A Bastrop County jury has returned a verdict of $1,001,489 against retired Bastrop police officer Patrick Amy for taking financial advantage of an elderly widow.
Testimony in the civil case began on Aug. 12 in the 423rd District Court and the verdict was returned on Monday. In September 2019, a grand jury declined to indict Amy on criminal charges after he was accused of financial exploitation and following an investigation by the Texas Rangers.
 |
| Patrick Amy |
Amy had been accused of representing the 81-year-old woman and her family of taking control of her financial assets through a power of attorney agreement to release a $125,000 lien the woman had on Amy’s home. County records show the woman loaned Amy the money in 2016 to purchase the home.
Amy's attorney, Joe Hernandez said on Tuesday that "there is no evidence to support the jury's verdict."
"Mr. Amy will be seeking relief, accordingly, from the trial court, and if necessary, the appellate court," Hernandez said.
Amy met the woman while she as a volunteer in the Citizens on Patrol program, said attorney Joe Grady Tuck, who represented her at trial along with Christopher Kirby. A recent widow at the time, the plaintiff lived in an upscale subdivision and Tuck said Amy ingratiated himself to her and persuaded her to purchase a house half the size, near his home in Circle D Estates.
In February 2016, the woman paid off the $125,000 loan on Amy's home, receiving a note and deed of trust drawn by her attorney, Tuck said. Evidence at trial included checks to Amy from the woman in the amount of $16,100 before December 2017, when she signed a power of attorney drafted by Amy to himself.
In April 2016, Tuck said, Amy prepared a release of the deed of trust and used the power of attorney to execute it, and also prepared a quit claim deed to himself to the woman's nearby home.
Tuck said that in May 2018, Amy's wife, Ruth, a 911 dispatcher, called an ambulance to have the woman hospitalized, and that she was later diagnosed with dementia and placed in a nursing home.
The Amys testified they emptied the home of everything in the house, Tuck said, selling the washer, dryer and a few other items, and donating the remainder to Goodwill. On cross-examination, Tuck said, Patrick Amy said he also sold a $12,000 dining room set and applied the proceeds to her nursing home bill but was unable to present any receipts.
Amy testified he planned to apply the proceeds of the sale of the woman's home to her nursing home care. In closing arguments, Tuck told jurors that if Amy wouldn't apply the proceeds of the sale of her belongings, he had no intent of applying the proceeds of the house sale.
After deliberating Friday and Monday morning, the jury returned a verdict that included actual and exemplary damages, and attorney fees, Tuck said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former Bastrop cop ordered to pay $1 million in exploitation case
Full Article & Source:
Jury orders former Bastrop cop to pay $1 million in financial exploitation case
No comments:
Post a Comment