Several recent cases of false
imprisonment and theft demonstrate how callously people can take financial
advantage of others.
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This week, authorities found that a St.
Louis man named Cliff Crockwell allegedly locked a man in his basement for five
years while he cashed the man’s Social Security checks. The victim suffered a traumatic brain
injury and developed alcoholism while recovering, which led him to meet
Crockwell, who provided care for alcoholics. Eventually, the victim’s sister visited him and noticed that
the building where he lived had bars on the windows, a steel front door, and
backwards locks that prevent people from leaving the building. She claimed her brother looked like a
Holocaust survivor and that the building was a dungeon. Crockwell claims that he
prevented the victim’s departure because he believed he would drink alcohol if
he left. Further, Crockwell stated
he permitted the victim to leave initially, but that he would return to the
building inebriated. He admitted
that he had no medical evidence to support his claim that the victim must be confined
in order to maintain his sobriety.
The
victim has not received any of his Social Security benefits for the last five
years. Crockwell admitted that he
got him to sign over his Social Security checks, but did not confirm whether he
had power of attorney to act on the victim’s behalf. Crockwell also admitted that he received Social Security
benefits on behalf of other tenants as well. A Missouri state Senator stated that Crockwell’s actions
could be considered false imprisonment.
Another
egregious case of false imprisonment was uncovered in Pennsylvania earlier in
September. Dwayne Young was
arrested on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, and forgery for
allegedly keeping a deaf mute man in his basement for four months while cashing
the disabled man’s Social Security checks. The case resembled another tragic kidnapping that happened
in Philadelphia where a convicted killer and three others were found to have
locked four mentally handicapped adults in their basement and cashed their
Social Security checks.
Horrifyingly, the victims in this case were chained to the boiler and
forced to use a bucket as a latrine. Police found power of attorney forms in the boiler room among
other documents related to the victims.
The
perpetrators in each case were being paid the victim’s Social Security
checks. The Social Security
Administration states that after a careful investigation, it will appoint
someone to be a payee of another’s benefits if the beneficiary is not capable
of managing her money by herself.
Executing a power of attorney agreement cannot authorize an agent to
accept your Social Security benefits on your behalf. This suggests the SSA believes its vetting process is stricter
than an individual’s. It’s true that you can grant a power of attorney while the
principal is not mentally incapacitated, whereas the SSA requires the
beneficiary to be mentally incapable of managing his affairs, but these recent
cases suggest the SSA could greatly improve its processes for selecting payees
and ensuring payees are not taking advantage of the disabled.
