Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Stan Lee | Tagged: keya morgan, Marvel Comics, stan lee

Keya Morgan Charged With Crimes Against Elders, Counts Include False Imprisonment, Theft or Fraud, Physical or Mental Harm

Keya Morgan, who had been an associate of comics legend Stan Lee for a period of time before Lee's death, was charged on May 10, 2019 with five counts of violating California law Section 368, which covers "Crimes Against Elders, Dependent Adults, and Persons with Disabilities". While publicly-available details are scant at this time, the Los Angeles County court website lists June 8, 2018 as the date these violations occurred.  According to TMZ a judge has issued a warrant for Keya Morgan's arrest.

Bleeding Cool reported on the circumstances of Morgan's association with Stan Lee throughout 2018. In an emergency protective order filed in June 2018, Los Angeles Police Detectives stated "Mr. Morgan also moved Mr. Lee from his long-time family home to a condominium on June 8, 2018". That emergency protective order also claimed that Morgan kept Lee a prisoner in his own home and fabricated narratives to keep family, friends, and representatives away from Lee.

In an October 7, 2018 statement to Bleeding Cool, Stan Lee outlined the matter in some detail:

In his statement, Stan Lee claims that for several months this year, he "was blindsided" by former business partner Keya Morgan and claims that he was lied to and that his life was taken over and controlled by Morgan. That he slowly and methodically interfered with Stan Lee's relationships with doctors, lawyers, accountants and, his daughter JC Lee. According to the statement, "Morgan would routinely brainwash Mr. Lee with false information about his daughter and her attorney who were monitoring his attempts to control Mr. Lee's finances." Eventually, Stan Lee began to believe "everything Morgan said." According to the statement, Morgan scripted false video statements for Stan Lee to read aloud against those who tried to help him. He now describes them "hostage videos" and asks media not to publish or publicise them.

In his statement, Stan Lee states for the first time that Morgan stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his family and removed many items of personal property from his home.

The Los Angeles County Court website breaks down the charges filed against Morgan as outlined in California Penal Code Chapter 13 Section 368, Crimes Against Elders, Dependent Adults, and Persons with Disabilities, as follows:

One count of violation of Section 368(F):

A person who commits the false imprisonment of an elder or a dependent adult by the use of violence, menace, fraud, or deceit is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.

Three separate counts of violation of Section 368(D):

A person who is not a caretaker who violates any provision of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, or fraud, or who violates Section 530.5 proscribing identity theft, with respect to the property or personal identifying information of an elder or a dependent adult, and who knows or reasonably should know that the victim is an elder or a dependent adult, is punishable as follows:

(1) By a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).

(2) By a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value not exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).

One count of violation of Section 368(C):

A person who knows or reasonably should know that a person is an elder or dependent adult and who, under circumstances or conditions other than those likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any elder or dependent adult to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any elder or dependent adult, willfully causes or permits the person or health of the elder or dependent adult to be injured or willfully causes or permits the elder or dependent adult to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health may be endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation of this subdivision is punishable by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

Furthermore, Subdivision (h) of Section 1170 as mentioned above states:

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a felony punishable pursuant to this subdivision where the term is not specified in the underlying offense shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or two or three years.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a felony punishable pursuant to this subdivision shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for the term described in the underlying offense.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), where the defendant (A) has a prior or current felony conviction for a serious felony described in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 or a prior or current conviction for a violent felony described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5, (B) has a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction for an offense that has all the elements of a serious felony described in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 or a violent felony described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5, (C) is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 290) of Title 9 of Part 1, or (D) is convicted of a crime and as part of the sentence an enhancement pursuant to Section 186.11 is imposed, an executed sentence for a felony punishable pursuant to this subdivision shall be served in the state prison.
(4) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent other dispositions authorized by law, including pretrial diversion, deferred entry of judgment, or an order granting probation pursuant to Section 1203.1.
(5) (A) Unless the court finds, in the interest of justice, that it is not appropriate in a particular case, the court, when imposing a sentence pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), shall suspend execution of a concluding portion of the term for a period selected at the court's discretion.
(B) The portion of a defendant's sentenced term that is suspended pursuant to this paragraph shall be known as mandatory supervision, and, unless otherwise ordered by the court, shall commence upon release from physical custody or an alternative custody program, whichever is later. During the period of mandatory supervision, the defendant shall be supervised by the county probation officer in accordance with the terms, conditions, and procedures generally applicable to persons placed on probation, for the remaining unserved portion of the sentence imposed by the court. The period of supervision shall be mandatory, and may not be earlier terminated except by court order. Any proceeding to revoke or modify mandatory supervision under this subparagraph shall be conducted pursuant to either subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 1203.2 or Section 1203.3. During the period when the defendant is under that supervision, unless in actual custody related to the sentence imposed by the court, the defendant shall be entitled to only actual time credit against the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. Any time period which is suspended because a person has absconded shall not be credited toward the period of supervision.
(6) When the court is imposing a judgment pursuant to this subdivision concurrent or consecutive to a judgment or judgments previously imposed pursuant to this subdivision in another county or counties, the court rendering the second or other subsequent judgment shall determine the county or counties of incarceration and supervision of the defendant.
(7) The sentencing changes made by the act that added this subdivision shall be applied prospectively to any person sentenced on or after October 1, 2011.
(8) The sentencing changes made to paragraph (5) by the act that added this paragraph shall become effective and operative on January 1, 2015, and shall be applied prospectively to any person sentenced on or after January 1, 2015.

Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018, after having been enabled to see family and friends again subsequent to that emergency protective order in June. Bleeding Cool will report on the details surrounding charges filed against Keya Morgan as the situation develops.

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