LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently stated in a press release that her office “protects vulnerable adults.” However, that’s a claim that deserves scrutiny.
“Protecting vulnerable adults a priority.”
Last week, Nessel posted about a case in which felony charges were filed against a woman who was the administrator of an adult foster care home where a patient died.
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A 60-year-old woman was admitted to Pleasant Lake Lodge on Nov. 1, 2022 and found dead four days later. The facility’s administrator was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Nessel congratulated her office for the work, and then stated: “Protecting vulnerable adults continues to be a priority of this department. We hope that cases like this resonate with other facilities to underscore how critical it is that residents receive the care they need — otherwise there will be consequences.”
Oversight and political ties.
That comment deserves scrutiny in light of the Traci Kornak case.
In December, Kornak – an ally of Nessel’s who served on the AG’s transition team – was charged with embezzlement by the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office. Kornak is charged with taking advantage of a mentally challenged elderly woman, Rose Burd, who Kornak was the court-appointed conservator. An accounting firm investigating the case found as much as $419,640 in questionable charges by Kornak involving Burd’s money.
Nessel’s office had two different departments investigate Kornak, who was formerly the treasurer of the state Democratic Party. Neither department brought forth charges against Kornak.
A House Oversight Committee has been highly critical of the Attorney General’s handling of the investigation of Kornak.
AG Office is “wholly incompetent or it is corrupt.”
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The Republicans on the House Oversight Committee claimed a conflict of interest for Nessel when she asked to be kept up to date on the case.
That committee’s investigation uncovered claims of mistreatment against Kornak while taking care of Burd. One of the claims was that Kornak took Burd’s cell phone away and kept her in the dark, to the point of putting duct tape on the light switches to keep them from being flipped on.
“The Attorney General’s Office is one of two things. It is either wholly incompetent or it is corrupt,” said Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Township), who oversaw the House Oversight Committee meetings.
In an October 2023 letter sent to the Detroit News protesting the article, Nessel’s office wrote, “Of the investigation into Traci Kornak, no criminal wrongdoing was found by the Department’s investigation. Two separate divisions investigated the matter, the Financial Crimes Division and the Health Care Fraud Division. By the time the reports were delivered to the Attorney General, all investigative action was completed, and the investigation was concluded. … A critical component to the closing of the investigation was a lack of cooperating complainant.”
