Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Man Charged With Felony Financial Exploitation

A Rochester man faces multiple felonies after authorities say he spent nearly $80,000 of his mother's money without her permission.

Terry Joe Ruesink, 57, was charged by summons in Olmsted County District Court with four counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. His first court appearance is Sept. 11.

The investigation began when Olmsted County Adult Protection officials received a report of possible exploitation. The 82-year-old victim has been classified as a vulnerable adult after a 2009 diagnosis with dementia, court documents say; Ruesink was appointed as her power of attorney on Aug. 30. 
According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 15, Ruesink cashed a certificate of deposit worth nearly $86,000 that belonged to the woman, and deposited the entire amount into her money market account.
 
From Nov. 13 through Jan. 2, Ruesink allegedly spent a total of $70,113 on multiple items, including more than $51,000 on a lake home, $11,500 on a truck, nearly $4,000 to a roofing company and nearly $4,000 in cash to himself.

If convicted, Ruesink faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, a fine of $200,000, or both.

Full Article and Source:
Man Charged With Felony Financial Exploitation

5 comments:

Finny said...

Are we sure she didn't give him permission?

Anonymous said...

Wow, if he had just called himself a "lawyer" and called these amounts "fees," he'd still be "billing" her.

Anonymous said...

With her power of attorney, he had the responsibility to spend her money on her welfare, whether he had any kind of permission to do otherwise or not.

Thelma said...

Not if he wasn't on the account(s)with her.

Kathleen said...

Honor your Parents!!!