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.