Friday, November 14, 2008

St. Paul Man Pleads Guilty To Ripping Off His Blind Elderly Mother, Leaving Her Home Of 50 Years Facing Foreclosure

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Pioneer Press reports:
  • A St. Paul man reached a plea deal in court Wednesday on charges he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his blind, elderly mother while her health insurance and phone were cut off for nonpayment. Scott Douglas Clark, 53, pleaded to felony theft.

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  • The complaint [among other things] alleged that Clark persuaded his mother to sign a quitclaim deed on her St. Paul home and got a reverse mortgage, pulling $29,000 in equity from it and transferring it to his account.

  • His brother and sister-in-law, who were in the courtroom Wednesday, said after the hearing that Clark was clearly trying to hide a methamphetamine habit. They said the amount he bilked his mother out of was closer to $100,000. [...] Because of the financial mess created by Scott Clark, their mother is in an assisted-living facility, and her home — where she lived for 50 years — is in foreclosure, [the defendant's brother] Todd Clark said.

For more, see St. Paul man reaches plea deal in theft from 79-year-old mother (Man accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars) (when link expires, try here).