Veteran lost thousands as neighbor took him 'to the bank'
DALLAS, Ore. - An Oregon man warns of "cut-throats and pirates who just scoop these folks up." He said his elderly uncle's story is a wake-up call to protect ourselves and our older family members while we still can.
His uncle is Gerald Sisson, a Korean war veteran who saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by living a frugal lifestyle. Now, Sisson is also at the center of a tug of war over his care and money - at a time when he can no longer fight for himself.
At his nephew's farm on the outskirts of Dallas, Sisson has lost much of his ability to think and communicate clearly - a product of age and a stroke.
His nephew Mark Kluting said he checked on his uncle two years ago at Sisson's home in Independence, Ore. It was then Kluting learned Sisson had been staying down the street with a woman name Sonia Parkison.
"As soon as she picked him up, she started [writing checks]," said Kluting.
Kluting said Parkison raided his uncle's bank account, his life insurance policy and his investment accounts.
We went through Sisson's bank records and discovered that, up until he moved in with Parkison, he was frugal with his money. He typically carried a monthly balance of about $35,000.
"One month's bank statement had my uncle's address and name only," Kluting said, "and then around the corner, next month's came in and [the statement] had her address and her name on his account."
Sonia Parkison's name was added to the account in March 2007, and Sisson's balance began dropping by thousands.
Individual expenses showed checks written for hundreds of dollars almost daily, plus regular withdrawals of $500 to $2,000 - five such results on the April statement alone. And there were several ATM withdrawals, mostly at Spirit Mountain Casino, totaling more than $25,000.
Meanwhile, Kluting's mother's name was removed as the beneficiary of his uncle's life insurance policy and replaced with Parkison's name.
We talked to the accused woman's Monmouth, Ore., attorney, Joe Penna. He told us that "if you would like us to do a complete accounting we can certainly do that."
We have not received that accounting. Sonia Parkison canceled an interview just minutes before we arrived at her home, telling us Penna advised her not to talk.
Instead, she asked us to talk to her pastor.
"She's a giver," said her pastor, Don Johnson. "She's a giver I tell ya."
The Buena Vista Community Church pastor told us that a man by the name of Jose de la Rosa-Ortiz asked Parkison to look after the aging veteran. Rose-Ortiz is an inmate at the maximum security Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Ore.
Johnson said the convicted child molester is a mutual friend of Gerald and Parkison, and Parkison was just trying to help a man in need.
"She really cared for Gerald too," Johnson said. "She'd take him to the doctor and take him to the dentists ... take him to the bank all the time."
Some of Sisson's money paid for him and Parkison to take a trip to see de la Rosa-Ortiz, and make a donation to a prisoner project started by Parkison.
A Polk County judge finally appointed Salem Attorney John Beckfield as Sisson's conservator after the family complained and a third-party investigator ruled that Sisson is "unable to resist fraud." The investigator also ruled that Parkison did "not show good judgment" and her money was "commingled with Gerald's."
Sisson's new attorney said he is doing his best to make sure Sisson's finances are not raided and that he is well cared for.
"You want to make sure they are in a decent, safe and sanitary and caring environment," said conservator Beckfield, "and I believe that's where Gerald is today."
However, Beckfield also had a question for Sisson's nephew Mark Kluting - after more than $10,000 was spent on a shop at Kluting's home.
We walked with Kluting to the shop building at his Dallas home. Kluting said it's no secret. He wanted his uncle to have a shop like the one he had on his Independence property, and so he and Sisson built it together.
"Pretty good little expense there too," Kluting said, "because that's all prefab stuff."
Kluting said he realizes there are people who target the elderly and the indigent, but insists he is not one of them.
"They're just hawks waiting for their prey," he said.
Sonia Parkison, meanwhile, has not been charged with any crimes. She and her attorney told us by phone she broke no laws.
Protecting yourself, loved ones
KATU went to Elders in Action for a seminar on the subject of protecting yourself from financial problems. We spoke with a Portland attorney who worked on estate planning cases, who told us this can happen to anyone.
Anyone with assets should get their finances and personal wishes in order now, Attorney Carl Jepsen said. Those decisions should be in writing to avoid the chance that an illness or accident could change your ability to make those decisions on your own.
These are the steps Jepsen said should be taken now:
- Designate someone you are certain you can trust to have durable power of attorney.
- Create a living trust for the continuing management of your property.
- Nominate your own guardian and or conservator; otherwise a court could and probably will - as was the case in Sisson's situation.
Jepsen said one of the best things you can do is keep in close communication with people who care for you. He says family members are usually best, but senior groups and church groups also are "great places to network and establish relationships," he said.
Though Jepsen said churches can be a place for elders to find caring people "who will watch out for your physical and financial well-being if you do not have family nearby," these strategies aren't fool proof.
"Everybody should take care of their [own] elders," Kluting said, "because if they don't look what happens."