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:

  1. Are we sure she didn't give him permission?

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

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  3. 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.

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

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