Detroit Judge Charged In Alleged Scheme Targeting Vulnerable Residents
Federal prosecutors have charged Detroit 36th District Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin in an alleged conspiracy to steal money from vulnerable and legally incapacitated people in the Detroit area.
Guardian and Associates owner Nancy Williams and Williams’ fiancé, convicted felon Dwight Rashad, were also charged in the case, The New York Post reported. According to federal authorities, the scheme targeted individuals placed under guardianship, people who depend entirely on the courts and court-appointed officials to protect their finances and property.
Bradley Baskin was elected to the 36th District Court bench in November 2024. Federal prosecutors allege that Bradley Baskin personally benefited from the scheme.
According to investigators, she used $54,250 tied to the alleged conspiracy to rent a nearly $900,000 townhouse in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood near Little Caesars Arena.
Prosecutors also allege that more than $29,000 taken from victims was used to rent a home in Westland.
Property records show Bradley Baskin had been living at the Westland residence as early as 2019. But the allegations go far beyond rent payments.
One of the most disturbing claims involves Frankie James, a legally incapacitated woman who was under the care of a court-appointed guardian.
James’ Detroit home was allegedly sold to a company owned by Corey Baskin, the judge’s husband, for one dollar.
The property was later sold for $140,000.
If proven true, it represents the type of exploitation that guardianship systems are specifically supposed to prevent. Another case referenced in the investigation involves the late Lincoln Park resident Ethel Ciotti.
Ciotti’s home was sold by her court-appointed personal representative, attorney Avery Bradley.
Bradley is the father of Judge Andrea Bradley Baskin. Both Bradley and Bradley Baskin are under investigation by the FBI in connection with the case.
Federal prosecutors have also begun moving to secure assets linked to the alleged scheme.
Authorities filed a federal lien on an Oak Park office building.
The lien indicates the property could be forfeited to the government because it is allegedly connected to bribery and other federal crimes.
In May 2025, prosecutors filed another lien on a home in Southfield that could also be subject to forfeiture.
Those properties trace what investigators believe may be the alleged conspiracy’s financial footprint across the Detroit metro area.
The FBI has also obtained search warrants allowing agents to seize records connected to the care and finances of minors and legally incapacitated individuals.
Those warrants included records tied to Bradley Baskin’s legal work involving guardianship cases.
Federal investigators are now reviewing those records as part of the ongoing probe.
Cases like this strike at the heart of public trust in the justice system.
Guardianship courts exist to protect people who cannot protect themselves, including the elderly, the mentally incapacitated, and minors.
These individuals often have little ability to monitor their own finances or challenge the decisions being made on their behalf.
When the very people entrusted with protecting them are accused of exploiting that power, the damage extends far beyond the individual victims.
It undermines faith in the entire legal system. The allegations in this case are particularly troubling because they involve multiple members of the same family.
A father serving as a court-appointed representative. A daughter who rose to the bench.
A husband who allegedly benefited from a property transaction involving an incapacitated woman.
If prosecutors prove their case, it would represent not only corruption but also a systematic abuse of a process designed to protect the most vulnerable members of society.
Bradley Baskin’s election to the bench in 2024 raises another uncomfortable question. The FBI investigation was already underway when voters sent her to the court.
That fact highlights a recurring problem in many large cities where corruption investigations often remain largely invisible to the public until charges are filed.
Voters cannot evaluate information they are never given.
Trump Warns Iran of ‘Total Obliteration’ if They Try To Harm Him HH
President Donald Trump warned Iran that continued assassination threats made by leaders in Tehran would be met with the country getting “blown up” and “total obliteration.”
“Well, they shouldn’t be doing it but I’ve left notification,” Trump said. “Anything ever happens, we’re going to blow the whole — the whole country’s going to get blown up.”
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Biden-era Intelligence officials briefed Trump about the alleged threats against him during his presidential campaign in 2024. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said the plot was retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani by the U.S. in 2020, during Trump’s first administration.
Despite being briefed by his administration, Trump on Tuesday said President Biden “should have said something” on the matter, adding that presidents should defend each other on such matters.
“But I have very firm instructions,” Trump continued. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
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Trump also spoke about the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva.
“What are you expecting from these Iran talks in Geneva?” a reporter asked Trump aboard Air Force One.
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“So, I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they’ll be very important. We’ll see what can happen. Typically, Iran’s a very tough negotiator; they’re good negotiators — or bad negotiators. I would say they’re bad negotiators because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B2s to knock out their nuclear potential. We had to send the B2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal,” Trump said.
“Have you been told that a deal is next to impossible?” the reporter followed up.
Trump replied, “No. I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”
WATCH:
Trump previously said that he instructed officials to destroy Iran if they killed him.
The president said this after signing an executive order right after taking office that gave him all the tools he needed to talk to Iran’s government and put as much pressure on Tehran as possible.
“They haven’t done that and that would be a terrible thing for them to do,” Trump said at the time. “Not because of me — if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left. And, they shouldn’t be able to do it.”
Trump warned last week that the United States could send additional warships toward Iran if ongoing diplomatic negotiations fail to produce a deal, signaling that military pressure could increase as talks over Tehran’s nuclear program stall.
In remarks to Axios, Trump said the administration is considering deploying a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln and 9 additional warships already positioned near Iran, though he expressed hope that a diplomatic agreement can still be reached.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” the president told Axios on Tuesday, a reference to the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites in June.
“Last time they didn’t believe I would do it. They overplayed their hand,” Trump added. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”
The president emphasized that the United States is seeking to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, halt the development of its ballistic missile program, and end support for militant proxy groups. Iranian officials have so far resisted expanding negotiations beyond nuclear-related issues.
He described the nuclear issue as a “matter of course” part of any negotiation, but also insisted that an agreement with Iran must also address Tehran’s ballistic missile stockpiles, per Axios.
Trump said the US “can make a great deal with Iran,” and Tehran “very much wants to make a deal.”
Trump’s comments came ahead of a planned visit to Washington, D.C. by Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to press for a tougher U.S. stance and broader terms for any Iran deal that would include constraints on Tehran’s missile capabilities and regional activities.
Before heading to DC, the Israeli leader previewed some of what he and Trump were going to discuss.
“I will present to the president our understanding of the principles of the negotiations (with Iran) – the essential principles that are important not only to Israel – but to everyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu told reporters, per the New York Post.
The administration has already bolstered its military presence in the Middle East, with multiple warships and aircraft deployed as a means of deterrence and leverage.
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