IN - Couple charged with abandonment of adopted child after legally changing her age, Sept 2019

[gitana1]

I just keep circling back to the letter from the family friend/dad’s PCP.

The letter is dated 2016, her age change occurred in July 2012. What is point of this letter?

Has anyone seen the records provided for the initial change of age?

Were medical records from her personal physicians and tests reviewed by other medical experts?

That’s when the Mans attempted to obtain a guardianship or gave up after Natalia’s adult age was confirmed by the probate court. The Barrett’s contested the guardianship. So I think the letter was part of their evidence to do so. I’m guessing he supplied similar “evidence” or testimony when they changed her age.

 

[Medstudies]

How many more does she go by???????

There was a print interview done after their move to Canada, but I’m not sure I can post it? It was mostly positive but it had hints of skepticism due to the noted name variations ( first name spell: used K. and occasionally C. - last name: sometimes hyphenated maiden/married, maiden only, married only.)

Fearing threats, dad accused of abandoning daughter asks court to keep address private

“KB’s addresses, however, are inconsistent on court documents in her docket.

Her charging information has an Indianapolis address, but her acknowledgement of her rights form, which she signed on Friday, indicates a New Palestine address, and she signed it KP. When she turned herself in at the Tippecanoe County Jail on Sept. 19, she gave officers a Bradenton, Florida, address.

And while I’m on this article I want to highlight the last paragraph:

...”As we reported, Barnett wants to release mental health records. A judge set a confidential hearing on Oct. 15 to see if those documents can be released. Mental health records are protected by state statute.

The girl left Tippecanoe County in 2016, according to court documents.”

Wth? Really. Can that not wait? Or are we just going to victim shame and try to silence the girl?

I feel like I need some thigh high waders. It’s getting deeper and deeper

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

There was a print interview done after their move to Canada, but I’m not sure I can post it? It was mostly positive but it had hints of skepticism due to the noted name variations ( first name spell: used K. and occasionally C. - last name: sometimes hyphenated maiden/married, maiden only, married only.)

Fearing threats, dad accused of abandoning daughter asks court to keep address private

“KB’s addresses, however, are inconsistent on court documents in her docket.

Her charging information has an Indianapolis address, but her acknowledgement of her rights form, which she signed on Friday, indicates a New Palestine address, and she signed it KP. When she turned herself in at the Tippecanoe County Jail on Sept. 19, she gave officers a Bradenton, Florida, address.

And while I’m on this article I want to highlight the last paragraph:

...”As we reported, Barnett wants to release mental health records. A judge set a confidential hearing on Oct. 15 to see if those documents can be released. Mental health records are protected by state statute.

The girl left Tippecanoe County in 2016, according to court documents.”

Wth? Really. Can that not wait? Or are we just going to victim shame and try to silence the girl?

I feel like I need some thigh high waders. It’s getting deeper and deeper

Forget High Waders you need an Ark.

 

[Medstudies]

Forget High Waders you need an Ark.

Lol, sadly this so true

 

[Linda7NJ]

"Michael Barnett told officers that he and Kristine Barnett paid rent on the apartment but did not provide Natalia extra funds, The Washington Post reported."

A woman who claims she's the Ukrainian orphan's biological mom says the girl is a child

From The Washington Post article;
(dated 17th Sept)

...they moved the whole family to Canada in the summer of 2013 so that he could follow his passion, putting their Indiana home on the market.

Around that same time, the Barnetts’ adopted daughter told police, her parents rented her an apartment in downtown Lafayette, Ind., near the home of Purdue University. She knew no one there. Michael Barnett later told detectives that he and his then-wife paid the rent on the apartment but didn’t provide the girl with any other financial support.

What happened next is unclear, though an anonymous law enforcement source told WLFI that the girl’s neighbors “took her under their wing.”

..And authorities have hinted that there could be even more strange details to come.

“This is going to end up on a TV show,” an anonymous law enforcement official told WLFI on Thursday.

IIRC Barnett said she was discharged into some sort of halfway house with social worker supportive type setting first, got kicked out, then they rented her the apartment

 

[Linda7NJ]

I think Kristine’s statement about the SS and Michael having been the beneficiary establishes that they were receiving her checks. The correct term for that is Representative Payee. However, this is not necessarily fraud. As long as the funds were used for Natalia, there is no fraud. Further, although more common for minors to have a representative payee, any person receiving SS and incapable of managing their money could end up having a representative payee. The Rpayee does not have to be a guardian. Sometimes it’s even a close friend, or an institution if the beneficiary is institutionalized.
Gussified wondered if the “beneficiary” statement could mean the SS death benefit. The answer is NO. A worker does not get to assign a death benefit beneficiary.
What this whole SS shows in my opinion is Lying By Omission. Kristine wants people to think she’s this wonderful forgiving loving mother who supported Natalia but the reality is that the money being spent on rent and furnishings was Natalia’s money not the Barnett’s money

If they paid the years rent in advance they used their own money. Do we know the approximate amount Natalia could even get in SS?

 

[Gussified]

If they paid the years rent in advance they used their own money. Do we know the approximate amount Natalia could even get in SS?

Exactly.

From the Daily Mail article, where the SS quote originated...
Mother claims Ukrainian adopted daughter, 9, was 22 and had dwarfism | Daily Mail Online

They further helped her get a social security number, apply for benefits, food stamps and an ID.
...
'I co-signed the lease and paid for the rent up front for a year. I did everything you would do when you send your child off to college, I helped her with groceries and bought furniture at Target for her.

'I was optimistic, she had a concrete plan for her life. She had food stamps. She had social security income for the rest of her things. She had demonstrated she was able to live.’
...
She discontinued communication with me. What I did get was a letter in the mail stating that she had changed Michael from the beneficiary of her social security income to someone else.

 

[Dawn Day]

I read that Natalia receives $722 per month social security income. I googled the address of her apartment and it currently rents for $450 per month. I don’t know the rent in 2013.
On the court website the eviction proceedings were filed 5-12-2014. The landlord had already regained possession of the premises. The lawsuit was for monies owed of approximately $750. This was NOT for damages as the court noted that any issue of damages was reserved for future. No future case is noted.
Just by the dates alone we can absolutely determine that the statement of Kristine’s that she paid one year in advance is a lie. Does advance payment mean Kristine used her own personal funds? NO. Natalia May have received a larger lump sum initially from SS. Because if you are determined eligible, you receive back payments to the date you became eligibile. This is so common that there are rules as to how a representative payee must use or preserve these funds. (FYI When my friend finally got SSDI, she received a back pay lump sum of 60k)

 

[Dawn Day]

Exactly.

From the Daily Mail article, where the SS quote originated...
Mother claims Ukrainian adopted daughter, 9, was 22 and had dwarfism | Daily Mail Online

They further helped her get a social security number, apply for benefits, food stamps and an ID.
...
'I co-signed the lease and paid for the rent up front for a year. I did everything you would do when you send your child off to college, I helped her with groceries and bought furniture at Target for her.

'I was optimistic, she had a concrete plan for her life. She had food stamps. She had social security income for the rest of her things. She had demonstrated she was able to live.’
...
She discontinued communication with me. What I did get was a letter in the mail stating that she had changed Michael from the beneficiary of her social security income to someone else.

Natalia would have been eligible for SSI or SSDI based upon her own income, not family income, which was Zero, starting at the age of 22. Kinda makes sense now that when they changed her age, it was to the age...wait for it...22! I’d bet money they applied ASAP after the court amended her birth certificate in 2012, not waiting until 2013.
Kristine also said Natalia had plans to become a cosmetologist. This is an obvious falsehood. Physically there is no way Natalia could ever be a cosmetologist (hair dresser or manicurist). She has severely malformed hands. She could NEVER cut hair nor do nails. Impossible and this is proven by photographs.

 

[Dawn Day]

If they paid the years rent in advance they used their own money. Do we know the approximate amount Natalia could even get in SS?

When Michael appeared on Dr Oz show he said they paid for [only] 3 months rent.

 

[Dawn Day]

Exactly.

From the Daily Mail article, where the SS quote originated...
Mother claims Ukrainian adopted daughter, 9, was 22 and had dwarfism | Daily Mail Online

They further helped her get a social security number, apply for benefits, food stamps and an ID.
...
'I co-signed the lease and paid for the rent up front for a year. I did everything you would do when you send your child off to college, I helped her with groceries and bought furniture at Target for her.

'I was optimistic, she had a concrete plan for her life. She had food stamps. She had social security income for the rest of her things. She had demonstrated she was able to live.’
...
She discontinued communication with me. What I did get was a letter in the mail stating that she had changed Michael from the beneficiary of her social security income to someone else.

Another thing Kristine said, about how she set Natalia up with rent etc and told her she was an adult now but Kristine would give her 1 more year of support, was that she was doing for her like she did for “all her children”. This is basically a lie. Why? Cause All Kristine’s other children (3 sons) were minors, under the age of 15.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Couple Accused Of Neglect Say Adopted Ukrainian Daughter Was Actually Adult Dwarf Running A Scam

The Barnetts told investigators that they paid for Natalia’s rent, according to the affidavit.

However, Michael allegedly informed authorities in the document that beyond the rent, they “did not financially support Natalia after leaving to Canada."

In Michael's account, sometime in September 2014, the Barnetts stopped paying for Natalia's Lafayette, Indiana rental. The reason for this may be because the girl was evicted in May of that same year, according toWISH-TV.

Fortunately for Natalia, concerned neighbors intervened and looked after her, the court papers say.

In 2016, Natalia moved away from Tippecanoe County to enroll in tuition-free classes at a high school for adults and older youth called Excel Center, according to WLFI, a West Lafayette station.

 

[Linda7NJ]

It appears the Barnett’s applied for SSI & food stamps and obtained her SS number all around the time of THE APARTMENT by their own account

 

[Linda7NJ]

Another thing Kristine said, about how she set Natalia up with rent etc and told her she was an adult now but Kristine would give her 1 more year of support, was that she was doing for her like she did for “all her children”. This is basically a lie. Why? Cause All Kristine’s other children (3 sons) were minors, under the age of 15.

She said - just as I would for my own

 

[Gussified]

It appears the Barnett’s applied for SSI & food stamps and obtained her SS number all around the time of THE APARTMENT by their own account

Yes. It seems there were 2 apartments. And the SSI and food stamps seem to be around that general time. (Daily Mail article linked above)

Even so, Barnett says she and her husband rented an apartment for Natalia when she was discharged from secure psychiatric care in August 2012 and placed under the supervision of state healthcare provider, Aspire Indiana.

They further helped her get a social security number, apply for benefits, food stamps and an ID.

When Natalia caused problems at the property and was evicted they stepped in again to prevent her from being homeless, renting a new apartment for her in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County.

It was the 2nd apartment where they said they prepaid for a year...

 

[Linda7NJ]

After re-reading everything ....my understanding is The Last Time Barrett’s heard from Natalia - NATALIA says she changed the “beneficiary”- so.... it appears that information came from Natalia and who knows exactly what she meant? Perhaps she meant as a “contact”

I’d bet Natalia signs over her check to the Mann’s

 

[Linda7NJ]

Yes. It seems there were 2 apartments. And the SSI and food stamps seem to be around that general time. (Daily Mail article linked above)

Even so, Barnett says she and her husband rented an apartment for Natalia when she was discharged from secure psychiatric care in August 2012 and placed under the supervision of state healthcare provider, Aspire Indiana.

They further helped her get a social security number, apply for benefits, food stamps and an ID.

When Natalia caused problems at the property and was evicted they stepped in again to prevent her from being homeless, renting a new apartment for her in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County.

It was the 2nd apartment where they said they prepaid for a year...

Right a a TEAM of people helped facilitate the first is my understanding

 

[Linda7NJ]

Details of the ensuing April 2016 proceedings are not publicly available and Natalia's guardian ad litem Ladona E. Sorenson, an independent family attorney appointed by the court to protect her best interests, said she was unable to comment.

The Manses' attorney, Michael B. Troemel, did not return calls but Terrance Kinnard, who represented Michael Barnett, said the application was turned down.

'Natalia was living on her own and a couple wanted to become her guardians. Thinking she was still a child, the couple tried to overturn the 2012 result,' he told DailyMail.com.

'This time the hearing was even more in depth, not only did the judge look at medical reports and other documents, but witnesses came before the court to explain why they were certain Natalia had been 22.

'The judge upheld the original results and the couple dropped the guardianship petition.'

The Mans did indeed withdraw their bid for guardianship in January 2018 and it was dismissed without prejudice.

 

[cherrymeg]

Exactly. Not fraud but they act like they were doing this charitable thing by paying for an apartment for her. With Natalia’s money.

If the SSI went to someone else wouldn't that suggest she wasn't capable of living on her own even if she was an adult?

 

[Dawn Day]

She said - just as I would for my own

The exact quote from the Daily Mail Mother claims Ukrainian adopted daughter, 9, was 22 and had dwarfism | Daily Mail Online
“I will do one more year of financial aid, the exact same thing I AM DOING for all of my children” (emphasis mine)
By her own words she says “I am doing”. I cannot see this as anything other than an attempt to deceive.