Attorney General Laxalt, District Attorney Wolfson and Sheriff Lombardo announce 270-Count Grand Jury Indictment of April Parks and Co-defendants for Guardianship Exploitation


March 8, 2017

Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joseph Lombardo announced the Clark County Grand Jury returned indictments against court-appointed guardian April Parks and her co-defendants Mark Simmons, Gary Neil Taylor and Noel Palmer Simpson.

    The 270-count indictment alleges that April Parks, the owner of A Private Professional Guardian, LLC, her office manager Mark Simmons, her husband Gary Neil Taylor, and her attorney Noel Palmer Simpson, collectively committed 117 counts of Perjury, 73 counts of Offering False Instrument for Filing or Record, 42 counts of Theft, 37 counts of exploitation and one count of Racketeering. The fraudulent acts were committed between December 2011 and July 2016.

      “I am proud of my investigators and prosecutors for helping deliver the most significant guardianship exploitation indictment in Nevada’s history,” said Attorney General Adam Laxalt. “Working alongside Sheriff Lombardo and D.A. Wolfson, the Attorney General’s Office presented, and the Grand Jury returned, an indictment of four co-defendants in a 270 count case for exploiting approximately 150 victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is an example of law enforcement collaborating on a trending public safety issue in our Las Vegas valley by aggressively combating guardianship exploitation. This indictment should send a message to court-appointed guardians throughout the state that law enforcement is committed to aggressively protecting our elderly and vulnerable populations.”

        Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo added, “These suspects used a position of trust and authority to pray on disabled and elderly people and systemically bilk them out of their lifesavings. The victims were vulnerable and unsuspecting and deserve our protection. Today’s indictment speaks for those victims who are already suffering.”

          Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Jennifer Togliatti issued “no bail” arrest warrants for Parks and Simmons. The judge also issued an arrest warrant with a $200,000 bail amount for Taylor. A bail amount of $7,500 cash, or a surety bond, was set for Simpson, who was in court today and is scheduled to appear in court at a future date.

            “Guardians are appointed to protect and serve their wards, who are some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” stated Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson. “They are entrusted with every aspect of that person’s life, including their health and finances. These defendants were affiliated with a private guardianship business, not the Clark County Public Guardian’s office. This business was compensated for their services. These defendants took advantage of helpless individuals who did not have the ability to defend themselves. Today, with this indictment, we are moving toward holding these people accountable for their crimes and seeking justice for the victims.”

              Below is description of the individual charges:

                • April Parks (212 felony charges): one count Racketeering, 33 counts Theft (category B), 19 counts Exploitation of an Older Person, 18 counts Exploitation of an Older Person/Vulnerable Person, nine counts Theft (category C), 74 counts Offering False Instrument for Filing or Record and 58 counts of Perjury

                  • Mark Simmons (134 felony charges): one count Racketeering, 30 counts Theft (category B), 19 counts Exploitation of an Older Person, 18 counts Exploitation of an Older Person/Vulnerable Person, eight counts Theft (category C), and 58 counts of Perjury.

                    • Gary Neil Taylor (7 felony charges): one count Racketeering, 2 counts Theft (category B), 1 counts Exploitation of an Older Person, 2 counts Exploitation of an Older Person/Vulnerable Person, one count Theft (category C)

                      • Noel Palmer Simpson (2 felony charges): one count Theft (category B) and one count Offering False Instrument for Filing or Record.

                        An indictment is merely a charging document; every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

                          This case was jointly investigated by the Office of the Nevada Attorney General and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Prosecutors from the Office of the Nevada Attorney General and Clark County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case.

                            The indictment against the defendants is attached.

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