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OHIO – The Honorable Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge  Sherrie Miday denied Lorain County Probate Judge James T. Walther’s motion to quash last week in response to a forlorn husband’s request for  his wife’s adult guardianship records, according to a press release.

“The  court hereby orders that an in-camera inspection is to be conducted to determine relevancy to the allegations in this complaint per the request  of the movant,” wrote Judge Miday in her Sept. 30 order. “The Lorain  County Probate Court is hereby ordered to produce to Judge Sherrie Miday  for an in-camera inspection on or before Oct. 18, 2019.”

Dr. Mehdi Saghafi, 89, filed the racketeering lawsuit in the state of Ohio on Jan. 31 under the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 after guardians appointed by Probate Judge James Walther in Lorain County allegedly initiated a divorce between the retired general surgeon and his wife of 60 years, Mrs. Fourough Bakhtiar [Saghafi] with whom he had amassed $8  million in marital assets, according to a press release.

“Should  any item(s) be found relevant by this court,” stated Judge Miday. “A  protective order will be in place prior to production.”

A  protective order, if issued, would allegedly preclude the parties from  circulating an April 2, 2015 tape recorded interview with the  85-year-old Mrs. Saghafi.

“She  was asked permission to use her assets to pay for Guardian of the  Estate Jaleh Presutto’s criminal defense attorney fees, which were  incurred as a result of being charged for the kidnapping of Mrs. Saghafi  and the theft of her money,” Dr. Saghafi’s attorney Charles Longo said.  “It is believed that the recording will reveal communication between  Guardian of the Estate Zachary Simonoff, Jaleh Presutto and counsel that  relate to Mrs. Saghafi giving permission to pay those criminal defense  fees even though Mrs. Saghafi had been deemed incompetent.”

In  2013, the Honorable Judge Walther made national headlines when he  ordered dead beat father Asim Taylor to stop making babies or face  prison time until $100,000 in child support was paid, according to media  reports. That same year, court records show that Judge Walther  guardianized 85-year-old Mrs. Saghafi while her physician husband  alleges that the court appointed guardians and others are operating a  scam to liquidate the Saghafi family assets.

“Jaleh  Presutto was removed as guardian for criminal activity three times and  was reappointed by Judge Walther despite pleading guilty to multiple  charges of forgery and theft for defrauding the Amherst school system,”  Dr. Saghafi’s attorney Charles Longo previously told the Southeast Texas  Record. “By law, Mrs. Saghafi’s funds are only supposed to be used for  the care and needs of Mrs. Saghafi not legal fees but Mrs. Saghafi’s  funds were used to finance her personal attorney, Neil Spike,  $270,000.00, most of which was paid when Presutto had been removed as  guardian.”

The  Saghafi lawsuit is one of many filed across the country that are  exposing the unexpected downsides of court-appointed adult guardianships  of the elderly and people with disabilities, which are designed to help  them manage their lives. Those downsides, which include accusations of  neglect, elder abuse and financial exploitation, haven’t escaped the  watchful eye of Congress, which re-introduced HR 4174 to enact  protections against elder abuse and neglect under guardianship