Detroit, MI

Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people

Published

1 month ago

January 31, 2026

Detroit judge, 3 others charged in alleged scheme to steal thousands from vulnerable and incapacitated people

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A Detroit judge and three other residents were charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in a “years-long scheme” to embezzle money from incapacitated and vulnerable individuals.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, who is a district judge on Michigan’s 36th District Court, is alleged “to have used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase an ownership stake in a local bar” and “money embezzled from the estate of a ward to pay a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for herself.”

“We respect the authority that covers 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,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. “This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust.”

“Regardless of a person’s position in society, no one is above the law. 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,” added Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.

EX-ERIC ADAMS STAFFER WHO CELEBRATED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION POCKETED $36K IN BRIBERY, FRAUD CASES: FEDS

Andrea Bradley-Baskin, left, is a judge at Michigan’s 36th District Court in Detroit. (36th District Court/Google Maps)

The Attorney’s Office said Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Dwight Rashad, 69, and Bradley-Baskin, all Detroit residents, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

“The indictment also charges Bradley with one count of wire fraud, Bradley, Bradley-Baskin, and Rashad with several counts of money laundering, and Bradley-Baskin with a single count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement agent,” it added.

Lawyers representing Bradley-Baskin did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The Attorney’s Office, citing the indictment, said “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 do so themselves.”

MINNESOTA HEALTH CARE OWNER CHARGED WITH YEARS-LONG MEDICAID SCAM TOPPING $3M

U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin “and her cronies allegedly abused” her “high honor for personal gain by preying on the needy protected by the court.” (Brian A. Jackson/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

“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 over 1,000 cases. Avery Bradley is an attorney, who, along with his daughter (and fellow attorney) Andrea Bradley-Baskin, operated a law firm that often represented Guardian and Associates in Wayne County Probate Court and otherwise practiced regularly in that court,” it continued. “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 defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards, and to obtain and retain money for themselves that rightly belonged to the wards and the wards’ estates,” it also said.

Prosecutors described how in one case, Bradley, Williams, and Rashad allegedly took around $203,000 in funds from a ward’s legal settlement, with “none of the money being used to benefit the ward.”

“Williams is alleged to have paid Rashad rent for wards who did not live in one of Rashad’s homes,” they said.

Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, and Dwight Rashad, 69, are all Detroit residents, prosecutors said. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater To Backup Jared Goff in 2026

Published

10 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Lions Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater To Backup Jared Goff in 2026

The free agency tampering period has begun for the NFL, and the Detroit Lions are among the active teams acquiring players as they try to get back to the playoffs after they did not meet their own standard for last season.

On Monday, it was revealed that 2025 Lions backup quarterback Kyle Allen was heading to Buffalo, leaving another hole in the roster to fill. Nearly 24 hours later, that hole has been filled, as veteran quarterbackTeddy Bridgewater is heading back to Motown.

Bridgewater spent the 2023 season with Detroit, in what initially was going to be his final season in the league.

However, after coaching Miami Northwestern Senior High School to a state championship in Florida during the 2024 season, he announced he was planning to unretire, and Detroit picked him up for their push towards the top seed in the NFC.

Bridgewater then resigned as head coach at Miami Northwestern and signed with Tampa Bay to backup Baker Mayfield last season.

He appeared in four games last season, throwing 15 passes for the Buccaneers, which were his first NFL pass attempts since 2022.

Bridgewater is a safe option at backup quarterback in Detroit, as the former Rookie of the Year has had a steady career since entering the league with Minnesota out of Louisville in 2014.

Bridgewater returns to back up Jared Goff under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, as this is a situation where Detroit stuck with a player they knew. For Petzing, this is not the first time coaching Teddy Bridgewater, as he was an offensive assistant with Minnesota when they drafted Bridgewater in 2014.

A leg injury derailed his career after a Pro Bowl season in 2015, but he has started 37 games since the injury as a journeyman. Bridgewater left Minnesota and Drew Petzing and would overlap with Dan Campbell when the quarterback played for New Orleans in 2018 and 2019. In addition to Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Detroit, Bridgewater has also played for Carolina, Denver, and Miami.

Detroit stuck with a safe and familiar option in Bridgewater, as a majority of their offense, alongside most of their offensive staff, have worked with the quarterback before. If Bridgewater is turned to in any situation, there will be full confidence in the Louisville product to make the right play.

NFL Draft Implications

This puts Detroit in a unique position when looking ahead towards the NFL Draft, as a popular mock draft pick for Detroit was taking a quarterback, with Cole Payton, Luke Altmyer, and Taylen Green all being among the names mentioned.

Bridgewater is an excellent mentor alongside Goff, but having three quarterbacks on the Lions roster after injury-riddled campaigns in the last two seasons may not be the wisest allocation of a roster spot.

For the time being, Detroit has their backup quarterback for the season, and there is not a better option than Bridgewater when it comes to familiarity and adaptability. While the former Pro Bowl quarterback has yet to throw a pass in Detroit, he has the familiairity and trust of the coaching staff to be a backup entering a pivotal year.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit ‘Sloppy Chops’ restaurateur\u00a0killed: What to know

Published

22 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

$Detroit ‘Sloppy Chops’ restaurateur\u00a0killed: What to know$

Mourning continued and no suspects were in custody a week after the fatal shooting of Detroit restaurateur and nightlife figure Mikey “Mike B” Brown at the end of February.

Brown was the beloved figure behind the “Sloppy” brand of restaurants, and remembrances have been rolling in online since his death.

Here’s what to know:

Shooting outside cocktail bar

“Mike B” Brown, 51, and two others were shot about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28 in the area of 15789 Schaefer, police previously said.

The two others were found in front of the location, and Brown was found across the street, police said.

Police have asked those with information on the shooting to come forward.

There were no suspects in custody and no further updates in the case as of Monday, March 9, according to a statement from the Detroit Police Department.

Updates on the conditions of the two other individuals shot were also not provided.

Who was Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?

Brown was a husband, a father of five and a restaurateur.

He opened Sloppy Chops Restaurant, a steakhouse, in 2020 on West McNichols off the Lodge Freeway and later opened a seafood restaurant called Sloppy Crab, which was renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. Brown previously had two clubs, as well.

His downtown dining spot served as an answer to questions on offerings for Black diners in the city’s renaissance. His other “Sloppy” location showcased successful reach beyond downtown and into the city’s neighborhoods. Brown was also a cultural figure in not only the world of dining, but in the nightlife, the Free Press reported.

When are funeral services for Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?

A family hour was set for 9 a.m. March 13 and a funeral was set for 10 a.m. March 13, both at Triumph Church –North Campus at 15600 J.L. Hudson Drive in Southfield.

What’s been the fallout since Mike ‘Mike B’ Brown’s death?

Outside of the community hurt, there’s also been calls for a crackdown on establishments that stay open into early morning hours in residential areas, ClickOnDetroit reports.

How to report tips on Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown’s shooting

Those with information tied to the triple shooting can contact the Detroit Police Department’s homicide unit at 313-596-2260 or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up or DetroitRewards.tv.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills

The Detroit Lions will need to find a new backup quarterback. Kyle Allen, the 30-year-old ninth-year veteran, will reportedly sign with the Buffalo Bills for two years and $4.1 millions, according to ESPN, reuniting him with his former coordinator Joe Brady.

Allen, who came to the Motor City a year ago after inking a one-year deal, appeared in just three games and attempted two passes this past season as starter Jared Goff logged 98.5% of the team’s offensive snaps at quarterback.

Allen’s greatest contribution came in the preseason, when he forced the organization to give up on its experiment with Hendon Hooker.

In the competition for the No. 2 job, Allen outperformed Hooker and made the former 2023 third-round pick expendable by bringing his stunted development into sharp relief. While Hooker struggled to move the offense when he was in command, Allen thrived in his four auditions, spearheading one productive drive after another for the Lions. He completed 79.5% of his attempts, throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. All the while, he exhibited a good understanding of the Lions’ timing-based passing game, giving management the confidence he could – if needed – relieve Goff in a pinch.

“I feel very comfortable with him,” Campbell said last August.

But as it turned out, the Lions were never forced to call upon Allen. Goff, who hasn’t missed a start since Week 17 of the 2021 season, remained reliably present.

The Lions hope Goff’s iron-man streak will continue.

But if it for some reason ends, Allen is no longer there to replace him.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.

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