Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that Nicole Marie Stevens, 52, received a 29-month prison sentence after a jury found her guilty of two counts of aggravated theft in the first degree where the victim was 65 or older at the time of the crime and two counts of criminal mistreatment in the first degree relating to an elder abuse case. Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Cody Linderholm prosecuted this case.
The jury found that, in 2020, Stevens stole over $400,000 from her mother who was suffering from dementia and no longer able to care for her affairs. By February of 2021, Stevens had spent $325,000 of the stolen money, and there was no evidence that she used the money for her mother as required by a springing power of attorney that Stevens and her mother entered into in January 2012 — prior to her mother becoming ill. In addition, in November 2020 Stevens checked her mother into a care facility and claimed that her mother had enough money to privately pay for her end-of-life care. Less than two months later, Stevens informed the care facility manager that her mother was “out of money.” However, on that same day Stevens purchased a $24,500 vehicle. Her mother had $5.64 left in her savings account shortly after arriving to the end-of-life care facility.
Even with no prior criminal history, this is a mandatory prison case because of elder abuse. Judge Shelley Russell previously took Stevens into custody pending sentencing. Stevens will serve her sentence, which was imposed Friday, in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Elder abuse can take many forms, including physical abuse, financial abuse, physical and emotional neglect, sexual abuse, and isolation. To report elder abuse, Multnomah County residents are encouraged to contact Multnomah County Adult Protective Services.
