Local woman steals from mother to bond out husband, who's accused of stealing from elderly
ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A 64-year-old woman is accused of stealing $25,000 from her mother to pay a bail bondsman to get her 68-year-old husband out of jail, court records show.
Millicent Douglas, of Royal Palm Beach, was arrested earlier this month and is facing charges for money laundering and exploiting the elderly, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said. Her husband, Lynrod Douglas, was already in jail for allegedly stealing over $200,000 for a 94-year-old man and over $100,000 from a 90-year-old woman he was the guardian for.
Lynrod Douglas was arrested March 4, according to the sheriff's office. He had his first appearance hearing the next day, in which is bond was set at $25,000. The judge also ordered he would need to show where the money for his bond is coming from.
While he was in custody, he made several phone calls to Millicent Douglas, which were recorded, the sheriff's office said. They conspired to "commit additional crime of exploitation of the elderly" in order to secure a bond for his release.
Millicent Douglas withdrew $25,000 from her mother's Wells Fargo account on March 5, which had money from the sale of her home in Boynton Beach, according to the sheriff's office. She got a cashier's check and used the part of the money to hire an attorney for her husband. Her 91-year-old mother, who has dementia, lives in Canada with her son.
On March 16, Millicent Douglas parted ways with that attorney and had the money refunded to her, the sheriff's office said. She planned to use it to secure her husband's bond, hiding the fact that it came from the sale of her mother's home.
On March 19, Lynrod Douglas had a court hearing, where concerns were raised about his attempts to use money from the sale of his mother-in-law's home, according to the sheriff's office. Prosecutors said that the woman had "the capacity to consent" and understand that the couple were trying to use her money to pay bond. Since neither Lynrod nor Millicent Douglas would say where the woman was, they didn't agree with the source of the bond money.
Millicent Douglas' brother, who is their mother's primary caretaker, later told authorities that the money made from the sale of her home is supposed to pay for her healthcare.
On April 7, Millicent Douglas was taken into custody, the sheriff's office said. Lynrod Douglas is facing an additional charge of exploiting the elderly.
