02/28/2013

News / WA woman accused of forcing neighbor to sign power of attorney over nursing home fears

A woman residing in a trailer part in Spokane Valley, Washington has been accused of forcing her 91-year old neighbor to give her power of attorney rights, allowing her to defraud the elderly neighbor of $10,000. Jody Scotece, 53, allegedly preyed on her neighbor’s fear of going to a nursing home and convinced her that the only way out was sign the power of attorney papers.
Scotece is charged with first-degree theft, obtaining a signature under duress and money laundering, a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s office says.
According to the manager of the trailer park, Scotece overheard a dialog between her elderly neighbor and a group of paramedics who had come to visit her. They reportedly told her that her home was cluttered and that she might want to have someone help her clean the space or consider moving to a nursing home.
Several days later, Scotece befriended her neighbor and told her that she would think of a way to prevent her from being put in a nursing home. She then brought in the power of attorney paperwork and the victim signed it, believing that it was the only way she could avoid nursing home.
The victim later discovered that $10,000 had gone missing from her bank account. She told that to the manager, and the police were soon able to track down Scotece.
At first, Scotece argued that she had permission to withdraw the money and use it repair her truck and purchase various other items, including a 47-inch television, a DVD player, rolls of carpet, and new pots and pans. In total, Scotece spent $6,500. She returned the rest to the victim.
Detectives were later able to retrieve the $1,000 Scotece had used to pay for her truck repair. Scotece eventually admitted that she did not have permission to spend the money.

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