Father and son steal $774,000 from elderly woman, court documents say

By Natalie Williamson

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A father and son are accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly Mobile woman.

Investigators say 54-year-old Charles Cook and his son, 30-year-old Dillon Cook, own a local lawn care company and worked for the victim.

Court documents show The Cooks took $774,00 out of the woman’s retirement account through checks and cash.

The DA’s Office says it noticed a pattern of large transactions going from the victim’s account to the father and son after an alleged deal was made where Charles Cook would be over the victim’s finances and future decisions.

But the DA’s Office says the victim never agreed to that deal.

Carl Bates, president of the Better Business Bureau for Central and South Alabama, said this is the worst case of elderly exploitation he’s seen in the state.

“We’ve seen three and $400,000 instances here in the state where people have lost that much. I’ve had people tell me they had to take out a mortgage on their home in order to pay the romance scam or the scammer that was scamming them,” Bates said. “I’ve never seen this much.”

The National Council on Aging says this form of elder abuse leads to an estimated $23.8 billion in losses every year.

Bates said it’s very important you know and trust the person who is overseeing your finances and make sure whoever you give access to, everything you agree on is in a written contract.

“You can be fine today and medically have issues tomorrow, and if you don’t have somebody who you’ve put in charge of your affairs, once you’ve been incapacitated to say, then you know it becomes a huge issue and you can be taken advantage of very easily,” he said. “I think it’s very fortunate that the District Attorney has found these people before they skip town and will be able to prosecute.”

The DA’s Office tells me this is one of the most despicable crimes they see.

The Cooks are both scheduled to be back in court Aug. 26 and have a combined bond of $140,000 

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Father and son steal $774,000 from elderly woman, court documents say