A former registered nurse from Anchorage was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on Thursday after stealing more than $2 million from an elderly woman's estate. The cash helped bankroll extravagances like a four-acre retreat in Hawaii advertised as a 'Garden of Eden' for gay nudists.
Brian Amiel Ben-Israel, 54, of Atlanta had previously pled guilty in federal court to one count each of mail fraud, wire fraud and filing a false tax return, said a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office in Anchorage.
Ben-Israel worked at Meridian Psychiatric Consulting Group in Anchorage when he became friends with Juanita Gielarowski, who died in 2010, the statement said. Starting in 2005, Ben-Israel became a health care provider and "financial advisor" to Gielarowksi and her daughter, Linda Stowers, said the statement.
Ben-Israel "charmed and manipulated" the women. He let Stowers pretend they were husband and wife. "As Stowers' nurse, he encouraged her to take care of her health, getting gastric bypass surgery and plastic surgery. Ben-Israel enjoyed the plane trips such treatments required and he indulged in plastic surgery himself, paid for by the Gielarowski Estate," the statement notes.
Ben-Israel gained control over the assets of the Juanita V. Gielarowski Revocable Trust by creating a new trust with help from co-defendant, Philip Eric Myers, a former attorney. The two men, indicted earlier this year, moved $2 million into the new trust for their own benefit.
Myers has also pled guilty. He has agreed to forfeiture and restitution of $1.1 million. He's scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 17.
Ben-Israel and Myers persuaded the two women in December 2007 to invest more than $1 million dollars in Myers' company, Typhoon Security Technology, Inc. Myers had said the company would be a global leader in explosives and weapons detection technology, but Typhoon had already been suspended by the State of California and could not lawfully conduct business.
The estate lost all of its investment money by August 2009, causing Gielarowski to be moved from her long-established home to a state-funded elder care facility before she died in July 2010, the statement said.
Ben-Israel ultimately transferred much of the money to his own bank account, using it for traveling and real estate acquisition, "including a five-acre property located at 133 Kaiwiki, Hilo, Hawaii, for $750,000," the statement reads.
"Ben-Israel extensively remodeled this home with Gielarowski Estate funds, claiming the estate would be the retirement villa for Gielarowski and Stowers. Stowers did stay at the house while recovering from her surgeries; Gielarowski was morbidly obese and bedridden, unable to travel. A lift was used to remove her from her bed and into a wheelchair," said the statement.
"In July 2009, this 'four-acre tropical jungle paradise' was advertised as 'The Garden of Eden … for the clothing challenged or clothing optional minded Gay Male community.'"
The tax charge against Ben-Israel was based upon income payments he received from the Estate for nursing care that was never reported to his employer, Meridian, or to the IRS. He also failed to report commissions he received from Typhoon.
U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline said at the sentencing that Gielarowski "was the ultimate in vulnerable victims." In setting the length of the sentence, he said the punishment had "to sting" to send a message to those whose jobs are to protect the elderly.
A separate hearing will be held on Feb. 18 to determine how much Ben-Israel must pay in restitution.
Contact Alex DeMarban at alex(at)alaskadispatch.com.