Minnesota Woman Charged With Pocketing $1.1M+ In Real Estate Sale Proceeds Belonging To Her 89-Year Old Dementia-Suffering Mom, Leaving Her Destitute

From the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General:

• The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson [...] filed a criminal complaint in Rice County District Court charging a Dakota County woman, Connie Ruth Rott, with nine felony counts of theft by swindle and five felony counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult for diverting over $1.1 million held in trust for the benefit of Rott’s elderly mother, D.S. Because of Rott’s depletion of D.S.’s assets, the State’s taxpayer-funded Medical Assistance program is now paying for the 89-year-old D.S.’s nursing home and medical bills, at a monthly cost of $4,200.

• “The sad thing about this case is that, unlike many senior citizens, the 89-year-old victim started out with plenty of money to pay for her nursing home and medical care. Because of the daughter’s exploitive self-dealing, the mother’s assets have been substantially depleted, and the taxpayer-financed Medical Assistance program is now paying for her care,” said Attorney General Lori Swanson.

• In 2000, D.S. placed real estate she owned in Northfield, Minnesota that she originally farmed with her late husband into a revocable trust to be used for her care, comfort, support, and maintenance, naming her daughter Rott as Trustee. D.S. also signed a durable power of attorney that year naming Rott as her attorney-in-fact, and in 2003, Rott was named D.S.’s legal guardian. In 2004, D.S. was admitted to the dementia unit of the Three Links Care Center, a Northfield nursing home. D.S. requires total assistance with activities of daily living. Rott agreed to make timely payments to Three Links using D.S.’s income and assets.

• The complaint alleges that, between 2004 and 2007, Rott sold three pieces of the real estate D.S. placed into trust, for a net amount of over $1.3 million, and then diverted over $1.1 million in proceeds from the sale of the real estate to her own benefit or for the benefit of persons other than D.S.

For the entire press release, see Attorney General Charges Woman With Felony Theft and Financial Exploitation for Depleting $1.1 Million In Assets Held In Trust For Elderly Mother (Taxpayer-Funded Medical Assistance Is Now Paying for 89 Year Old’s Nursing Home Care).

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