NJ Prosecutors: Woman Abused POA To Drain Dementia-Stricken Mom Out Of Her Life Savings; Money Was Earmarked To Fund Monthly (Rent) Payments At Assisted Living Facility Where Victim Lived, Received Care

From the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General:

• Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) [] announced that a California woman has been charged with stealing more than $87,000 from her elderly mother, who resides in an assisted living facility in Wayne, N.J.
  
  Pamela M. Land, 68, of La Canada, California, who had been serving as her mother’s power of attorney, was indicted on charges of misapplication of entrusted property, and theft by unlawful taking, both in the second degree. The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobsen in Mercer County [].
  
  According to prosecutors, the elderly woman had given her daughter unfettered access to her financial assets to oversee funding for her continued stay at an assisted living facility for patients suffering from dementia.
  
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  “Stealing the life savings of an elderly person is reprehensible, but it’s especially gut wrenching when the crime is committed by the ailing victim’s own daughter,” said Attorney General Porrino. “To make matters worse, the allegedly stolen money was intended to ensure proper care of the defendant’s mother who was suffering from the debilitating effects of dementia.”
  
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  According to prosecutors, Land stole approximately $87,746 while acting as power of attorney for her mother between May 2013 and January 2016. Instead of making monthly payments to the residential facility where her mother lived, as she was required to do under a contract with the facility, Land allegedly accessed her mother’s money to make purchases for herself and to pay her own bills. She also used her mother’s credit cards for goods and services she herself received, and used her mother’s money to make payments on those cards, which were eventually closed for non-payment of outstanding balances, according to prosecutors.

Source: California Woman Charged with Stealing More than $87,000 from Her Elderly Mother Who Resides in a Passaic County Assisted-Living Facility.