Missouri Laws 570.145 – Financial exploitation of the elderly person or person with a disability — ..
1. A person commits the offense of financial exploitation of an elderly person or a person with a disability if such person knowingly obtains control over the property of the elderly person or person with a disability with the intent to permanently deprive the person of the use, benefit or possession of his or her property thereby benefitting the offender or detrimentally affecting the elderly person or person with a disability by:
(1) Deceit;
Attorney's Note
Under the Missouri Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class A felony | between 10 years and life | |
| Class B felony | between 5 and 15 years | |
| Class C felony | between 3 and 10 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class D felony | up to 7 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class E felony | up to 4 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class A misdemeanor | up to 1 year | up to $2,000 |
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 570.145
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Coercion: a threat, however communicated:
(a) To commit any offense. See Missouri Laws 570.010
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Guardianship: if used in a section in a context relating to rights and obligations other than property rights or obligations, means guardian of the person as defined in chapter 475. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Property: anything of value, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, in possession or in action, and shall include but not be limited to the evidence of a debt actually executed but not delivered or issued as a valid instrument. See Missouri Laws 570.010
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- Services: includes transportation, telephone, electricity, gas, water, or other public service, cable television service, video service, voice over internet protocol service, or internet service, accommodation in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admission to exhibitions and use of vehicles. See Missouri Laws 570.010
- State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(2) Coercion;
(3) Creating or confirming another person’s impression which is false and which the offender does not believe to be true;
(4) Failing to correct a false impression which the offender previously has created or confirmed;
(5) Preventing another person from acquiring information pertinent to the disposition of the property involved;
(6) Selling or otherwise transferring or encumbering property, failing to disclose a lien, adverse claim or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the property, whether such impediment is or is not valid, or is or is not a matter of official record;
(7) Promising performance which the offender does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed. Failure to perform standing alone is not sufficient evidence to prove that the offender did not intend to perform; or
(8) Undue influence, which means the use of influence by someone who exercises authority over an elderly person or person with a disability in order to take unfair advantage of that person’s vulnerable state of mind, neediness, pain, or agony. Undue influence includes, but is not limited to, the improper or fraudulent use of a power of attorney, guardianship, conservatorship, or other fiduciary authority.
2. The offense of financial exploitation of an elderly person or person with a disability is a class A misdemeanor unless:
(1) The value of the property is fifty dollars or more, in which case it is a class E felony;
(2) The value of the property is seven hundred fifty dollars or more, in which case it is a class D felony;
(3) The value of the property is five thousand dollars or more, in which case it is a class C felony;
(4) The value of the property is twenty-five thousand dollars or more, in which case it is a class B felony; or
(5) The value of the property is seventy-five thousand dollars or more, in which case it is a class A felony.
3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the remedies available to the victim pursuant to any state law relating to domestic violence.
4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose criminal liability on a person who has made a good faith effort to assist the elderly person or person with a disability in the management of his or her property, but through no fault of his or her own has been unable to provide such assistance.
5. Nothing in this section shall limit the ability to engage in bona fide estate planning, to transfer property and to otherwise seek to reduce estate and inheritance taxes; provided that such actions do not adversely impact the standard of living to which the elderly person or person with a disability has become accustomed at the time of such actions.
6. It shall not be a defense to financial exploitation of an elderly person or person with a disability that the accused reasonably believed that the victim was not an elderly person or person with a disability.
7. (1) It shall be unlawful in violation of this section for any person receiving or in the possession of funds of a Medicaid-eligible elderly person or person with a disability residing in a facility licensed under chapter 198 to fail to remit to the facility in which the Medicaid-eligible person resides all money owing the facility resident from any source, including, but not limited to, Social Security, railroad retirement, or payments from any other source disclosed as resident income contained in the records of the department of social services, family support division or its successor. The department of social services, family support division or its successor is authorized to release information from its records containing the resident’s income or assets to any prosecuting or circuit attorney in the state of Missouri for purposes of investigating or prosecuting any suspected violation of this section.
(2) The prosecuting or circuit attorney of any county containing a facility licensed under chapter 198, who successfully prosecutes a violation of the provisions of this subsection, may request the circuit court of the county in which the offender admits to or is found guilty of a violation, as a condition of sentence and/or probation, to order restitution of all amounts unlawfully withheld from a facility in his or her county. Any order of restitution entered by the court or by agreement shall provide that ten percent of any restitution installment or payment paid by or on behalf of the defendant or defendants shall be paid to the prosecuting or circuit attorney of the county successfully prosecuting the violation to compensate for the cost of prosecution with the remaining amount to be paid to the facility.