By Matt McConico
SAINT PAUL & CLOQUET, Minn. – Former Cloquet Police Officer Laci
Marie Silgjord was found guilty of one count of felony attempted theft
by swindle.
Silgjord exploited a now-deceased 78-year-old vulnerable adult.
She
gained access to victim’s bank accounts and attempted to inherit the
estate worth more than $150.000, despite Ms. Armey having surviving
family.
Silgjord was financially exploiting Joan Arney, at the
time a 78-year-old with dementia, Silgjord met through her employment as
a then-Cloquet police officer.
The state said four months after
meeting the victim, Silgjord represented herself to a bank as her
fiduciary, despite having no legal authority for this role, and gained
access to the victim’s bank accounts.
Silgjord will be sentenced at a date to be determined.
The
Carlton County Attorney referred the case to the Attorney General’s
Office and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. It was
tried jointly by Medicaid Fraud and Criminal Division.
Timeline of the accusations against Silgjord from the Attorney General’s Office:
As outlined in the criminal complaint and
as proven at trial, Silgjord first met the victim in May 2020 when
Silgjord responded to the victim’s residence for a call regarding a
stolen purse. By January 2021, Silgjord had attempted to obtain the
victim’s entire remaining estate despite the victim having surviving
family and no written estate plan awarding anything to Silgjord. This
was despite a Cloquet Police Department policy that in order to “avoid
actual or perceived conflicts of interest members of this department
shall refrain from developing or maintaining personal or financial
relationships with victims, witnesses or other individuals during the
course of, or as a direct result of, any official contact.”
Then-Officer
Silgjord first encountered the victim on May 5, 2020, when she
responded to a call about a stolen purse. On June 2, 2020, Silgjord
performed a welfare check at the victim’s house upon the request of the
victim’s half-brother. Silgjord and other officers conducted a second
welfare check on August 25, 2020, when they found the victim in very
poor condition, including that she had suffered a stroke and had
deficits in memory and attention. The victim was immediately transported
to the hospital.
On September 4, 2020, the hospital petitioned for guardianship
for the victim due to “severe memory and orientation deficits which make
her unable to make higher level decisions about her medical care.” At a
court hearing on the guardianship, Silgjord stated that a social worker
at the hospital asked Silgjord to be the victim’s guardian. The Court
appointed Silgjord as guardian on September 11, 2020, which allowed her
to perform duties related to personal care and custody. Silgjord was
never appointed as a conservator to make financial decisions for the
victim or manage the victim’s money, however.
Throughout
September 2020, Silgjord recorded multiple bedside conversations with
the victim. During one conversation, the victim said she did not know
where she was, did not know her maiden name, did not know her father’s
name, and did not remember how old her son was when he died. Silgjord
also showed the victim a photograph of herself when she was younger; the
victim did not recognize herself. During this conversation, Silgjord
told the victim that she was her “new grandma” and that she loved the
victim. The victim responded that she loved Silgjord and that she
wanted to take care of her.
In late September 2020,
Silgjord presented guardianship paperwork to the victim’s bank. She
documented on a form titled “Fiduciary Accounts Application &
Agreement” that she was the victim’s fiduciary and that she had the
authority to access the victim’s accounts.
Medical
records in October 2020 documented the victim’s continued regression,
and at times noted she was hallucinating. On October 28, 2020, the
victim passed away with no surviving children and no will. Silgjord did
not notify the victim’s estranged husband and next of kin about the
victim’s death.
Shortly after the victim’s death, Silgjord met the victim’s
estranged husband at a restaurant. The Court’s order appointing Silgjord
as guardian indicated that her guardianship expired upon the victim’s
death — yet Silgjord claimed to the victim’s estranged husband that she
was “in charge” of ensuring the victim’s wishes were carried out.
Silgjord also refused to give the estranged husband the keys to the
victim’s house. When the estranged husband asked Silgjord about
submitting paperwork to access the victim’s bank accounts, Silgjord
responded that he could “probably not” do this “because I am on the
account.”
On November 24, 2020, the victim’s estranged
husband went to the victim’s house, where he encountered Silgjord.
Silgjord falsely claimed she had a guardianship and conservatorship over
the victim, refused to provide him the keys, and said that she would
not do so “until the courts make me sign it over.”
On
December 18, 2020, Silgjord filed a petition seeking to be appointed
personal representative of the victim’s estate. Silgjord claimed the
estate was indebted to her for guardianship expenses. Some of
compensation sought by Silgjord included time she supposedly spent on
the guardianship while Silgjord was on duty as a police officer.
On
January 28, 2021, Silgjord filed a claim against the victim’s estate
for $71,601.58, which she estimated to be the estate’s total value. In
describing her claim, Silgjord wrote “Prior to Joan’s death she told me
she loved me & wanted to take care of me & my family. I was
Joan’s friend & court appointed guardian.”
On March 9, 2021, Silgjord filed a second claim seeking an
additional $86,611.70 from the estate, which represented the total of
the inheritance the victim was set to receive from her stepmother’s
estate. In describing this claim, Silgjord wrote, “I was Joan’s court
appointed guardian & took care of her prior to her death. There is
no formal will but Joan told me & my husband she loved us and wanted
to take care of us. I have this recorded on my cell phone.”
The
Court denied Silgjord’s claims against the victim’s estate. Silgjord’s
employment as a Cloquet police officer ended in June 2022.
Full Article & Source:
Former Cloquet police officer found guilty of taking advantage of elderly person
