COLVILLE, Wash. (AP) — Stevens County prosecutors say a caretaker accused of mistreating a 106-year-old woman in Kettle Falls also is suspected of taking $800,000 from her retirement accounts.
A deputy prosecutor, Lech Radziimski, told The Spokesman-Review the office will be filing charges as a result of an investigation that showed there was financial exploitation of France T. Swan.
She was found in squalid conditions and begging for food in May when a deputy stopped at her home. The Spokane newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/oXxrOA ) she’s now doing well at a Colville nursing home.
Swan’s former caretaker, 78-year-old John H. Friedlund, already has been charged with criminal mistreatment. His lawyer, Bevan Maxey, says Friedlund arranged care for Swan for a long time, and it’s important for people to remember he’s presumed innocent.
