Man placed in guardianship by family who objected to new wife fights to get rights restored

Meet Mr. Douglas A. Keegan, aged 60. He lives in Orange County, Florida. Mr. Keegan was placed under a crooked Guardianship due to a seriously and fatally flawed hearing process which ruled that he had of lack of Mental Capacity. There is not, and never has been any credible evidence, much less compelling, convincing and/or thoroughly vetted evidence, that he has any lack of normal mental capacity. In fact, he has proven himself, and continues to do so, to be an intelligent, educated, hardworking, ethical and honest person. The removal of his rights as an American citizen, which he helped protect as a young man in his service as a U.S. Naval Reserve Officer, and the taking and squandering of his savings and property earned from a lifetime of honest hard work and prudent wealth management, are unjust and an outrage. This unacceptable miscarriage of justice calls for a remedy as provided under U.S. and Florida laws.

Mr. Keegan is the victim of numerous crimes committed under the color of law within the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Orange County, Florida. These crimes stem from a fraud upon the court to misuse Florida's guardianship law. Misuse of guardianship is not new, and is a growing problem in Florida and nationwide.¹ It is used to facilitate the theft of wealth from individual victims. The theft crime's byproducts wreak havoc on many aspects of the victims' lives well beyond the egregious financial devastation.

1 The aging population and pending large transfer of generational wealth makes this type of crime irresistible to many. With corrupt courts, it is like taking candy from a baby.

This case was frivolous with no basis in law and fact. It should never have been initiated. It should have been quickly dismissed but for judicial corruption. This case has never been properly litigated. Mr. Keegan’s interests were never lawfully represented, all the court’s rulings were made ex-parte, and many rulings have been contrary to Florida law. This court has produced no bona-fide findings of fact to support any of its orders.

Mr. Keegan's placement under a Guardianship is an absurd occurrence to have happened in this country. This Guardianship is the result of negligent, malicious, fraudulent, and self-serving behavior on the part of multiple involved parties. In the hearing and ruling process, there was a complete disregard to due process, due diligence, timely notifications, fairness, integrity, transparency, disclosures, conflicts of interest, fiduciary responsibilities, documentation, and the challenging and dismissing of junk science and “expert” opinions put forth by utter quacks who were paid liars.

The case consistently failed to provide Mr. Keegan with due process. He did not receive notices of hearings and/or proposed rulings , it was not heard by an unbiased tribunal (judge) but one driven by a predetermined objective, it had no findings of facts to support its conclusions nor were its conclusions explained, and it gave him no opportunity for a defense. There was flagrant misrepresentation and concealment of material facts, submission of fabricated and inadmissible evidence, and misapplication of statutory laws. There were numerous egregious conflicts of interest. They continue to be conducted in a most malicious and fraudulent manner. These were obvious unlawful acts and constitutional violations. There was a less obvious unconstitutionality of the entire proceeding in which the judiciary is practicing phony healthcare for which it lacks authority.

The attorneys (court officers) committed fraud upon the court. They intentionally set in motion an unconscionable scheme to defraud Mr. Keegan. Their actions were calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability to impartially adjudicate this matter. They worked to improperly influence the trier of fact and unfairly hampered the presentation of Mr. Keegan’s claims and defenses. Of course, the judge was also complicit in the fraud.

Mr. Keegan was provided no defense from his attorney(s) and Guardians, but was actually deliberately sabotaged by them. His best interests were never in their best interests nor of significant, let alone primary, importance to them. They gave periodic but meaningless lip service to his interests as thinly veiled lies to cover their true intentions and objectives. By stripping his rights at the very beginning of the process, the court did not even allow him to defend himself. His treatment has been financially, physically, reputationally mentally and emotionally harmful to him as the result of numerous abusive and unjust actions which have been a serious affront to his Constitutional Rights and to the Rule of Law.

Mr. Keegan is a plenary ward and has effectively been so since November 10, 2014. He was adjudicated to be totally incapacitated at an Emergency Temporary Guardianship hearing on November 10, 2014, and a final order for same was issued at hearing on April 27, 2015. Mr. Keegan was not properly noticed for either hearing or was he present at either hearing. Mr. Keegan was present for a noticed and scheduled hearing on December 15, 2014 to contest the allegations of incapacity as fictitious and frivolous. However, the hearing was given a continuance for fraudulent reasons, without his knowledge and informed consent, and with no matters of substance addressed. There were more than adequate grounds for terminating the proceeding to determine incapacity, to which action Mr. Keegan had come to litigate together with his wife.

The victim's late life marriage (54, first marriage, no children) resulted in the perceived disinheritance of assets by a potential beneficiary, a financially strapped sibling. This perception triggered jealousy, anger and fear and led to impulsive atypical,arrogant, idiotic and criminal behavior. This temporary emotional handicap, coupled with ignorance of the facts and the law, made him vulnerable to horribly misguided legal advice from a dishonest attorney (illegally stirring up strife and litigation).

The crimes started out (October/November 2014) by an attorney to generate legal fees ($30, 000 then $50,000 to be split between the attorneys) for useless services dressed up to look like something necessary and well intentioned. Alcoholism (a health issue of Mr. Keegan of which he was aware, and despite significant efforts was struggling with for the previous few years), was used as the pretext (but guardianship is not a substance abuse program). However, racial bigotry about his marriage to a black African lady, jealousy, and possible disinheritance to a sibling were the reasons behind initiating legal proceedings. His brother, the initial petitioner, was a dupe, easily conned by the original attorney on the case, Mr. Turman, and had no idea what he set in motion. Mr. Keegan’s family quickly exited (1 week effectively, ≇ 8 weeks nominally), and a professional guardian team took over (five and a half years and running).

Mr. Keegan’s court appointed attorney, Horvath, was the most corrupt participant of all. He led the effort, started by Turman, to conduct the proceedings dishonestly, in secrecy, and with a predetermined outcome regardless of the facts. The judges and all the attorneys knowingly went along with the sham proceedings, as did the guardians. Horvath, for reasons of personal financial gain, continually withheld proceeding notices, and intentionally, without informed consent and contrary to stated and known positions, he misrepresented his client’s interests. Mr. Keegan was never a party to the proceedings and his forced legal representation. He was not allowed to get his own counsel or represent himself. This made a mockery of due process, transparency, and rule of law.

On December 14, 2014, Mr. Horvath blackmailed the petitioning attorney (in writing, filed on December 16, 2014, but noticed on the 14th) to continue the fraud when it appeared the petition would be dismissed for lack of merit at the hearing scheduled for the following day.

On April 27, 2015, Horvath reminded Turman of his blackmail threat orally at hearing. He brought an expert witness to testify against his own client without his client’s knowledge. Mr. Horvath removed from evidence reports that said Mr. Keegan was fine. He completely misled the discussion at the hearing. He made a motion at the hearing for plenary guardianship, and everyone else just said okay. There were four attorneys advocating against Mr. Keegan at his hearing, and not one for him. He could not advocate for himself because he was not properly noticed. Everyone got paid if Mr. Keegan lost his case (over $50,000 in all, with much more to follow). No one would be paid if Mr. Keegan won his case.

Mr. Keegan, while illegally confined² (kidnapped) in an assisted living facility, and under considerable unlawfully imposed duress, filed a petition to terminate his guardianship (without benefit of counsel) on September 10, 2015. In this petition, he characterized the proceeding as that of a Kangaroo court³. His description of events identified substantial violations to the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct for judges and to the Rules of Professional Conduct for Florida attorneys. His complaints also translated into numerous violations of Florida and Federal criminal statutes. Mr. Keegan also reached out to the Chief Judge (Lauten), Administrative Judge (Munyon) and Clerk of Court Russell to see if they played any role in:

(i) ensuring due process and transparency (going forward) and/or

(ii) investigating allegations of prior criminal acts and/or

(iii) addressing erroneous rulings (due to fraud, not an appeal based on misinterpretation of law) in circuit court proceedings.

All responded in the negative and that their duties were only administrative.⁴

2 Mr. Keegan was illegally confined at four different ALF locations for a total of about two years. There was never a hearing or order to remove him from his house and place him in restrictive living conditions. 

3 Kangaroo courts are sham legal proceedings which are set-up in order to give the impression of a fair legal process. In fact, they offer no impartial justice as the verdict, invariably to the detriment of the accused, is decided in advance. 

4 In 2018 he contacted the Chief judge again, as well as the clerk of the court, and challenged their prior claims of lack of authority to intervene in the trial case criminality and fraud upon the court as a lie. He maintained that they were complicit in the crimes by their lack of oversight and action. He based his assertion after having studied the Rules of Judicial Administration and the responsibilities of the Clerk of the Court.

This petition was designated a Suggestion of Capacity and it initiated a new proceeding. The sham legal proceedings continued. The fraud and abuse of process became even worse because Mr. Keegan’s identification of so much bad behavior triggered a backlash and cover-up. Mr. Keegan’s motion was denied at hearing on October 28, 2015 (Mr. Keegan was present) with no matters of substance discussed. The judge (Jose Rodriguez) preferred a lengthy discussion on the health benefits of recreational swimming and to whom you will your estate rather than even broaching more relevant issues identified in the petition of non-evidence for mental capacity and statutory ( Chapter 744 - Guardianship), due process and criminal violations.

Mr. Keegan has endeavored to remedy his situation and to redress his grievances and has filed numerous pleadings with the circuit Court. He has contacted dozens of watchdog agencies and personnel (e.g., law enforcement, ombudsman, Elder Affairs, OPPG, caregivers, assisted living facility managers and overseers, clerk of court personnel/auditors, health auditors, Court monitor, law firms, etc.) to almost no avail. He has suffered substantial fraud, waste, abuse, and exploitation over the past five years.

After the Suggestion of Capacity, the crimes quickly morphed into an all-out effort by the attorneys and guardians to take as much as they could. To do so, they denied him many constitutional rights and normal resources and quality of life products and services. His circumstances became even worse when they realized he was not the typical ward (this crime is happening to thousands in Florida alone). Mr. Keegan has the skills to expose the fraud upon the court and the racketeering scheme to defraud him.

To do so he needed to have civil liberties and access to normal resources for information, communication, and self-advocacy to oppose wrongfully denied rights (especially access to the courts). He did not need hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire attorneys as other victims do but cannot afford to do so. He could figure things out on his own if allowed freedom of movement, a phone, a computer (with internet) and modest transportation to give him access to the legal system (all three branches). So, they took all these things, and others, away by inflating their false allegations about him. The judiciary ultimately “pointed the end of the barrel of a gun to his head” to carry out its robberies by its use of law enforcement, together with baseless court orders and fabricated medical evaluations.

Mr. Keegan’s assets under guardianship were confiscated not to Protect and Preserve them, but rather to embezzle them through wasteful, abusive, and exploitative services provided and charged by mandate under false pretenses through the color of law. The embezzlement (theft) and corresponding related and supportive crimes are so widespread, numerous and repetitive as to qualify them as racketeering crimes. The denial of his rights and harsh treatments such as unlawful arrests, detentions, searches, and seizures, kidnapping and constant slander and libel were malicious and hurtful byproducts of this proceeding which has most unjustly wreaked havoc on his life. Numerous violations to federal and state criminal laws have been committed.

Mr. Keegan has been wrongfully arrested six times because of the guardianship, with as many other unsuccessful attempts. He has wrongfully and abusively been locked up (kidnapped) eight times. His guardian had him arrested and kidnapped three times in September/October 2018 so that the guardian could steal his home and all his possessions.

Mr. Keegan resided by himself in a hotel room in Orlando. He worked to file complaints with the Florida Bar, the Judicial Qualification Commission, the Florida Commission on Ethics, and the Florida Department of Health. He says he will pursue additional remedies in the criminal and civil courts.