Police believe Greeley man used power of attorney to steal two houses from elderly father

A Greeley man could face a felony charge after police say he abused his power of attorney to steal two houses, worth about $353,000 in total, from his 85-year-old father.

Albert Ortega was arrested Thursday on suspicion of theft from an at-risk adult. According to the affidavit for his arrest, Greeley police believe Ortega completed quit claim deeds for two houses his father owned, 302 13th St. and 304 13th St., signing them over to his own name. He did this by using the power of attorney he had because his father, David Ortega, is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, according to the report.

Police learned about the situation earlier this month, when Albert Ortega's sister, Abigail Nickerson, called them with concerns about her brother's intentions toward their father. Over the years, she told police, things of value disappeared from her father's home. She also said Albert Ortega withdrew $23,000 from their father's bank account, and she didn't know where that money went. Nickerson was so concerned about her father, she applied to be his legal guardian.

When police spoke with Albert Ortega, he told them he took possession of the houses at his father's request. When police pointed out he filled out the quit claim deeds about the same time Nickerson applied to be their father's guardian, Albert Ortega told them he didn't think that was true.

Albert Ortega told police his siblings wanted to put his father in a nursing home and that they wanted to sell the two houses to pay for it. He said he'd promised his mother he'd never let that happen. He added putting his father's properties in his name was a way of protecting his father from his greedy siblings.

Police arrested him and he was booked into the Weld County Jail the same day.

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Police believe Greeley man used power of attorney to steal two houses from elderly father