KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Elderly Woman Conned; Gets House Back

Elderly Woman Conned; Gets House Back

Seventy-six-year-old Euna Dement is not only bed ridden and in a nursing home, she's also the alleged victim of a con.
She says last year two people, 37 year old Jeanette Tidwell and her husband 38 year old Tommy Lee Tidwell Sr., conned her by getting her to sign over power of attorney to them.
Dement says, "I thought lots of them, until she put me in this nursing home and she didn't come back and see about me or do nothing for me."
The Tidwells are charged with exploitation of the elderly and felony theft.
In February of last year Dement had almost $92,000 in her bank account.
A month later, there was a little more than a thousand left.
Also gone, her two cars, and her house.
But things are looking up for Dement because she, with the help of her lawyer, was able to get her house and cars back.
Dement says the home needs a lot of work. "They stole my Sony TV, ripped my sofa and couches up, it'll be a lot of work to do on it."
She goes on to say, "It's not home to me, what I've been use to all my life, my 76 years of life."
Through Mrs. Dement's experience there's a lesson for everyone.
Ed Baswell, of the Bossier Sherriffs Office says, if it looks to good to be true it is. "Be very, very careful about who you trust, who you turn your power of attorney over to and watch your money carefully."
The Tidwells will stand trial on criminal charges on March 5th. Through their attorney they say, "they care very much for Ms. Dement and it was never there intent to hurt her, and if she wants her property back they will see that she gets it back."
Story by Tania Francois