Actually @Dawn Anastasi what he should have mentioned was that the old man had dementia to the point that the courts eventually appointed a conservator (too late), that his son tried to pay the bill when he found out that it was past due, that even the Attorney General has been to court to shoot down these massive fees being tacked on.
The article wasn't trying to glorify or excuse the deadbeats but point out how badly the entire program is being abused without any sort of safeguards in place. And the 2nd part of the series goes into the bid rigging by a handful of folks. Sure, there will always be those so motivated by greed that nothing else matters. Somehow they find a way to live with themselves no matter what.
The Maryland company that had bought the lien had already gone to court to put a foreclosure in motion. To lift the lien, the company’s lawyer was demanding steep legal fees and expenses— $4,999.
Don't blame the players who worked the system, and don't blame the system. Blame the people who put the system in place and allowed it to exist and grow....the voters...
But in recent years, Coleman began showing signs of dementia — he would forget to pay bills or buy food. His next-door neighbor would often bring him plates of chicken and carrots.
If he forgot to buy food, he should not have been living alone. What if he turned on the stove and forgot about it? What if he started a fire and on the way to get the fire extinguisher, forgot what he was doing? What if he fell down?