Montana Woman Accused of Stealing $140K from Elderly Mother
A Montana woman reportedly used a reverse mortgage on her mother’s home to steal $140,000 to fund a condo for herself according to the Missoulian. Paulette Homer got a check for $141,308 from the reverse mortgage and wrote out checks totaling over $120,000. This included making payments to a Lowe’s store, a credit union, a Zales jewelry store and several other transactions.
Police stated Homer tried to convince them that her mother was aware of the reverse mortgage and that she used the money to pay off a loan from her brother-in-law. However, she later admitted that she used the money for herself. She is facing charges of exploitation of an older person or a person with developmental disabilities with a possible 10-year prison sentence and/or a $50,000 fine.
In a reverse mortgage, the lender pays a monthly payment to the borrower who is usually 62 years old or older. One key factor is that reverse mortgages do not have to be paid back until the homeowner sells the home, moves out of the home or if the borrower passes away. The amount that must be paid back is the total amount given in monthly payments to the borrower plus interest. Therefore, in this incident, if Homer had not been caught, her mother would be left having to pay back well over $140,000 to the lender if she decided to leave her home. This is a terrible case of elder abuse that could have possibly caused the elderly woman to lose all her financial assets simply because of her daughter’s actions.
