A former Nashville attorney is in jail, accused of preying on his most vulnerable clients, and that's only the beginning.
John E. Clemmons is now facing criminal charges in Davidson County for the first time. You may remember he pleaded guilty in Rutherford County for doing the same sort of thing he is alleged to do here - stealing from the infirmed who were powerless to protect themselves.
Now, Clemmons is jailed in Nashville on half-million dollars bond.
He's accused of causing millions of dollars of heartache to families like those of Nannie Malone.
Malone was 82 when she died in a nursing home. Clemmons was supposed to be caring for her and paying her bills. He had been her conservator for six years.
"I would ask for money to buy diapers or to get her hair cut. He said, 'She had no money,'" said Malone's daughter, Teresa Lyles. "He was very arrogant, he was very arrogant."
Lyles says her younger sister hounded Clemmons, demanding an audit and an accounting of their mother's money.
"So he filed a petition in court to keep her from seeing our mother. She couldn't handle that. She could not handle not seeing our mother. And she took her own life that night," Lyles said.
Eventually, the bank statements would show Clemmons wrote himself more than 50 checks from Nannie Malone's account for a grand total of $367,000.
"One of those checks would have paid for the medicine that my mother needed - the cancer drug that he stopped paying for," Lyles said.
Lyles told Channel 4 News in July she wanted Clemmons prosecuted, and that's the process now in place.
According to court papers, Clemmons is accused of stealing not just from Malone, but also from two other clients. They are accusations that, if proven true, could lead to decades in prison for Clemmons.
"He made my mother suffer and made her family suffer. Now look what he's doing to his own family," Lyles said.
Clemmons pleaded guilty to a similar charge in Rutherford County and is scheduled to be sentenced there in a few weeks.
The family of Nannie Malone has also filed a civil suit against Clemmons.
Copyright 2013 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
State lawmakers just voted to do away with emissions testing, but if you drive one of 557,000 thousand mid-state cars, you may find yourself still waiting in line. “There are what 40 cars here at least?" said a driver. No matter what time of day, regardless of the weather the line for emissions testing at Opus on Antioch Pike is wrapped around the building.
More >>State lawmakers just voted to do away with emissions testing, but if you drive one of 557,000 thousand mid-state cars, you may find yourself still waiting in line. “There are what 40 cars here at least?" said a driver. No matter what time of day, regardless of the weather the line for emissions testing at Opus on Antioch Pike is wrapped around the building.
More >>Tennessee lawmakers have concluded their annual legislative session.
More >>Tennessee lawmakers have concluded their annual legislative session.
More >>A police report says that a man suspected of killing four people at a Waffle House in Nashville had come to the attention of police in eastern Tennessee in February after a woman said he charged at her in her motel room.
More >>A police report says that a man suspected of killing four people at a Waffle House in Nashville had come to the attention of police in eastern Tennessee in February after a woman said he charged at her in her motel room.
More >>A well-known retired football coach played a key part in the liberation of Dachau, the first of many concentration camps established by Germany's Nazi regime.
More >>A well-known retired football coach played a key part in the liberation of Dachau, the first of many concentration camps established by Germany's Nazi regime.
More >>We've shown you skimmers in ATMs, gas pumps, we've even shown you shimmers, but what Metro Police recently found, is something new.
More >>We've shown you skimmers in ATMs, gas pumps, we've even shown you shimmers, but what Metro Police recently found, is something new.
More >>A News4 I-Team investigation found parents so frantic that their children were hours late on Metro school buses that police were called to find them.
More >>A News4 I-Team investigation found parents so frantic that their children were hours late on Metro school buses that police were called to find them.
More >>With early voting ending Thursday, Davidson County voters are considering the pros and cons of a proposed transit plan on the ballot and how much it will cost in a car-centric town.
More >>With early voting ending Thursday, Davidson County voters are considering the pros and cons of a proposed transit plan on the ballot and how much it will cost in a car-centric town.
More >>A state representative accused of sexual misconduct will return to his district without having faced any action from his fellow legislators.
More >>A state representative accused of sexual misconduct will return to his district without having faced any action from his fellow legislators.
More >>As many grieve the lives lost during the Antioch Waffle House shooting, there's something to note. In Tennessee, we do not forget our heroes. Another community lost one of their own to a mass shooting six months ago.
More >>As many grieve the lives lost during the Antioch Waffle House shooting, there's something to note. In Tennessee, we do not forget our heroes. Another community lost one of their own to a mass shooting six months ago.
More >>Police are looking for two women they say shot a man in broad daylight near two popular restaurants in East Nashville.
More >>Police are looking for two women they say shot a man in broad daylight near two popular restaurants in East Nashville.
More >>A well-known retired football coach played a key part in the liberation of Dachau, the first of many concentration camps established by Germany's Nazi regime.
More >>A well-known retired football coach played a key part in the liberation of Dachau, the first of many concentration camps established by Germany's Nazi regime.
More >>A 12-year-old female kangaroo died at a Chinese zoo after visitors hurled rocks and other objects at it.
More >>A 12-year-old female kangaroo died at a Chinese zoo after visitors hurled rocks and other objects at it.
More >>HD Supply is recalling 144,000 of their Seasons Ceiling Fans after discovering the brackets connected to the blades can break, causing the blades to fall.
More >>HD Supply is recalling 144,000 of their Seasons Ceiling Fans after discovering the brackets connected to the blades can break, causing the blades to fall.
More >>An artist says he owed it to a hero to create a tribute. That artist was moved by the actions of James Shaw Jr. during the Antioch Waffle House shooting.
More >>An artist says he owed it to a hero to create a tribute. That artist was moved by the actions of James Shaw Jr. during the Antioch Waffle House shooting.
More >>The brother of shooting victim DeEbony Groves said Belmont University will award her a posthumous degree at graduation May 5.
More >>The brother of shooting victim DeEbony Groves said Belmont University will award her a posthumous degree at graduation May 5.
More >>An employee at a White Castle in Louisville, Kentucky has been diagnosed with acute hepatitis A and may have infected customers, health sources claim.
More >>An employee at a White Castle in Louisville, Kentucky has been diagnosed with acute hepatitis A and may have infected customers, health sources claim.
More >>A News4 I-Team investigation found parents so frantic that their children were hours late on Metro school buses that police were called to find them.
More >>A News4 I-Team investigation found parents so frantic that their children were hours late on Metro school buses that police were called to find them.
More >>A police report says that a man suspected of killing four people at a Waffle House in Nashville had come to the attention of police in eastern Tennessee in February after a woman said he charged at her in her motel room.
More >>A police report says that a man suspected of killing four people at a Waffle House in Nashville had come to the attention of police in eastern Tennessee in February after a woman said he charged at her in her motel room.
More >>An explosion rocked a refinery in northwestern Wisconsin on Thursday, injuring at least 11 people.
More >>An explosion rocked a refinery in northwestern Wisconsin on Thursday, injuring at least 11 people.
More >>