Texas couple ordered to pay nearly $1.5 million for defrauding elderly Yakutat woman

A former Alaska faculty superintendent not too long ago elected as treasurer of her dwelling county in Texas has been ordered to pay what officers right here say is the most important judgment awarded in an Alaska elder abuse case.

A Juneau Superior Court choose in mid-November directed Carla Sigler and her husband James Vernon Sigler to pay nearly $1.5 million after the state Office of Public Advocacy discovered the couple took $700,000 from an elderly Yakutat woman a decade in the past.

The judgment got here after a trial and greater than 5 years of litigation, stated Beth Goldstein, deputy director of the Office of Public Advocacy’s elder fraud and help and public guardian items.

Carla Sigler is the treasurer-elect for Bosque County, Texas, the place the couple now lives. Sigler had beforehand served as treasurer till she was faraway from the place earlier this 12 months for failing to full required persevering with schooling.

The 12 months the alleged fraud occurred, 2012, Sigler served as superintendent of the tiny Tanana City School District, which oversees the Maudrey J. Sommer School with 35 to 45 college students.

The Siglers couldn’t be reached for remark.

They didn’t face prison costs for their actions involving Neva Ogle, the woman they’re accused of defrauding. Goldstein stated that officers considered the civil lawsuit because the quickest means to discover a decision for Ogle.

Ogle died in 2020 whereas the case was nonetheless unresolved.

The Siglers filed for chapter in 2020 amid the civil court docket proceedings. The chapter case is ongoing.

The Siglers have appealed the judgment, however the state can proceed to take actions to gather fee whereas the attraction is pending until a keep is accepted or a supersedeas bond is paid, Goldstein stated.

The Siglers haven’t filed for a keep or paid a bond, she stated. On common, appeals take two years.

‘She did not want to leave’

The Siglers lived in Yakutat throughout 2012 and knew Ogle, who was 85 on the time, by way of household, in accordance to a complaint pertaining to the fraud case filed by an legal professional representing Ogle within the Sigler’s chapter proceedings.

The couple requested Ogle to mortgage them $250,000 so Carla Sigler might purchase into her retirement contract and retire early, Goldstein stated. The Siglers returned to Ogle the subsequent 12 months and stated they wanted an extra $50,000, the criticism states, however stated she as a substitute wrote them a verify for $450,000. Carla Sigler wrote the verify and it was signed by Ogle, Goldstein stated.

The cash was supposed to be repaid, however the Siglers argued that it was a present, Goldstein stated.

The couple used a majority of the cash to buy a house in Texas and moved there from Alaska, in accordance to the criticism filed within the chapter. They additionally made purchases with Alaska Airlines, Glacier Bear Lodge, Geico Insurance, AT&T and Situk River Fly Shop, the criticism stated.

The Siglers paid again a small portion of the cash, however then stopped making funds in December 2013.

Ogle filed a civil lawsuit towards the couple in 2017 accusing them of taking cash from her. The elder fraud division grew to become concerned after Ogle’s financial institution notified them she’d fallen sufferer to an unrelated telephone rip-off, Goldstein stated. Ogle was coping with dementia and she or he was appointed a conservator by the court docket to shield her funds from extra fraud, in accordance to Goldstein. The conservator alerted the division to the continued lawsuit towards the Siglers.

The elder fraud division took over the litigation out of concern that paying for attorneys would drain the rest of Ogle’s funds, Goldstein stated. The cash the Siglers took accounted for greater than 60% of Ogle’s money belongings. Ogle wished to age in her Yakutat dwelling and had deliberate to use that cash for her future care, in accordance to Goldstein.

“She loved Yakutat, she loved her home and she did not want to leave,” Goldstein stated.

But by the top of 2018, Ogle wanted fixed care. With the funds gone, she was unable to pay for somebody to care for her in her dwelling, Goldstein stated. She was put into the Pioneer Home in Sitka, the place she died in 2020. By the time she died, Goldstein stated, Ogle didn’t even have sufficient funds for one other 12 months’s care on the dwelling.

‘No remorse’

A bench trial was held within the civil case in March.

Juneau Superior Court Judge Daniel Schally discovered that the Siglers had defrauded Ogle, in accordance to a ultimate judgment issued Nov. 13. Schally ordered the couple to pay again the $700,000 they took from Ogle, plus one other $450,000 in punitive damages. In complete, they have been ordered to pay $1.47 million, which Goldstein stated will probably be distributed to Ogle’s heirs. The couple was additionally ordered to pay legal professional’s charges for the defendant, she stated.

It’s uncommon for an elder fraud case to go to trial and uncommon for punitive damages to be awarded, Goldstein stated.

“I’ve been the chief of elder fraud for about a decade, and our cases almost always settle — the family members are remorseful or they realize the risks associated with it,” she stated. “And when you’re in settlement negotiations, you can reduce the attorneys’ fees and there’s no punitive damages. But the Siglers showed no remorse here at all.”

Goldstein stated the chapter court docket might power the Siglers to promote their dwelling to meet the judgment as a result of they testified they purchased the home with cash from Ogle. She stated the state’s chance of amassing on the judgment is excessive.

The legal professional representing the Siglers of their chapter continuing in issues associated to the judgment didn’t return a request for remark.

Treasurer-elect

Carla Sigler got here beneath scrutiny from officers in Bosque County, the place she served as treasurer, when the couple filed for chapter in 2020. The treasurer is accountable for the county’s receipt and disbursement of funds and is the chief funding officer, in accordance to the county web site.

Sigler was appointed to the place in 2016 and elected to the position in 2019, in accordance to Julie Snyder, an workplace assistant for the county choose.

Minutes from county fee conferences present that officers have been conscious in January of the allegations towards Carla Sigler within the elder fraud case.

In January, officers voted not to take steps to take away Sigler from workplace after she failed to meet the required persevering with schooling hours for the treasurer place. A petition to take away her from the seat was filed by a citizen and the case went earlier than a jury in August. The jury discovered that Carla Sigler failed to full the hours and she was removed from office.

Carla Sigler ran for county treasurer once more and was endorsed by the Bosque County Republican Party. Her identify was the one one which appeared on the poll, though the woman who stepped into the treasurer place after Sigler was ousted ran a write-in marketing campaign.

Local media in Bosque County reported on the allegations towards the Siglers in 2021 and followed the case through trial and till the judgment was issued.

The judgment within the elder fraud case doesn’t influence Carla Sigler’s eligibility to maintain the treasurer’s place, Snyder stated. She declined to remark about whether or not officers have been involved by the judgment.

Carla Sigler was elected to the place of Bosque County treasurer in November. She will resume the job in early January.