Retired Judge with Courthouse Named After Her is Exploited by Probate

Betty Lou Lamoreaux was a giant on the Orange County California Superior Court bench. Her work with children was so impressive that the county named the seven-story family courthouse  after her — the Lamoreaux Juvenile Justice Center.

Duff Lamoreaux McGrath in 2016 outside county courthouse named after his Aunt, Betty Lou Lamoreaux, whose life savings is is in danger of being financially drained, in part by the very justice system to which she dedicated her life. (Courtesy of Duff McGrath)

 

Lamoreaux, now 94, has Alzheimer’s disease and is unable to care for herself. But she has nephews who want to help. Because of disagreements with another part of the family, they took her case to probate court, believing that a retired judge whose name adorns a courthouse would get top consideration.

Instead, nephew Duff McGrath said, he has watched helplessly as no fewer than nine lawyers and a handful of contractors swallowed “Auntie Lou’s” $273,700 nest egg and forced her into a jumbo reverse mortgage. McGrath, a trustee, said he agreed to the real estate deal, but only because he believed the conservator would remove him as trustee if he didn’t agree.

“If we fight it, they will fight us and use my aunt’s money to fight us,” complained Greg McGrath, Duff’s brother. “They’re just sucking up my aunt’s money.”

All this occurred under the watch of Superior Court Judge Kim Hubbard. The case has since been handed over to Judge David L. Belz.

Conservator Bad Acts

Sally Cicerone of Laguna Hills is the conservator for Lamoreaux.  State records show that Cicerone managed $26.7 million in assets in 2017.  A list of the conservator’s activities include:

— After Cicerone first year with Lamoreaux, she billed the estate $42,210, according to records.  Among the family’s complaints: Cicerone waited four months to get a replacement for Lamoreaux’s broken wheelchair. And even then, the new chair didn’t fit and quickly broke. Cicerone billed $700 for her time.

— Other documents show Cicerone billed $250 to visit Lamoreaux and take delivery of a new leather recliner in April 2017. But in a sworn declaration, Cicerone contractor Julie Sebestyen testified that it was she who visited Lamoreaux and monitored the chair delivery, not Cicerone.

— Cicerone inflates her time and thus fee request, bills for services she has not performed, bills for services performed by others, intentionally and fraudulently falsified her time sheets … and neglected the conservatee; the McGraths alleged in a court declaration.

— Cicerone also charged for telephone calls to her attorney that did not appear on the attorney’s log of their conversations, according to allegations in court records.

— Cicerone billed Lamoreaux $2,600 to deposit her banking

 

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