Try to imagine the kind of person who would purposefully take advantage of someone who became permanently disabled due to a workplace injury, then later hospitalized and in need of full-time nursing home care. Sadly, a recent report by the Cincinnati Enquirer details how two Ohioans carried out the methodic and deliberate theft of their sickly neighbor’s finances, to the point where they moved into his apartment, gained control of his bank account and mail, and drained every last penny (and disability check) he had, while at the same time failing to pay any of his nursing home expenses.
According to the Enquirer report, a Cincinnati man who had previously experienced an on-the-job injury that entitled him to collect total disability benefits checks, was hospitalized and moved into a nursing home. Before long, two of his neighbors seized the opportunity to take advantage of his situation. One of the neighbors, a woman, somehow managed to sign a power of attorney document for the man, effectively gaining control of his finances, and also had his mail forwarded to her address.
It didn’t take her long to spot an even greater opportunity: the man’s vacant apartment. Before long, the two neighbors actually moved into his apartment and began cashing the man’s disability checks. (Wonder if they also wore his slippers? Shudder.) Additionally, they drained his bank accounts and, of course, neglected to pay his nursing home expenses. When he eventually passed away, they did not report his death to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and continued to collect his benefits.
Ultimately, attempts by the BWC’s claims department to contact the “injured worker” (who, at this point, was deceased) went unanswered; not long after that, his phone number was disconnected. (Luckily, these criminals either weren’t bold or smart enough to actually impersonate the man.) An alert was sent over to the BWC’s Special Investigations Department, which peeled back the onion and discovered a string of felonies committed by the neighbors, including theft from the elderly. When push came to shove, the neighbors each pleaded guilty to multiple felonies—the woman, to two counts of theft in the fifth-degree, and the man, to one count of theft and one count of theft from the elderly, both in the fifth-degree. They each were sentenced to ten months in prison, which was suspended, followed by three years of probation and ordered to pay $5,072 in restitution to the state.
Sadly, elderly adults who require heightened care often become some of the most vulnerable members of our society, but this couple had an especially elaborate scheme to steal their neighbor’s resources, invade his privacy and generally add to his burden at the end of his life. Bravo to the state of Ohio for catching these nefarious neighbors and bringing them to justice.
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