Latest news with #Moland
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 charges dismissed in voter fraud case against ex-president of Fairfax School District Board of Trustees
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Superior Court judge on Thursday dismissed felony embezzlement and conflict of interest charges against Palmer Moland, former president of the Fairfax School District Board of Trustees. Deputy Public Defender Ajaib Gill,, Moland's attorney, said in a news release those charges were based on complaints made by politically motivated parties. The court granted Gill's motion seeking the dismissal. 'Mr. Moland is happy to be vindicated as to the most serious charges in this case,' he said. 'We look forward to further clearing his name at jury trial.' Moland still faces felony charges related to voter fraud and perjury. His trial is scheduled to begin next week. BPD awards 'Moms Against Drunk Driving' $2,500 When charging Moland in 2022, prosecutors said he ignored bylaws that restrict using public funds when hiring a law firm that was set to investigate him. Prosecutors said he should have abstained from voting to hire the firm because it posed a conflict of interest. In the release, Gill said Moland helped unseat the previous school board president — becoming the first Black president of the board. A majority of trustees then voted to retain the private firm, Gill said, to help 'move on from all of the well-documented drama and turmoil surrounding the school district.' 'The court correctly found there was no personal financial motive for Mr. Moland in voting to retain the firm,' Gill said. In a separate case, Moland is accused of exaggerating his health issues to fraudulently obtain in-home care services for people with disabilities. A preliminary hearing is scheduled later this month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
14-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Sudbury midwife survives brain tumour, but is now shut out of the profession
Social Sharing About a decade ago, Krysta Moland decided to become a midwife after giving birth to her own daughter and seeing how the profession helps empower women. She was loving her work with Sudbury Community Midwives, helping dozens of people every year through their pregnancies, until she got diagnosed with a congenital tumour in 2019. The condition has a 30 per cent mortality rate, so Moland was rushed off to Toronto for an emergency surgery that left her with an acquired brain injury. "When your brain touches the air, you're never quite the same," she said. Months of rehabilitation later, Moland was ready to return to work as a midwife, but she could no longer work extended hours or night shifts on call, and needed to be supervised during deliveries. Sudbury Community Midwives did not renew Moland's contract. Because they are the only employer of non-Indigenous midwives in the city, Moland says she effectively has no other potential employer to turn to. She is suing the Sudbury practice for wrongful termination, and says the case raises issues of human rights because the employer was not willing to accommodate her disability. In court documents, Sudbury Community Midwives deny any wrongdoing. They argue they had no obligation to renew Moland's contract or provide alternate work arrangements, because Moland was hired to work as an independent contractor. Moland says she would love to reintegrate the profession. She says even if she can no longer do births and be on call, she could provide prenatal and postpartum care. "My midwifery could look a little different," said Moland. "I could take on women that need C-sections, for example. I know it's not ideal, it's not what we normally do, but it would be a way for me to work and offer pregnant people care." Ministry pays midwives for entire course of care that includes birth Still in court documents, Sudbury Community Midwives explain that they can only bill the Ontario Ministry of Health for a full course of care, which includes an attendance at birth. They say meetings to find alternate work arrangements for Moland were unsuccessful. "[Moland] was not able to explain how her ideas would benefit the practice or how the transfer payment agency could be billed to support any of these ideas," they write. They add that they invited Moland to write a proposal to obtain additional funding to cover her services but she did not take them up on the offer. Moland worries no midwifery practice in Ontario will be able to accommodate her disability. "No one wants to accommodate somebody they do not know, right?" she said. Liz Darling, assistant dean of the Midwifery program at McMaster University, says the billing system with the province offers little flexibility for midwives, but that it doesn't have to be that way. "In BC and Alberta, midwives can bill for care directly to the Ministry rather than having to work in a practice group," she explained. "Those billings can be separated down into smaller pieces of care." She says it's not exactly a fee for service, but it does allow for more flexibility. "There is a lot of discussion within the profession here in Ontario to explore other mechanisms to pay midwives to make use of the skills we have," said Darling. "There are lots of gaps and needs within the system where midwives could be making a difference… but funding can be a barrier." She explains that if a midwifery group was to accommodate someone with a disability by letting them do the prenatal and postpartum care, they would need to find an employee that has inverse needs, and can only be on call for deliveries. "If we had options for people to actually be compensated for their work, midwives who aren't able to do everything could still do a lot of valuable work without it meaning that somebody else has to be doing more births." The case involving Moland and Sudbury Community Midwives is set to head to trial.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Fairfax trustee's embezzlement case headed to trial
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Palmer Moland, the former Fairfax School District Trustee accused of embezzlement and voter fraud, will go to trial later this month, attorneys said Friday. There's no plea offer on the table and the trial is expected to last four weeks. It's set for April 28, depending on courtroom availability. According to prosecutors, Moland ignored bylaws that restrict using public funds to hire a law firm that was set to investigate him. Prosecutors say he should have abstained from voting to hire the firm because it posed a conflict of interest. He's also charged with voter fraud. Prosecutors say he lied about living within the district during the 2018 and 2020 elections. In a separate case, Moland is accused of exaggerating his health issues to fraudulently obtain in-home care services for people with disabilities. He began misrepresenting his health status in 2018 to become eligible for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, which overpaid $78,012.55 for services that included laundry, cleaning, meal preparation and assistance while showering, according to prosecutors. He received IHSS assistance for four years. A preliminary hearing on that case is set for next month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
