A man who claimed to be a sports agent bought Cadillac Escalades, Rolex watches and stole millions of a Cobb widow's money for himself and his family in a scheme authorities say is one of the largest elder exploitation cases in Georgia history.
Frances Perkins lost $3.6 million in the scam hatched by Jeff Carr to gain her trust and use the financial power of attorney to exploit the elderly woman who has dementia. The case has helped spark debate at the state Capitol about whether enough is done in Georgia to protect seniors from this type of abuse. A proposal is currently making its way at the Gold Dome to tighten power of attorney laws to try to make it easier to prosecute these cases.
By the time authorities caught onto the scheme, Jeff Carr, a Milton High School graduate, had stolen more than $3 million from Frances Perkins, who is now 95. His father, Joseph, was also implicated in the scheme.
Jeff Carr, who met Perkins through her daughter, Linda Perkins, claimed to a be a sports agent with expertise in investments. It turned out, his bank account had a negative balance before he became Perkins power of attorney, which gave him access to her bank accounts which he exploited. Afterward, the account climbed to $1.7 million and Carr used the widow’s money to fuel his spending spree.
Read all the twists and turns in this story at myajc.com and read about how a family's dysfunction helped lay the groundwork for Carr to exploit.
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