The manager of a Dubuque senior apartment complex, who used a power of attorney to defraud an elderly and disabled nursing home resident was sentenced July 7, 2020, to five years’ probation. Janice Kay Schultz, age 59, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 3, 2020 guilty plea to one count of wire fraud. In a plea agreement, Schultz admitted that she met her victim at the senior apartment complex in Dubuque that Schultz managed. The victim lived alone and had no family. In December 2010, the victim was admitted to a Dubuque nursing home after suffering a stroke and a fall. Afterwards, her physical and cognitive abilities abruptly declined such that she could no longer live at the apartment complex. In April 2011, the victim signed a power of attorney form that purported to give Schultz full authority to manage the victim’s financial affairs. However, the power of attorney expressly stated that defendant was not permitted to make any gifts to herself. From April 2011 through January 2015, Schultz used the power of attorney to steal nearly $60,000 from the victim. Schultz used this money to buy Green Bay Packer football tickets and pay for other personal expenses. Schultz purchased $24,000 in gift certificates, which she then used for a major home improvement project. At one point, the victim no longer had the necessary funds to support her stay in the nursing home. The Iowa Medicaid program began paying for the victim’s care at the nursing home. Schultz told Iowa Medicaid that the victim had not sold or given away anything of value in the months preceding her application for benefits.
