Theft Charges Likely in 106-Year-Old's Neglect Case

The neglect case involving a 106-year-old woman found begging for food in her squalid Kettle Falls home has morphed into a records hunt by law enforcement and others who say up to $1 million is missing from the woman’s retirement accounts.

The chief suspect is her former caretaker, 78-year-old John H. “Herb” Friedlund, who had power of attorney over her financial affairs for the past decade and who already is facing animal abuse and criminal mistreatment charges.

Deputy Stevens County Prosecutor Lech Radzimski declined to give specific amounts of how much Friedlund is believed to have taken, but an attorney representing the family of 106-year-old Frances T. Swan put the figure at well over $800,000. Much of the money was removed through a monthlong series of wire transfers to individuals across the country and in Europe, according to documents compiled by the Swan family’s attorney.

“The investigation into the criminal mistreatment has revealed that there was financial exploitation and our office will be filing charges as a result of that investigation,” Radzimski said.

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Theft Charges Likely in 106-Year-Old's Neglect Case