The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A man has been accused of appropriating more than $166,000 from his nonagenarian mother’s credit and bank accounts to purchase sexual items and online sex shows.
Shaun Joseph, 59, and his 91-year-old mother were residing together in a home in Dayton, Ohio. Joseph was caring for the daily needs of his mom, as she had become increasingly unable to do so for herself due to escalating dementia and failing eyesight.
At the start of December 2018, family members came to the Joseph household for a visit and felt that something might be amiss with the way the caregiving was being provided. They reportedly found the woman unkempt and unable to communicate, and they attributed her decline to a lack of proper care from Joseph.
After their visit, the family placed a call to Adult Protective Services to discuss what they had experienced during their time in the home with their relatives.
The following week, a caseworker from APS went to the home to assess the situation reported to them. When the worker spoke with him about the allegations, he reported that Joseph disclosed that he was his mother’s only caregiver and he had started to think that it might be time to consider moving her to a live-in facility.
During the investigation, APS decided to review the woman’s finances in an attempt to find out if Joseph had been monetarily benefitting by overspending her savings, which he was in control of since she was unable to tend to them on her own. They have alleged that between many credit cards and a bank account the woman had over $166,000 drawn from the accounts, raising their suspicions and causing them to notify law enforcement.
At the end of January, an APS worker went back to the Joseph home for another visit in the company of the authorities and a geriatric healthcare professional. The nurse suggested that the woman was in need of medical assistance and her son agreed. She was transferred to a local hospital for care where it was confirmed that she was suffering from dementia, partial blindness, and it was noted that she was uncommunicative.
The doctors diagnosed her as incompetent, and Eli Sperry, a local lawyer specializing in probate and estate matters, was appointed the guardian over Joseph’s mother’s estate. Sperry froze all of the accounts in an attempt to protect the money while the investigation continued.
The police allegedly tracked several purchases allegedly made on Amazon for the acquisition of sex dolls and toys, lingerie, and a laptop computer. In addition to the transactions reportedly found for the items, $166,000 was allegedly filtered through PayPal for the purchase of tokens used for the viewing of live sex cam girls. Each of the expenditures was reportedly tied to an account in the name of the alleged victim, and it was purported that Joseph was the one who made the purchases.
In mid-February, Joseph went to the prosecutor’s office to discuss the findings and it was alleged that the man said he did use the money for the items in question. Joseph reportedly explained that prior to his mother’s health declining she gave him clearance to utilize the money as he saw fit.
Following the meeting with Joseph, the prosecutor used the gathered details to ask the court for a search warrant of the home where the woman and her son were residing.
The inventory receipt from their search of the residence recorded the confiscation of several items including a gaming laptop and other internet-capable electronics, a stash sexy sleepwear, and the wallets of the mother and son. “5 silicone dolls w/ multiple heads” was also notated as alleged spoils found during the search.
The authorities investigated the files on the computer they took, and in addition to pinning the illegal financial activity on Joseph, they also alleged that his laptop had files containing pornography depicting children.
Joseph was arrested and he is facing charges for theft from an elderly person above $37,500, illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, and pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.
After satisfying his ordered bond Joseph was freed from incarceration and he is awaiting his upcoming trial.
Joseph’s mother was reported as being rehomed in a facility where she will have access to care around the clock.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.