Rochester Man Sentenced for Stealing Thousands of Dollars From Vulnerable Adult

By TJ Leverentz 

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man has been sentenced for bullying a vulnerable adult into giving him thousands of dollars. 

21-year-old Bill Gum Benjamin was charged last fall with three felony counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. 

Under a plea agreement that was finalized in May, the criminal complaint was amended and he admitted to a felony theft charge.

Rochester Man Avoids Prison for Stealing Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable Adult

The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office began investigating the case after receiving a report of a theft. A woman told investigators that Benjamin had been forcing her son, who the criminal complaint says is autistic, to give him money.

The victim's mother became involved after his phone was shut off for nonpayment and she examined her son's bank statements. She told investigators that she discovered his balance had dropped for more than $40,000 to nothing over the previous year, the charges say.

 

Benjamin complaint. Olmsted County Court

The complaint says the investigator spoke to the victim, who indicated he met Benjamin while working at a business in Southeast Rochester in 2023, and at some point, complied with the request from Benjamin for some money. 

The victim also stated that after a few more money requests, Benjamin began forcing the victim into his car and would physically push him around.

Benjamin would call the victim's bank to verify his account balance before driving the man to a bank branch in Southwest Rochester and forcing him to withdraw money, the charges say. 

The victim told law enforcement Benjamin would wait outside his workplace and follow him in his car almost every week on the day he was paid.

Benjamin complaint. Olmsted County Court

Benjamin was accused of taking more than $7700 from the victim in September 2023 and an additional $22,900 between October 2023 and the end of March last year.

It was also alleged that an additional $10,900 was taken by Benjamin between April and the end of September last year.

Benjamin was sentenced Monday to five years probation. He was also fined $500. 

Full Article & Source:
Rochester Man Sentenced for Stealing Thousands of Dollars From Vulnerable Adult 

Former councilor sentenced to prison

Former city councilor and attorney, Jodi Zils Gagne, 43, of Bristol was given a 46 month sentence followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford.

Gagne was sentenced for stealing more than $169,000 from individuals for whom she served as a court-appointed conservator, reported a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the press release said, Zils Gagne, an attorney, was a court-appointed conservator for several individuals in Connecticut.

The release explained a conservator is a person appointed by the probate court to oversee the financial or personal affairs of an adult who is incapable of managing his or her finances or unable to care for himself or herself.

Beginning in approximately May 2015, according to the Department of Justice, Zils Gagne defrauded several conserved individuals by misappropriating their money and overbilling them. The money that Zils Gagne misappropriated was intended for the conserved persons’ medical care, housing, bills, personal expenses, and legitimate conservator fees.  Zils Gagne also misrepresented, or failed to disclose, material facts about her conservatorship activities to the Bristol probate court and others, said the release.

Through this scheme, the justice department said, Zils Gagne defrauded six victims of a total of $169,402.74. She defrauded one elderly victim of approximately $136,000, and appropriated $113,000 of that money under the guise of an “investment” when, in fact, it was a 10-year note that paid only a prime rate and was signed between her (as the victim’s conservator) and Zils Gagne’s husband, said the Justice Department. The money was used to fund her husband’s start-up company, a Bristol-based internet radio station, Bristol Beat.

The terms and details of this transaction were only disclosed after extended proceedings in the probate court, during which Zils Gagne repeatedly lied, sometimes under oath, to the probate court, said the Justice Department.

The investigation also revealed that Zils Gagne arranged the sale of two victims’ houses to her relative for less than the appraised value of the homes, said the news release.  The buyer than renovated the homes, sold them for a substantial profit, and paid Zils Gagne and her husband kickbacks.

On Oct. 10, 2018, Zils Gagne pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.

Judge Bryant ordered Zils Gagne, who is released on a $50,000 bond, to report to prison on July 8.

In September 2018, a Connecticut Superior Court judge suspended Zils Gagne from the practice of law.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greenwich Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel and the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.

Full Article & Source:
Former councilor sentenced to prison