ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 explains why people with dementia are especially vulnerable to fraud, embezzlement, and extortion, all forms of theft. Two case studies comprise the vast majority of the chapter. Both illustrate, albeit in different ways, the temptations dementing illness makes available to those who perceive they stand to benefit from thievery. In the first, a youngish mother participated in the theft of money from her grandmother before brutally killing her. In the second, a husband had been embezzling money from the account of his father-in-law, who had dementia. When his wife learned of his transgressions, she confronted him. He killed her and took off, only to be captured later. The chapter concludes with the observation that desperation, depression, and suicidality comprised important parts of the lives of these two perpetrators.
