Caretaker Holding POA Charged With Ripping Off ALS Victim; Failure To Make House Payments Leaves Home Facing Foreclosure, Say Cops

In New Orleans, Louisiana, The Times Picayune reports:

• A Kenner woman has been booked with theft for allegedly stealing money from a woman with Lou Gehrig's Disease that she helped take care of, Kenner police said. Cherri A. Desporte, 43, lived in the victim's house [...] in Kenner between July 2007 and May 2009, according to a police report. The victim, a 49-year-old woman, has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, the report said.

• The victim entrusted Desporte with a power of attorney to pay her home mortgage and medical expenses with medical disability benefits that were directly deposited into an account she shared with Desporte, according to police. The disability benefits were more than enough to cover her expenses, said Lt. Wayne McInnis, Kenner Police Department spokesman.

• The victim learned about the alleged theft when her mortgage was in foreclosure because of 23 failed payments, the police report said. An investigation revealed $9,093.63 in unpaid bills and a negative balance in the shared account, the report said.

For more, see Kenner woman with Lou Gehrig's disease robbed by caretaker, police say. FinancialAbuseOfElderlyAlpha