When Tina Palagi was sentenced in court on charges of elder exploitation in December, she got a suspended sentence and a strong warning to stay out of trouble.
Now the Great Falls woman is accused of stealing from her own mother while her mother was ill, causing the elderly woman to lose her home to foreclosure just months before it should have been paid off.
Palagi made her initial appearance in Cascade County District Court on the newest charge of elder exploitation. That charge comes on the heels of a host of other new charges, accusing Palagi of other counts of elder exploitation and felony theft.
According to the charging documents, a Great Falls Police detective was questioning Palagi's mother during an ongoing investigation into Palagi's suspected role in numerous financial schemes.
According to charging documents, the detective learned Palagi had been trusted to manage her mother's finances while her mother was seriously ill.
According to court documents, the older woman bought her house in 1973 and should have made the last payment in 2003. Instead, she learned her home was in foreclosure when sheriff's deputies told her she was being evicted and had 30 minutes to vacate the house. The charges say Palagi took out a loan against the house in 2000 and failed to pay back the loan, causing the house to go into foreclosure. Palagi had been authorized to govern her mother's affairs, but her mother did not know about the loan.
Palagi also is accused of stealing her mother's retirement benefits while her mother was sick.
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Woman convicted of elder exploitation now charged with bilking mom
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Woman charged with bilking mom, who lost house
Now the Great Falls woman is accused of stealing from her own mother while her mother was ill, causing the elderly woman to lose her home to foreclosure just months before it should have been paid off.
Palagi made her initial appearance in Cascade County District Court on the newest charge of elder exploitation. That charge comes on the heels of a host of other new charges, accusing Palagi of other counts of elder exploitation and felony theft.
According to the charging documents, a Great Falls Police detective was questioning Palagi's mother during an ongoing investigation into Palagi's suspected role in numerous financial schemes.
According to charging documents, the detective learned Palagi had been trusted to manage her mother's finances while her mother was seriously ill.
According to court documents, the older woman bought her house in 1973 and should have made the last payment in 2003. Instead, she learned her home was in foreclosure when sheriff's deputies told her she was being evicted and had 30 minutes to vacate the house. The charges say Palagi took out a loan against the house in 2000 and failed to pay back the loan, causing the house to go into foreclosure. Palagi had been authorized to govern her mother's affairs, but her mother did not know about the loan.
Palagi also is accused of stealing her mother's retirement benefits while her mother was sick.
Full Article and Source:
Woman convicted of elder exploitation now charged with bilking mom
More information:
Woman charged with bilking mom, who lost house
5 comments:
This is a typical example. The perps continue preying on the elderly because the penalties aren't stiff enough to deter them.
It's getting worse. We need CHANGE!
Strong warning and a suspended sentence?
I think this was an avoidable situation.
I hope the courts open their eyes and get tough on first time offenders, these financial predators need to do prison time.
In my opinion these people are never "cured", the first opportunity to take advantage of a situation and they are on it like bees on honey.
I think the court is responsible for this perps activities AFTER the first offense. It would be a good thing if judges were liable, responsible and suffered the consequences of their decisions.
Yes, Wiser, I agree. This was avoidable. And if judges were held accountable for their bad or lackadasical decisions, this wouldn't happen so often.
Lock her up!
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