Justice For Amber

This young woman was a  mother, daughter, sister, aunt.  She was loved.  Her family is trying to raise money for her funeral.  Even the most simple funeral and burial are unbelievably expensive.

Here is the gofundme page started by her niece - https://www.gofundme.com/AmberMorris43016

The investigation into her death is still ongoing. The most recent news stories are here -
from NBC 25
http://nbc25news.com/news/local/family-of-a-woman-found-in-a-trunk-of-a-car-speak-out

and from MLive - http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2016/05/police_awaiting_autopsy_for_id.html

A Saginaw Mystery

Michigan has it's share of mysteries and folk lore.  I recently saw a video of a mystery right here in Saginaw and have been waiting for the news station to finish it's story.  Still waiting for the news station to finish...

The first video I saw on this mystery was posted on YouTube. It was filmed at a abandoned site where there are flowers and crosses with a man's name on it.  

The local news station WNEM did a story on it but never aired the second part of the story series. From their first segment:

"After combing the area for clues, we did our own digging starting with public records. It turns out William A. Miller sold the property to General Motors back in 1966.
According to records obtained by TV5, a few days later Miller was found shot dead on his property.
A news article written by the Saginaw News, dated March 26, 1966 states the Saginaw County prosecutor's office ordered an autopsy after learning Miller received a $30,000 check for the sale of his property."
Read more: http://www.wnem.com/story/30857000/50-years-after-mans-mysterious-death-memorial-crops-up#ixzz44dKjWuXq

I have read that Mr. Millers death was ruled a suicide but I don't know if that was after or before the autopsy and any investigation.  Was there an investigation?  What happened to the $30.000?    Who is it that has left the memorial type items at the location?

I got hooked on this story when I first saw it last year and am still wondering what more is there to this story. I tried looking online to find a little more information on this man and his life.  I couldn't find any information about his death, just a little about his family history.

William A. Miller was born in Saginaw County on May 24th, 1910 to Louis and Frieda Miller.  His father Louis passed in 1912 and it appears the family may have stayed on their farm that was located in the area called Crow Island.  The 1920 and 1930 census records list their address as Crow Island Road.  In the 1940 census Williams address is listed as N. 23rd Street.  His mother Frieda passed in 1932 and her address is listed as N 23rd Street at the time of her death.  His parents are buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.  His mother's cause of death was listed Brights Disease, nowadays it is known as a form of Kidney Disease.  His father Louis's cause of death is listed as Drowning/Suicide. 

William was the youngest of 12 children.  His last sibling passed in 1995.  In 1937 William married a woman named Bernice.  In the 1940 census William and Bernice had one son born in about 1938. They possibly had more children.  His wife passed in 1954 and is buried with her family at a cemetery in Hemlock, MI.  It appears that William was cremated.  I have not been able to find out if his ashes were buried or perhaps they were spread at the site where the memorials are, where William died and on what appears to be the old family farm.  I assume it is family members that have left the flowers at the site. I have great respect for cemeteries and I hope that anyone that may come across this site treat it with the proper reverence.  Hopefully WNEM will finish the story because I would love to know more about this man, his life, his death, and the memorials left behind.

If you are looking for more Saginaw mysteries there is always the Haunted Saginaw group.  They have a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Haunted-Saginaw-145834202275422

and a website - http://www.hauntedsaginaw.com/

If I come across any more strange tales or mysteries from Saginaw I will share them on this blog.

What is credit card fraud?

Credit card fraud is when you use the credit card of a deceased person to purchase a 43" television.
Credit card fraud is when you use the credit card of a deceased person to purchase various merchandise items at a local home repair store.
Credit card fraud is when you use the credit card of a deceased person to purchase items for your new home from another local home repair store.

Don't most stores nowadays use video camera surveillance?  It seems like they are always showing the photos on TV and online of people they are looking for in connection to credit card fraud and retail theft.  Are there actually any low life criminals left out there that don't know about the surveillance cameras?

Wikipedia offers a definition of credit card fraud: "Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using or involving a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card, as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. "

In Michigan you may be charged with a felony:  "In Michigan, credit or debit card fraud happens when an individual illegally uses another person's credit or debit card to pay for or purchase an item or service. Credit card fraud also includes opening a new account in another person's name, and using that card for purchases..........  In Michigan, credit cards and debit cards are referred to as Financial Transaction Devices (FTD). They can include gift cards or rebate cards. In Michigan, you can be charged with a felony for improperly using your own credit/debit card or if you possess/use the credit/debit card of another person without consent."
http://statelaws.findlaw.com/michigan-law/michigan-credit-card-fraud-laws.html 

My first bit of advice to avoid credit card faud would be very very careful of who you consider a friend and to never allow anyone to have access to your cards!

A few tips here in these links to help you avoid being the victim of credit card fraud.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/protect-against-credit-card-fraud-now/index.htm

http://www.discovernetwork.com/consumers/identity-theft/tips-to-avoid.html

The Veteran Support Center In Michigan

I recently attended a "workshop" hosted by the Veteran Support Center and it left me feeling a little uneasy and with more questions than I had before I attended.

This workshop had two speakers, Joe Vitale and Carol Thomas.

It appears that Joe Vitale is a financial planner with American Retirement Solutions. Their website is http://americanretsol.com/
I am not quite clear on the connection but it appears that American Retirement Solutions is possibly connected with Veteran Support Center?  I found a listing online for this -
A R S Veteran Support Center
5189 Hampton Pl, Saginaw, MI 48604
(989) 792-0053
If I remember correctly, Joe Vitale said that he was located next door to Carol Thomas' office there on Hampton Place in Saginaw.

Carol Thomas is an attorney here in Saginaw.  Her site claims that she practises Elder Law and Estate Planning.  Here is her website http://www.attorneycarolthomas.com/

The website for the Veteran Support Center can be found here -  http://www.yourvapension.org/#intro
When I looked at the Veteran Support Center I couldn't determine how they are funded.  Are they a chairity?  Are they connected to any other veterans organizations?  Connected through the VA?
I tried to see who the founders were of this organization and all I could find was this address listed:
3546 S. LAPEER RD., STE. D
METAMORA, MI 48455
That address listed is the same address listed on the Better Business Bureau website for American Retirement Solutions and also on the American Retirement Solutions website.  The names listed on the BBB site for the business partners for American Retirement Solutions are:
Mr. Brian Roehrer, Vice President
Mr. Joe Vitale, President
Mr. Shirward Punches
When looking at the workshops held by the Veteran Support Center, I see that Brian Roehrer and Joe Vitale are two of the presenters listed for their workshops.
The phone numbers listed on the BBB site for American Retirement Solutions are the same ones that are listed on the Veteran Support Center website.
PHONE  810.667.9360
FAX  810.667.9361

I went to this workshop hoping to find more help available for a elderly family member that is currently in a nursing home facility.  I left there feeling like all I got was a deceptive sales pitch for the financial planning business and for the Carol Thomas law office.  I feel that it would be better to just advertise these workshops as being done by American Retirement Solutions and Carol Thomas's law office.  Then it would be very clear to others like myself exactly who they are dealing with.  I attended thinking this was some kind of veterans organization like the American Legion, Veterans Of Foreign Wars, probably funded by donations, organized by other veterans, tied in with other veterans groups but it doesn't appear to me to be what I thought it was.

My understanding of the presentation was that to be eligible to get the Aid & Attendance benefit offered by the Veterans Administration, you would need  to have a "Irrevocable Trust" drawn up by a attorney.  Conveniently the son of Carol Thomas does the irrevocable trust at her office for a cost of about $3,500.00 to $4,000.00.  The presentation claimed that a regular "Revocable" trust drawn up by an attorney would not qualify you for the VA benefits because you still own the assets and chances are you would not qualify for the help because they would count all of that. Basically you would have too much money and assets to qualify.   Here is a website that explains some of the differences between the two types of trusts - http://irrevocable-trust.ultratrust.com/top-7-differences-between-irrevocable-trust-and-revocable-trust.html
So according to this information once you put your assets in the irrevocable trust you no longer have access to them, so they do not count when the VA is looking at your financial situation when determining if you would qualify. That seems to make sense.

During this workshop they discussed veterans that served during different time periods and different locations, and whom would be eligible for the Aid & Attendance benefits.  One of the stories Mr. Vitale shared was about a veteran that served in Korea.  I believe he said that the veteran did not serve in the actual Korean War but was still eligible for the benefits.  This veteran from Saginaw had Parkinson's and I believe he said he had just recently passed away.  Mr. Vitale said that they were able to get him the Aid & Attendance benefits including hospice care so he could stay at home when he passed.  I don't recall him mentioning if this Saginaw veteran with Parkinson's had done the revocable trust or irrevocable trust.

That story made me think of a Saginaw veteran that I knew that also had Parkinson's and also had just recently passed away.  This veteran I knew had served in Korea but not during the Korean War, it was during the Vietnam War period.  This veteran I knew had been getting help from the VA for years as far as I understand.  I know that he had been receiving in home health care assistance aides paid for by the VA for years, but I am not sure if this is exactly the same thing as the Aid & Attendance benefit they talked about.  These health care aides were coming for 4 hours per day for 5 or 6 days per week I believe.  I know that he got a lot of medical help over the years from the VA.
This veteran I knew also stayed at home with 24 hour hospice care till he passed but I am not sure if it was Medicare or the VA that payed for the hospice care.
I know that this veteran went to the office of Carol Thomas in 2014 and had a Revocable trust done, but it was after he was already getting the aid from the VA.  I don't believe that he had any kind of trust or will done at the time he started getting the in home health care paid for by the VA.  This veteran I knew owned a nice home, nice vehicle, and a decent IRA account, and none of it was in a Irrevocable trust.
This veteran I knew also had the exact same flyer that I posted above for one of the workshops hosted by the Veteran Support Center that was held in June 2015 in Saginaw.  One of his health care aides had written down the directions to the location on the flyer but I don't know if he did actually attend the workshop or not.  I don't know if they could have helped him get anymore help than he was already getting from the VA.

So I am wondering if it is really necessary to have the Irrevocable trust done to be eligible for the extra benefits offered by the VA?
Are there other veteran organizations that could help you get the Aide & Attendance benefits at no charge to the veteran, no strings attached?
Has anyone else had any experience dealing with the Veteran Support Center and what did you think of them?

Where is this Van?

UPDATE APRIL 5TH:  The van has been located but there are questions concerning the situation.  It may be a situation that needs to be looked at more closely by some kind of legal authority.

Has anyone seen this van?  It is a 1999 Ford Econoline E150 Van.  It is handicapped accessible, has a side door wheelchair lift.  It belonged to a person that passed away in 2015 and has been "unaccounted" for since December 2015.  The value is about $9,000.00 so the family of this person would like to know exactly what happened to it. It was last seen in Saginaw County, MI.  If you have seen it or know where it is you can use the contact form for this blog or send a email to:   shadowsofsaginaw@hotmail.com

The Snake In The Shadows

The Snake In The Shadows

He slithers along his evil course

Driven by greed and lust

Showing no signs of remorse

To get what he wants he will do what he must

The snake venom coursing making her sway

As tears filled the water she desperately fought

What did the maiden think as she drifted away

As she took her last draught

The old man alone just wanted a friend

The snake saw easy prey and laid his plan

The old man’s mistaken trust brought about a sad end

The snake brought his clan and the pillage began

The leopard dances the macabre with the snake

Fools playing a dangerous game

When the dawn breaks will the leopard awake

Will it be karma or the snake that is to blame

He slithers along with his evil grin

Thinking he got away again

But the cloak is wearing thin

And soon all will see his chagrin

Thieves And Karma

“Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.” 

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

No Means No

When you put up No Trespassing signs and the trespassers take them down, is that trespassing, stupidity, or theft?

Maybe more duct tape would have helped?