Lehigh Acres man receives 20 years for exploiting elderly woman

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published:
Ryan Todd Powers (Mugshot via the Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday for exploiting an elderly woman and her husband out of more than $50,000.

Ryan Todd Powers, 41, of Lehigh Acres, faced up to 60 years after he was found guilty Sept. 1.

He served as an attorney for the victim and her husband in 2015 and was accused of opening a fraudulent checking account in the victim’s name without her knowledge, the state attorney’s office said.

MORE: Lehigh Acres man found guilty of exploiting an elderly person

 

Powers redirected her monthly social security checks into the new account from October 2015 to July 2016, according to investigators.

He used the account and the husband’s account for his own personal use and refused to pay for their care, investigators said.

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The victim had no belongings and had clothes donated to her while she was in a healthcare facility, according to officials. Powers was accused of selling several of the victim’s assets and using his power of attorney to deed the victim’s home to himself in November 2016.

The house has been turned back over to the victim, the state attorney’s office said.

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