Florida man arrested in elder exploitation case

A Tampa, Florida, man has been arrested for elder exploitation for allegedly taking financial advantage of his aunt, a resident at an Alabama assisted living facility, according to the state attorney general's office.

Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the arrest Monday of Mitchell Alton Roddam, 60, for first-degree financial exploitation of an elderly person.

Roddam surrendered at the Jefferson County Correctional facility.

The attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit presented evidence to a Jefferson County grand jury resulting in an indictment dated Feb. 9 charging Roddam in the case.

Roddam obtained power of attorney over his 94-year-old aunt to handle her affairs when she entered an Irondale assisted living facility in June 2015. He allegedly misappropriated about $85,000 from that point through October 2016.

Attorneys for the facility contacted the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which initiated an investigation. Financial exploitation of an elderly person in the first degree provides that any person who breaches his or her fiduciary duty under a power of attorney that results in unauthorized appropriations of the person's property is guilty of a Class B felony if the unauthorized appropriations exceed $2,500.

Under the statute, a person is considered "elderly" if he or she is older than 60. A Class B felony carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years in the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is tasked with investigating and prosecuting providers who file false claims to the Alabama Medicaid Agency. The unit's other major function is to investigate and prosecute allegations of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of the elderly in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.

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Florida man arrested in elder exploitation case