DETROIT – A Detroit judge is facing federal charges, along with three Detroiters, in connection with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from vulnerable people.
Judge Andrea Bradley-Baskin, 46, of the 36th District Court, Nancy Williams, 59, Avery Bradley, 72, and Dwight Rashad, 69, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced on Jan. 30, 2026.
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Bradley faces additional charges of wire fraud, several counts of money laundering and making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent.
Bradley-Baskin and Rashad were also all charged with making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent.
Federal officials said Williams owned Guardian and Associates, an agency that was appointed as a fiduciary by the Wayne County Probate Court for vulnerable wards in over 1,000 cases.
For context, probate courts regularly appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults, known as wards, who are found by the court to be unable to manage their own affairs.
Authorities said Bradley, an attorney, along with his daughter, Bradley-Baskin, operated a law firm that often represented Guardian and Associates and regularly practiced in probate court. Rashad operated a series of group homes and residential facilities for elderly people, including wards, who needed support and care.
According to federal officials, all four allegedly conspired to systematically embezzle money from wards and kept the money for themselves.
Bradley-Baskin allegedly used $70,000 in a ward’s funds to buy an ownership stake in a local bar. She is also accused of using embezzled money from the estate of a ward to pay for a two-year lease on a new Ford Expedition for herself, authorities said.
Bradley, Williams, and Rashad allegedly took around $203,000 in funds from a ward’s legal settlement. Williams is also accused of paying Rashad rent for wards who did not live in one of Rashad’s homes.
According to the 36th District Court’s website, Bradley-Baskin had been serving at the court since 2023. She was the General Counsel before being elected to her judicial seat in 2024.
“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. This would be a grievous abuse of our public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.