Woman from East Alabama admits to defrauding her elderly mother of $2.5 million

Gina Cook Gilbert, a 63-year-old woman from Gadsden, has admitted to exploiting her elderly mother for financial gains amounting to more than $2.5 million. Gilbert pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree financial exploitation, which is a Class B felony under Alabama law. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Gilbert’s confession that took place last Friday.

Prior to the incident, Gilbert had been assigned as the conservator for her mother’s financial resources in October 2014. Patricia Jerome, Gilbert’s mother, had trusted her daughter to handle her financial matters for her. However, Gilbert failed to live up to the responsibility entrusted to her.

Within four years of being granted this responsibility, it was revealed that Gilbert had been misappropriating the funds for her personal use. She was found to have breached her duties in managing her mother’s resources. The discovery occurred as authorities looked into how Gilbert was handling her mother’s financial estate.

Further investigations took place during a civil lawsuit concerning the conservatorship and a subsequent criminal investigation. During this time, Gilbert admitted that she could not account for over $2.5 million of her mother’s financial assets. While she was made to repay the stolen funds at the conclusion of the civil case, her mother passed away before any criminal accountability could be enforced.

After her guilty plea, Gilbert was sentenced to a five-year prison term, along with two years of probation. Marshall stressed the need to protect elderly citizens from such exploitation, especially when the culprits are their own family members. He pledged to continue fighting for holding accountable those who exploit their positions as caregivers.