Pinay accused of stealing P21M savings of 90-year-old American employer

A Filipina caregiver is being accused of stealing around $500,000 (or around P21.4 million) from a 90-year-old man in Chicago she used to take care of. A report posted on The Filipino Reporter said Filipina caregiver Carmelita Pasamba amassed around half a million dollars during the two and a half years she worked for her employer Marshall Davies, a former engineer who was reportedly suffering from dementia. “Mr. Davies was extremely vulnerable.  He was nearly 90 years old in 2008. He was already exhibiting signs of dementia. And so he was the perfect prey.  Essentially Mr. Davies was their own personal ATM machine," the report quoted assistant public guardian James Burton as telling CBS News. Pasamba was reportedly hired by Davies' family in 2008. Last will Burton said the alleged scheme started when Pasamba brought Davies to the Filipino American Council of Chicago (FACC), where he executed a new last will and trust agreement.   Under the agreement, $175,000 (or more than P7.5 million) will be granted to Pasamba and her family while $20,000 (or around P860,000) will be granted to various social service agencies affiliated with the FACC once Davies passes away. Pasamba was also reportedly given a power of attorney to handle her employer's financial affairs, including the authority to withdraw from his bank account and write checks . Evidence obtained by the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office showed that Pasamba allegedly used Davie's money to make a $10,000 (almost P430,000) down payment on a new $50,000 (more than P2.1 million) Mercedes-Benz. She likewise reportedly wrote checks for her daughter's tuition and her son's dance studio.  She also allegedly gave herself a $50,000 bonus, $20,000 to remodel her apartment, and three cash withdrawals of $50,000 each. Worst cases of financial exploitation The Public Guardian’s Office said this case is one of the worst cases of financial exploitation they have ever handled. “I call it theft — that’s what it is,” Burton said in the report.   The Public Guardian’s Office said it will try to recover Davies' retirement money and sue all the people who were involved in the scheme.  Pasamba, meanwhile, said the transactions were loans and that she had always asked for Davies' consent whenever she made any financial decisions. “He was competent and he was alert and oriented the time that I was working for him,” she told CBS investigative journalist Pam Zekman. However, in the same report, Pasamba admitted that she should not have spent her employer's money. “I just realize that what I did is not right,” she said. - VVP, GMA News