In her rent-controlled Upper West Side apartment, Paulette Kohler and her friends recently celebrated her 95th birthday. Unfortunately, the 70-year-old hairdresser’s savings are drying up.
Despite Kohler’s expressed and documented wishes, Manhattan Judge Carol Sharpe imposed a court-appointed guardianship on her in March 2022. Her bank balance was $870,000 when that happened.
The guardianship was reversed in sixteen months. Kohler claims that her remaining funds are slightly more than $27,000.
Inga Eggerud, Kohler’s closest friend, is allegedly the subject of an FBI investigation into allegations of financial elder exploitation; in response, the court-appointed her guardian. Paulette had appointed her lifelong best friend Eggerud as her agent and beneficiary the previous year as she had no living relatives.
Eggerud, a longtime maid for Barbara Goodstein, a famous New York City businesswoman, was never officially charged with anything.
As if I were the most hideous creature in the universe, they proceeded to assault me. I only ever wanted Paulette to be able to spend her last years at home. “I assured him I would look out for her,” Eggerud stated.
New York’s Appellate Division reinstated Eggerud as power of attorney and reversed the guardianship in November 2023. In their ruling, the court deemed the guardianship “improper.”
Paulette is sued by Eggerud for defamation and deliberate cause of emotional distress by those involved in the guardianship. In their motions to dismiss, the defendants vehemently reject the accusations.
A judge in the trial court recently decided that the law firm that initially represented the landlord in the guardianship petition could face significant claims.
According to Barbara Goodstein, who claims to have utilized her knowledge of finance to review accounting records submitted in the guardianship case, the guardian paid home health aides over half a million dollars. For what she considers significantly better treatment, Eggerud claims to be spending a fraction of that amount currently. In addition, Goodstein claims that over $65,000 in court-ordered costs remain owing to Kohler.
According to Goodstein, the whole system is opaque. No one can track the whereabouts of the enormous sums of money that are circulating. Because so many individuals have made a living off of it, this case will ultimately set a new standard in this field.
NBC New York made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the court-appointed guardian, attorney Charles Barbuti. Every defendant named in the current defamation cases has responded by disputing the claims. Attempts to reach the landlord’s current lawyer for comment were unsuccessful. The previous legal company has stated that it will appeal the judge’s decision but does not comment on ongoing litigation.