FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
March 9, 2017
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steven T. Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
Alabama Attorney General
AG MARSHALL ANNOUNCES ARREST OF BALDWIN COUNTY WOMAN
FOR EXPLOITATION OF MOBILE NURSING FACILITY RESIDENT
Attorney General Steven T. Marshall announced the arrest of Tawny Pahoresky
King, 34, of Fairhope, for the financial exploitation of a Mobile nursing home resident.
King surrendered this morning to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) presented
evidence to a Baldwin County grand jury resulting in an indictment* dated February 17
charging King with first-degree financial exploitation of an elderly person. It is alleged
that King obtained power of attorney over her 81-year-old aunt in order to handle her
affairs when the aunt entered a Mobile area hospital and later went to Crowne
Healthcare of Mobile. It is further alleged that King misappropriated approximately
$20,000 from March of 2016 through July of 2016, when her aunt died. A review of her
aunt’s financial statements showed numerous transactions that were clearly not for the
care and wellbeing of the aunt, in violation of the terms of the power of attorney.
Financial exploitation of an elderly person in the first-degree (Ala. Code 1975
ß13A-6-195) provides that any person who breaches his or her fiduciary duty under a
power of attorney, resulting in unauthorized appropriations of an elderly person’s
property, is guilty of a class B felony if the unauthorized appropriations exceed $2,500.
For the purposes of this statute a person is considered “elderly” if they are 60 years of
age or older. A class B felony carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years in the
Alabama Department of Corrections.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is tasked with investigating
and prosecuting providers who file false claims to the Alabama Medicaid Agency. The
other major function of the MFCU is to investigate and prosecute allegations of abuse,
neglect and financial exploitation of elderly persons in skilled nursing facilities and
assisted living facilities.
AG Marshall commended the staff and administration of Crowne Healthcare of
Mobile for their vigilance, as well as the staff of his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for its
investigation leading to the indictment of this individual and for seeking justice for the
elderly resident.
*An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
