Attorney General Moody Takes Action Against Man Who Used Power of Attorney to Steal More Than $40,000 from Florida Senior
Attorney General Ashley Moody News Release
Attorney General Moody Takes Action Against Man Who Used Power of Attorney to Steal More Than $40,000 from Florida Senior
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is announcing the arrest of a man who used power of attorney to steal tens of thousands of dollars from an incapacitated senior. An investigation by Attorney General Moody's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit resulted in the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office taking Gregory Marler into custody. The MFCU investigation revealed that Marler obtained power of attorney rights from an elderly victim residing in a Medicaid-receiving facility, who lacked capacity to make financial decisions. Marler removed more than $40,000 through multiple withdrawals from the victim’s personal bank account for personal use, including using the funds to partially pay off rent to a marina. Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “The suspect in this case took advantage of an incapacitated senior—using power of attorney to drain thousands of dollars from the victim’s checking account for personal use. The money should have been spent on medical bills, property taxes and to care for the senior, but instead the bills were ignored, taxes were past due, and the victim’s house left in such disarray that when authorities viewed the property, they found maggots in the refrigerator.” Due to Marler’s actions, the victim owed more than $90,000 to the Medicaid treatment facility for patient services, along with back-property taxes for 2020. Instead of maintaining the house of the elderly victim, Marler left the house so unkempt there were maggots in the refrigerator. When the court held an estate sale for the abandoned property, Marler arrived—angry about the sale of his belongings stored in the home—and admitted to spending the victim’s Medicaid money. Marler faces one count of exploitation of an elderly person, a second-degree felony. If convicted, Marler faces up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Attorney General Moody’s MFCU will prosecute this case with the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, Ginger Bowden Madden.
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The Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes providers that intentionally defraud the state’s Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida’s taxpayers. From January 2019 to the present, Attorney General Moody’s MFCU has obtained more than $112 million in settlements and judgments.
The Florida MFCU is funded through a grant totaling $27,734,297 for Federal Fiscal Year 2022, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The Federal Share of these funds is 75% totaling $20,800,724. The State Matching Share of these funds is 25% totaling $6,933,573 and is funded by Florida.
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