When the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) was appointed to assist Mr. Dean Barnett of Elkhorn, Erin Wiesen was designated as his public guardian. In reviewing Barnett’s files, Wiesen discovered an overwhelming number of questionable expenditures and discrepancies in his bank record, including a nursing home bill of $106,000. The OPG filed a fraud report with the Office of Inspector General of the Social Security Administration and a report of abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult to Adult Protective Services, noting that Barnett’s only son, Craig, had left his father destitute. Wiesen continued, for over three years, to follow up on the progress of the case and direct information to investigators, federal prosecutors, and the court as evidence for prosecution. Wiesen could not save Barnett from the heartbreak of abandonment and theft by his son, but she assured him of the office’s advocacy on his behalf. Wiesen attended Federal Court Friday to witness the sentencing of Craig Barnett.

Read the full story in the Omaha World Herald: Nebraska state administrator gets prison for embezzling almost $277,000 from his dad