scouting out each person.” At this particular art reception, he promptly set his sights on a distinguished smartly-dressed man of eighty and his small fragile wealthy wife in her advancing years. In a voice that was soft but humorous, the professional attorney conservator said, “You are the most beautiful woman in the room. Are you a model?” The woman -- suffering from onset Alzheimer's -- replied, “How did you know?”

Although the lawyer’s record clearly reflected a numerous string of bushwhacked victims, not to mention that he knew very little about elder care of any kind, he immediately said, “I am here to help you. I will sit down with you and my new ‘adopted dad’ (her husband) tomorrow morning.”  Despite multiple warnings from their son, the gregarious newcomer and confidence man entered his mother's life. Within a few short months, the husband died and this champion scam-master attorney conservator became the sole legal representative for the widow's millions of dollars, while coldly and deliberately isolating the parent from her grown children.

The Wall Street Journal's November 16, 2005, cover story relates this same experience to a beloved American: “Rosa Park's Death Stirs Up Bitter Feud Over Her Estate -- Family Fights Caregivers To Control the Legacy Of Civil-Rights Icon.”

Generally this scam is unbeknownst to the children or to the elderly person's closest friends or even their physicians. First, they hear their parents mention a name. Second, his name is being built up into a “super hero.” Third, they discover he or she is in charge of their parents’ fortune and it is too late for them. Professional conservators who can be marginal ex-lawyers "get-away-with-it and it is a growing troubling new occupation.

Is the Chicago legal system flawed? Yes. Did the Judge who handled the case understand professional conservators who are also attorneys? No. The Judge did not even read the case. He had his young inexperienced law clerk make the decision for him. Chicago's legal system failed to protect the elderly parents and the children in question -- permitting the hideous attorney to move thousands of miles west to start a new scam.

Professional conservators are skilled liars and experts at verbal camouflage. They know their success depends on it. Conservator/elder care is a growing and usually unregulated trade in the United States. Tragically, lawmakers and judges did not foresee that shady professionals would turn what had been a family matter into a business.