Man guilty of stealing $71k from aunt with dementia
A man who became his 95-year-old aunt’s power of attorney after she was diagnosed with dementia then stole $71,000 from her as her health deteriorated.
This was the Crown’s case in the trial of Colin Thomas Mehlhopt, 79. A jury found him guilty of two charges of theft by a person in a special relationship at the Christchurch District Court yesterday.
Mehlhopt claimed the money was gifted to him by his aunt, Phyllis Kelly – including a $50,000 Christmas present – for looking after her and because he was not in her will.
In December 2021, Mehlhopt used Kelly’s debit card to withdraw $1000 cash from her account. Days later he called ANZ, explained he was with his then 94-yearold aunt and could not find her wallet card.
He activated the voice recognition to access her account by passing the phone to her, and her registration number was given to her. He then transferred $25,000 from her reserve (investment) account into her daily spending account.
Over the next month, Mehlhopt visited ATMs across Christchurch and withdrew a total of $21,000 cash from his aunt’s bank account in $1000 and $2000 amounts.
On January 16, 2022, he said he wanted to make a bill payment and transferred $50,000 from her bank account to his own. He later told police the money was a Christmas gift from his aunt who wanted to thank him for looking after her.
He claimed his aunt initiated the call to the bank and then called him into the room to help her transfer him the funds.
Kelly’s daughter found out money was missing from her mother’s account in June 2022 and made a complaint to police. When she rang Mehlhopt, he said it was none of her business and he was entitled to the money because he was not in her will, Brand said.
On the first day of trial, Mehlhopt’s lawyer, Chris Gullidge, told the jury the Crown’s case was only one side of the story and “as always, there are two”.
Mehlhopt accepted he was made power of attorney in November 2021 and that $71,000 of his aunt’s money made it into his possession. He claimed the money was sent to him as gifts and that he thought he was allowed to accept it.
He was granted bail and will be sentenced on June 21.