“We all have mothers in this room. And mothers are pretty sacred territory,” Skelton said. “They’re sacred to all of us, including to this court.”
For 12 years, Gibson had power of attorney over Ruthann Gibson, who suffered from dementia, said the Centerville man’s brothers, Brian and Craig McSherry.
But when power of attorney was switched to Craig McSherry four years ago, the family realized Gibson had been cleaning out his mother’s life savings. He stole cash, jewelry, including diamonds from her wedding ring, and other properties, Brian McSherry said, noting there was $335 left in the account.
Relatives said it’s possible Gibson stole even more from his mother because the charge only covers about five of the 12 years he had power of attorney.
“She used to cry all the time. The last couple years of her life, she never mentioned his name. She would talk about the bad son,” Craig McSherry said of his mother, who died in May.
“It was almost good to see her end up with advanced dementia because she could finally smile again, McSherry said. “She couldn’t remember what happened to her.”
UPDATE @ 3:15 p.m. Sept. 24: A Centerville man was sentenced today to four years in prison after he was convicted last month of stealing thousands from his mother.
Robert Jay Gibson, 51, also was ordered to pay restitution after he admitted to stealing more than $150,000 after gaining authorization to act on his mother’s behalf.
FIRST REPORT
A Centerville man will be ordered by a court to repay his mother the more than $150,000 he admitted stealing from her after gaining authorization to act on her behalf.
Robert Jay Gibson, 51, pleaded no contest and was found guilty of felony theft from an elderly or disabled adult, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.’s office said Friday.
Gibson became power of attorney over his mother’s financial affairs in 1999.
Beginning in 2007, he began stealing by transferring money to his account, writing checks and using her debit card for his personal expenses and depositing her checks into his account, according to the prosecutor’s office.
A county grand jury indicted him Feb. 20, online court records show.
“The power of attorney must act in the best interests of the other person and is not entitled to use the money for their own needs,” Heck said in a prepared statement.
Sentencing for Gibson is scheduled for Sept. 24.