GRETCHEN HAMMOND

In May 2019, a small group of determined people in Oakland County, Michigan, decided that the devastating abuse of vulnerable adults could no longer be ignored. They formed the Elder Abuse Task Force, and investigative journalist Gretchen Hammond was appointed to lead a team of researchers and investigators. Together, they produced a report that exposed a system many believed had enabled the systematic theft of assets and the erosion of fundamental civil rights.

At the heart of the investigation was the Oakland County Probate Court, known locally as “The Fortress”. The nickname reflected not only its imposing, rampart-like architecture, but also the invisible barriers that shielded a system in which self-interested individuals were alleged to manipulate an unaccountable court, separating families and stripping vulnerable people of their liberty, property, and dignity.

As the investigation unfolded, it became clear that the problem extended far beyond Oakland County. Similar patterns were emerging in communities across the United States. The findings of the Task Force ultimately became the foundation for AMERICAN UNPEOPLE – The Lawful Kidnapping of America’s Disposable Class, a book that examines how legal guardianship and probate systems can be exploited, and the profound human cost of those failures.