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Musser family copes with Alzheimer's heartache
By Darian Dudrick
This document was published online on Monday, October 13, 2008
The family of a longtime Cody resident suffering from Alzheimer's disease is suing a local bank, alleging nearly $1 million was allowed to be inappropriately withdrawn from the man's accounts from 2001-04.
A pretrial conference is scheduled March 9, 2009, in Lander for the Robert Musser Trust vs. First National Bank & Trust civil lawsuit.
A jury trial is set for April 7 in District Court in Cody.
According to court records, money was forged or allowed to be taken out of four of Musser's accounts without his authorization at the First National branch in Lovell.
The Musser family - on behalf of Robert Musser, who is now living in Billings - claims it is entitled to the amount of the unauthorized payments the bank allowed.
Musser, 82, was diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia - “probable Alzheimer's disease” - in November 2002, according to court records.
Thus, Musser was “at risk of financial exploitation” and “unable to discover the unauthorized payments,” court records state.
“The bank is contesting the case vigorously,” said attorney Brad Bonner who represents the bank. He declined further comment.
Court records detail the alleged bank activity:
-From a checking account Musser opened in January 2001, the bank paid checks not authorized by Musser, and which had forged signatures, totaling $664,620 during three years.
-In August 2001, Musser opened a certificate of deposit in which $209,833 was withdrawn by the bank during a 33-month period, mainly to cover overdrafts or make checking account deposits.
-Musser opened another CD in April 2002 in which the entire $70,000 deposit had been withdrawn by the bank seven months later. The money was again used to pay overdrafts or make checking account deposits.
-In February 2004 the bank “insisted” Musser open a new checking account and the other checking account was closed.
After opening that account, the bank continued to pay checks which were not authorized by Musser, causing a loss yet to be determined.
At the center of the activity was Musser's former caregiver and roommate, Cynthia Barrett, who served three years in prison for stealing from Musser.
Barrett, 59, was found guilty in 2004 of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
According to court documents, Barrett signed checks to herself from Musser's accounts, forged Musser's name and altered the amounts on certain checks that were ultimately passed at several Montana casinos.
Musser's son Harold says the amount of money Barrett stole from his father is in the “high six digits.”
In November 2004, Harold was appointed permanent conservator of Bob Musser's estate - giving him possession of all his father's property.
In August 2008 the Musser family won a lawsuit against Fort Rockvale Restaurant Lounge & Casino in Joliet, Mont., where unauthorized checks from Barrett were accepted, and she gambled away more than $200,000 of Musser's money from 2002-04, court records show.
A jury found Fort Rockvale guilty of deceit, civil conspiracy, conversion of Musser's money, negligence, negligence per se and malice.
The state of Montana also was successful in its lawsuit against Fort Rockvale which pleaded no contest to credit gambling, a felony in Montana.
Fort Rockvale was ordered to pay a fine, and the owners were asked to sell the business. Also, the business lost its liquor and gambling licenses.
(Darian Dudrick can be reached at darian@codyenterprise.com.)
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Elaine Renoire wrote on Oct 13, 2008 8:05 PM:
Also, a growing epidemic is unlawful and abusive conservatorships. Conservators and their attorneys are getting rich off the backs of the helpless -- and the irony is that they're doing it "legally".
Often, victims of exploitation and re-exploited by their court-appointed "protectors".
Don't believe it? Visit NASGA (National Association to STOP Guardian Abuse) at www.StopGuardianAbuse.org
and read victims' stories for yourself.
Forewarned is forearmed!
Yours,
Elaine Renoire
NASGA "