Gov. Gavin Newsom has named a new director to head the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, filling a leadership vacancy that stretched for two years and came under sharp scrutiny following a CalMatters investigation into the agency’s oversight failures.
Nicole Dragoo, a Fair Oaks resident, previously served as licensing chief at the state agency responsible for regulating private postsecondary schools in California. Her appointment to lead the fiduciaries bureau still requires confirmation by the state Senate. According to the governor’s office, Dragoo will earn an annual salary of $118,824.
Carole Herman, a longtime advocate for elderly Californians who was involved in the bureau’s creation, said she was relieved to see the position finally filled.
“It’s about time,” Herman said. “I hope she does better than everybody in the past, which doesn’t take much for her to do.”
The bureau was established roughly 20 years ago in response to a Los Angeles Times investigation that revealed local courts were failing to catch fiduciary abuse. State lawmakers subsequently gave the bureau authority to license professional fiduciaries — individuals appointed to manage the finances and care of vulnerable clients — and to enforce ethical standards within the profession.
But a CalMatters investigation published earlier this year found that the bureau has repeatedly failed to intervene in cases involving clear conflicts of interest banned under its own code of conduct, as well as instances of egregious misconduct by licensed fiduciaries. Families across California told reporters they had exhausted themselves filing complaints with the agency, only to see little or no action taken.
Part of the problem, according to the investigation, is that the bureau largely relies on fiduciaries to self-report wrongdoing. As a result, some of the information the agency keeps on file about those it licenses is outdated or incomplete. CalMatters also found that the bureau shares far less information with the public than it once did, after successfully lobbying the Legislature to narrow its public records obligations.
The investigation detailed several troubling cases. In Ventura County, fiduciary Angelique Friend was found to have funneled $2.7 million belonging to a client into companies owned by her husband over a period of years, according to court records. That arrangement appeared to violate the bureau’s own ethical guidelines, which explicitly bar both actual and apparent conflicts of interest. Yet there is no indication the bureau took action despite receiving complaints. A bureau spokesperson told CalMatters the agency depends on probate judges to catch and address such conflicts.
In Los Angeles, a man who goes by the single name Vinyasi filed his first complaint against fiduciary Donna Bogdanovich back in 2019. It would be years before any consequences followed. Bogdanovich eventually pleaded no contest to charges that she stole more than $160,000 from Vinyasi and over $1 million combined from other clients, court records show. Her license wasn’t revoked until 2024, despite the bureau having received complaints against her for years prior.
The bureau had operated without a permanent director since August 2024. Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, had said earlier this year that the administration was actively working to fill the post.
Original source: CalMatters
