Attorney General Ashley Moody is announcing the arrest of a man who used power of attorney to steal tens of thousands of dollars from an incapacitated senior. An investigation by Attorney General Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) resulted in the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office taking Gregory Marler into custody. The MFCU investigation revealed that Marler obtained power of attorney rights from an elderly victim residing in a Medicaid-receiving facility, who lacked capacity to make financial decisions. Marler removed more than $40,000 through multiple withdrawals from the victim’s personal bank account for personal use, including using the funds to partially pay off rent to a marina. Due to Marler’s actions, the victim owed more than $90,000 to the Medicaid treatment facility for patient services, along with back-property taxes for 2020. Instead of maintaining the house of the elderly victim, Marler left the house so unkempt there were maggots in the refrigerator. When the court held an estate sale for the abandoned property, Marler arrived—angry about the sale of his belongings stored in the home—and admitted to spending the victim’s Medicaid money.
