Richard Hatfield Accused Of Taking Money From His Mother

A Wyoming state employee is accused of taking money from his mother, a resident of a nursing home.

Fifty-seven year old Richard Hatfield has been charged with one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count of larceny.

Investigators say Hatfield's mother was declared incompetent in 2007 and when that happened, Hatfield withdrew a large sum of money from her bank account with no apparent records for what it was used for.

She also had two of her homes sold in 2009 by Hatfield, who has had power of attorney since 2005.

A review by the Department of Family Services determined that there were a number of expenditures and credit card payments, made by Hatfield that were unaccounted for and did not appear to have been done in his mother's best interests.

Hatfield claimed that some of the money was used to cover the costs of preparing the two properties for sale, but he had no receipts to show proof.

Hatfield's mother was also behind on her payments to the nursing home.

Currently Hatfield works for the State Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

He is free on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond awaiting trial, and could receive up to 10 years in prison if convicted.