Sisters Feel The Heat For Allegedly Abusing POA To Help Themselves To Frail, Elderly Dad's Cash (Including Proceeds From Sale Of Home, Cabin, RV) While He Faced The Boot For Being $20K+ In Arrears On Nursing Home Payments

In Chisago County, Minnesota, The Post Review reports:

• Two women were charged in Chisago County District Court Dec. 5 with two counts each of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult for allegedly spending much of their father’s savings on themselves.
  
  Wendy Yvonne Lee, 44, of Rush City, and her sister, Renee Marietta Swenson, 41, of Stanchfield, have their next court date set for Jan. 18. They managed their elderly father’s finances as of Sept. 10, 2015, due to a power of attorney agreement that was put into place as a result of their father’s inability to make decisions for himself. He had been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson’s disease. Chisago County Attorney Janet Reiter said her office deals with financial exploitation cases of this nature multiple times per year.
  
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  According to a criminal complaint from the Chisago County Attorney’s Office:
  
  On July 8, 2016, Chisago County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Pat LeVasseur and Chisago County Health and Human Services Adult Protection Investigator Jolene Thorsen responded to the Golden Living Center Nursing Home in Rush City for a Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center report on an individual who was residing in the facility.
  
  The report stated the man had been giving away his money to his children and could no longer pay for bills from Golden Living, and he was at risk for being evicted from the facility. LeVasseur and Thorsen spoke to the man regarding his current living situation and his children. He said he has two daughters, Lee and Swenson.
  
  He continued that Lee had been his power of attorney for the last year or so. He said he used to live and own a house in Brooklyn Park, and he previously owned a cabin near Ogilvie, and he had owned an RV. He further explained all his money should be in a checking account with Minnco Credit Union. He thought the proceeds of the sale of his house, cabin and RV should all be in his Minnco accounts. He then noted he has a Transit Credit Union account. The man thought his daughter, Swenson, made the decisions on what to sell and how much to sell the property for. He stated he has given some of his money to his children and grandchildren.
  
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  On Aug. 10, 2016, Golden Living contacted Lee and Swenson’s father, informing him he was $20,212 in arrears. As a result of non-payment, Golden Living informed him he would be evicted from their facility on Sept. 23, 2016.
  
  Upon intervention of Chisago County Health and Human Services, Lee and Swenson’s father is now living at an adult group home in Wyoming [, Minnesota].

For more, see Daughters charged with siphoning money from elderly father.