Skip to content

Police charge man who allegedly abused role as mother's power of attorney

Police allege that the victim was defrauded of more than $80,000 through several hundred transactions taking place between January 2016 and December 2022.
Thunder Bay Police Station
Thunder Bay Police headquarters (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com).

THUNDER BAY — Police allege a family member defrauded their mother of more than $80,000 over a nearly seven-year period.

Thunder Bay police on Wednesday released details about a recent scam case involving a senior.

Police said investigators were contacted in September 2022 about suspected financial abuse against a senior, with the suspect being a family member who was believed to be have been misusing their authority as the victim's power of attorney.

Police allege that investigators found the suspect had been diverting funds intended for their mother's daily needs and facility care payments to themselves, with more than 700 fraudulent transactions taking place between January 2016 and December 2022.

A 47-year-old Thunder Bay man faces charge of theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000, and theft by power of attorney. Police did not release the name of the accused, saying it's being withheld to protect the privacy of the victim.

Police said, despite the case, people should consider having a power of attorney in place regardless of their age or financial situation, and that in this case they had more authority to pursue charges because the accused was a designated power of attorney.

Recommendations for protecting against power of attorney theft or fraud include naming two people to act jointly, not having joint bank accounts or other investments with the power of attorney, contacting the financial institution about any questionable activity if there is a suspicion of fraud, having monthly expenses withdrawn automatically, having regular conversations about financial affairs, and consulting a lawyer for advice.




Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks