Niece Overcomes Authorities' Initial Reluctance To Prosecute Cousin For Stealing Aunt's Life Savings As Man Cops Plea To $53K+ Embezzlement

In Sylva, North Carolina, the Asheville Citizen Times reports:

• Ann Buchanan isn't one to give up. And that trait served her and her family well as she pushed to have a cousin charged and ultimately convicted of stealing her 89-year-old aunt's life-savings. Marc Jeffery Hawk, a 54-year-old former county maintenance supervisor, pleaded no contest to four counts of embezzlement and one count of exploitation of an elder for taking $53,438 from his aunt's bank account.

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• He is the first person in Western North Carolina to go to jail under a law aimed at protecting the elderly from financial exploitation. But the conviction wasn't easy for [the 89-year old widow's] family. At first, authorities didn't want to prosecute the case, and throughout the process, Buchanan said, officials suggested it should be handled in civil court. Now she's hoping others will take notice of potential elder abuse and use a 2005 law aimed at protecting North Carolina's oldest residents. “Be persistent,” she said. “And don't take no for an answer.”

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• The nature of exploitation makes winning a criminal case hard, said Michael Rich, director of the 30th Judicial Alliance, a group that advocates for victims of abuse in the state's seven western counties. Often, he said, family members are the criminals and families don't want to bring charges against their own or spend the time it takes to get through the criminal court process. And the victims often aren't good witnesses because of disabilities such as Alzheimer's or dementia.

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• Buchanan said throughout the process, officials suggested the case should be handled in civil court. But that's not what the family wanted. “We weren't after money for us,” she said. “We were after justice for Aunt Mae. We were just so afraid that this case was going to be eventually dismissed.”

• Rich said her experience is common. “When it comes to financial issues, it appears to many in law enforcement and in the court system that these are civil rather than criminal issues,” he said. “Criminal charges mean an investigation that might involve hard work. A civil case means that the victim and his abuser are responsible for following through.”

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• Buchanan said without help from [Jackson County Department of Social Services] and Rich's organization — and hard work from her entire family — her aunt might not have seen justice.

For the story, see Jackson County man Marc Hawk convicted of stealing $53,000 from 89-year-old relative.