After Elderly Woman's $16,000 Disappears, Son Says Trust Is Shaken
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - After his elderly mother was swindled out of nearly $16,000, allegedly by her caregiver, the victim's son says she's lost something more valuable: her trust in people.
Eleanor Adler's money vanished after her caregiver, law enforcement says, started writing herself checks from her client's bank account. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office arrested Amy Jo Rivas, 50, and charged her with theft from an at-risk adult and identity theft.
Adler's son, Jim, said he first noticed something was amiss when he started preparing his mother's taxes -- "and I'm terrible at that," he said -- for professional tax accountants. That's when it was clear something was wrong.
"No matter how many time they added it up, it was $16,000 off and I couldn't have figured it out and that I made a mistake," Adler said. He said at his mother's age, 95, the only really significant tax deduction is for caregiver expenses.
He said they called his mother's bank, her insurance company and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. He said the sheriff's office told them to collect as many statements from the bank as they could. Adler said they discovered all the checks written to Rivas.
In April, sheriff's office investigators requested recordsfrom Adler's bank and discovered 17 checks written to Rivas, ranging from $400 to $1,850. The total amount was $16,598. (Based on a later handwriting analysis, the sheriff's office said 16 checks were written for $15,998.
Jim Adler said he was first shocked and in disbelief. Anger followed, mostly that someone had deceived his mother and that she no longer trusted people.
"The idea of betrayal was maybe as big a deal as the money. $16,000 is just an enormous blow, but just as just a big a blow is that she lost her trust," he said.
According to the arrest affidavit, Rivas told investigators that Eleanor Adler had OK'd many of the checks and loaned money to her.
Rivas is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next week. She has two prior felony convictions for theft and identity theft and was on probation when the checks were written from Adler's account.
The affidavit said Rivas was paid $150 per shift and did not work more than three days in a row. She was hired by another caregiver to help with work load and worked from July through September, according to the other caregiver.
Adler said he and his mother learned that no matter how close someone seems, it's imperative to do diligent background checks.
"Our lesson was the same lesson that I'm sure everybody has, which that the people who come into your home as caregivers become a member of the family. You're with them every day. They're at meals. They're at family events," Jim Adler said. "So all things that people tell you in the beginning, you don't do. You don't check every check. Life goes on. Everything feels normal. There was no indication anything was wrong."
Adler said his mother, perhaps for the first time in her life, was suspicious of other people. That's when Adler said he became angry. "To see that someone had taken away part of mom's happiness was devastating," he said.
