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Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin
Detroit 36th District Court Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin, her father, attorney Avery Bradley, and two others have been indicted in what federal authorities allege was a years-long scheme to embezzle more than $200,000 from elderly and incapacitated people in Wayne County Probate Court. Some of that money was used to invest in a local bar and pay for a car lease for a new Ford.
Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Judge Bradley-Baskin, 46, and Williams’ boyfriend, Dwight Rashad, 69, all Detroit residents, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal indictment in Detroit unsealed Friday.
Additionally, Avery Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad were charged with several counts of money laundering, and Bradley-Baskin with a single count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent.
Authorities allege that the conspiracy ran from January 2017 to July 2024, which predates the time Bradley-Baskin was a judge. As the FBI probe quietly moved forward, she was elected in November 2024 and took the bench in January 2025.
“Regardless of a person’s position in society, no one is above the law,” Jennifer Runyan, head of the Detroit FBI office, said in a statement. “These four defendants allegedly conspired to steal from some of our most vulnerable citizens — looting bank accounts, exploiting legal authority, and profiting off those who relied on them for care and protection.”
The indictment explains that probate courts regularly appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults, known as wards, who have been found by the court to lack the capacity to act on their own. Guardians and conservators are obligated to act in the best interests of their wards.
The indictment alleges that Nancy Williams owned Guardian and Associates, an agency that was appointed as a fiduciary by the Wayne County Probate Court for incapacitated wards in more than 1,000 cases. Attorneys Bradley-Baskin and her father, Avery Bradley, often represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court.
Additionally, Dwight Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly individuals, including wards, who needed support and care.
The indictment alleges that the four people conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards for themselves.
The indictment alleges that in one instance, Bradley-Baskin used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar. In another instance, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad took about $203,000 in funds from a ward’s legal settlement, with none of that benefiting the ward.
The indictment alleges that Williams also paid Rashad rent for wards who did not live in one of Rashad’s homes. Additionally, Bradley-Baskin allegedly used embezzled money to pay for her two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition.
“We respect the authority that comes with a black robe. This state judge and her cronies allegedly abused that high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court,” said Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. “This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust.”
