by Matt McConico
SAINT PAUL & CLOQUET, Minn. – Former Cloquet Police Officer Laci
Marie Silgjord was found guilty of one count of felony attempted theft
by swindle.
Silgjord exploited a now-deceased 78-year-old vulnerable adult.
She gained access to victim’s bank accounts and attempted to inherit
the estate worth more than $150.000, despite Ms. Armey having surviving
family.
Silgjord was financially exploiting Joan Arney, at the time a
78-year-old with dementia, Silgjord met through her employment as a
then-Cloquet police officer.
The state said four months after meeting the victim, Silgjord
represented herself to a bank as her fiduciary, despite having no legal
authority for this role, and gained access to the victim’s bank
accounts.
Silgjord will be sentenced at a date to be determined.
The Carlton County Attorney referred the case to the Attorney
General’s Office and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the
case. It was tried jointly by Medicaid Fraud and Criminal Division.
Timeline of the accusations against Silgjord from the Attorney General’s Office:
As outlined in the criminal complaint and
as proven at trial, Silgjord first met the victim in May 2020 when
Silgjord responded to the victim’s residence for a call regarding a
stolen purse. By January 2021, Silgjord had attempted to obtain the
victim’s entire remaining estate despite the victim having surviving
family and no written estate plan awarding anything to Silgjord. This
was despite a Cloquet Police Department policy that in order to “avoid
actual or perceived conflicts of interest members of this department
shall refrain from developing or maintaining personal or financial
relationships with victims, witnesses or other individuals during the
course of, or as a direct result of, any official contact.”
Then-Officer Silgjord first encountered the victim on May 5,
2020, when she responded to a call about a stolen purse. On
June 2, 2020, Silgjord performed a welfare check at the victim’s house
upon the request of the victim’s half-brother. Silgjord and other
officers conducted a second welfare check on August 25, 2020, when they
found the victim in very poor condition, including that she had suffered
a stroke and had deficits in memory and attention. The victim was
immediately transported to the hospital.
On September 4, 2020, the hospital petitioned for guardianship
for the victim due to “severe memory and orientation deficits which make
her unable to make higher level decisions about her medical care.” At a
court hearing on the guardianship, Silgjord stated that a social worker
at the hospital asked Silgjord to be the victim’s guardian. The Court
appointed Silgjord as guardian on September 11, 2020, which allowed her
to perform duties related to personal care and custody. Silgjord was
never appointed as a conservator to make financial decisions for the
victim or manage the victim’s money, however.
Throughout September 2020, Silgjord recorded multiple bedside
conversations with the victim. During one conversation, the victim said
she did not know where she was, did not know her maiden name, did not
know her father’s name, and did not remember how old her son was when he
died. Silgjord also showed the victim a photograph of herself when she
was younger; the victim did not recognize herself. During this
conversation, Silgjord told the victim that she was her “new grandma”
and that she loved the victim. The victim responded that she loved
Silgjord and that she wanted to take care of her.
In late September 2020, Silgjord presented guardianship paperwork
to the victim’s bank. She documented on a form titled “Fiduciary
Accounts Application & Agreement” that she was the victim’s
fiduciary and that she had the authority to access the victim’s
accounts.
Medical records in October 2020 documented the victim’s continued
regression, and at times noted she was hallucinating. On
October 28, 2020, the victim passed away with no surviving children and
no will. Silgjord did not notify the victim’s estranged husband and next
of kin about the victim’s death.
Shortly after the victim’s death, Silgjord met the victim’s
estranged husband at a restaurant. The Court’s order appointing Silgjord
as guardian indicated that her guardianship expired upon the victim’s
death — yet Silgjord claimed to the victim’s estranged husband that she
was “in charge” of ensuring the victim’s wishes were carried out.
Silgjord also refused to give the estranged husband the keys to the
victim’s house. When the estranged husband asked Silgjord about
submitting paperwork to access the victim’s bank accounts, Silgjord
responded that he could “probably not” do this “because I am on the
account.”
On November 24, 2020, the victim’s estranged husband went to the
victim’s house, where he encountered Silgjord. Silgjord falsely claimed
she had a guardianship and conservatorship over the victim, refused to
provide him the keys, and said that she would not do so “until the
courts make me sign it over.”
On December 18, 2020, Silgjord filed a petition seeking to be
appointed personal representative of the victim’s estate. Silgjord
claimed the estate was indebted to her for guardianship expenses. Some
of compensation sought by Silgjord included time she supposedly spent on
the guardianship while Silgjord was on duty as a police officer.
On January 28, 2021, Silgjord filed a claim against the victim’s
estate for $71,601.58, which she estimated to be the estate’s total
value. In describing her claim, Silgjord wrote “Prior to Joan’s death
she told me she loved me & wanted to take care of me & my
family. I was Joan’s friend & court appointed guardian.”
On March 9, 2021, Silgjord filed a second claim seeking an
additional $86,611.70 from the estate, which represented the total of
the inheritance the victim was set to receive from her stepmother’s
estate. In describing this claim, Silgjord wrote, “I was Joan’s court
appointed guardian & took care of her prior to her death. There is
no formal will but Joan told me & my husband she loved us and wanted
to take care of us. I have this recorded on my cell phone.”
The Court denied Silgjord’s claims against the victim’s estate.
Silgjord’s employment as a Cloquet police officer ended in June 2022.
Full Article & Source:
Former Cloquet police officer found guilty of taking advantage of elderly person
