Stealing from mom and dad in Oregon
by Steve Mayes, The Oregonian
August 29, 2009
Ask Clara Philpot how she's doing, and she'll answer with a beaming smile and a hearty "Fantastic." Ask the 87-year-old who is president or the name of the dog napping in her lap and she can't say.
Philpot, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2002, also can't explain how or why she borrowed almost $1 million to finance a luxury home in Sherwood and immediately deeded half to Gayla and Jeff Ross, a daughter and son-in-law who took care of her.
After looking at the evidence, however, a Clackamas County jury took less than two hours to find Gayla Ross guilty of aggravated theft and first-degree criminal mistreatment.
Ross now faces prison. She will be sentenced Sept. 8 along with her husband, Jeff Ross, a former Washington County sheriff's deputy who was convicted of first-degree criminal mistreatment.
court-appointed guardian who now manages the details of Philpot's foggy life.
Sense of entitlement
The sad-but-true reality is that more people are preying on the elderly, according to prosecutors, police and adult protective service workers.
"I think there's a larger sense of entitlement by adult children. Mom and Dad's money is theirs even though Mom and Dad aren't dead yet," said Patricia Piazza, who oversees Philpot's finances and operates a professional guardian and conservatorship business with Farley.
In a similar Multnomah County case, two relatives of an 83-year-old Portland woman were charged with theft and criminal mistreatment after they gained power of attorney, took all the woman's possessions and sold her house. The relatives thought Evelyn Roth was dying, but she made a remarkable recovery and last week testified against the relatives.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Oregonian
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