From: judgebean23x@gmail.com   
      
   Lawsuit alleges that kids stole $24 million from mom with dementia    
      
   By DAN BROWNING , STAR TRIBUNE    
   April 08, 2016 - 12:44 PM    
      
          
   When Champlin developer Duane Engels died in 2005, he had every reason to rest   
   in peace. His hard work developing houses and apartment buildings left a   
   substantial fortune that was sure to keep his widow, Beverly, comfortable   
   until her dying day.    
      
   But according to a recent lawsuit filed by her court-appointed conservator,   
   the couple's three children allegedly stripped $24 million from her estate as   
   she slipped deeper into dementia, leaving the 79-year-old resident of a Rogers   
   memory-care facility    
   destitute unless something is done to recoup the funds.    
      
   The lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County District Court by a professional   
   conservatorship firm called Fiduciary Foundation, lists her three children as   
   defendants: Troy D. Engels of Monticello, Todd M. Engels of Pequot Lakes, and   
   Sheri J. Brinker of Edina.    
   It focuses nearly all of the allegations on Troy Engels, however.    
      
   None of the parties to the lawsuit or their attorneys would comment on the   
   case. Each filed replies in court denying any wrongdoing.    
      
   Although they are co-defendants, Todd Engels and Brinker say in court filings   
   that they support the conservator's efforts to investigate their brother's   
   handling of the estate and restoration of any assets wrongfully taken from   
   their mother. Troy Engels    
   objected to the lawsuit, arguing in court papers that the allegations are   
   false and that the suit is a waste of money.    
      
   Minnesota safeguards how vulnerable adults' money gets spent    
   Hennepin County District Judge Jamie Anderson ruled last month that the   
   lawsuit could proceed.    
      
   "Though the cost of pursuing the Civil Action is high, when compared to the   
   $24,000,000 that might have been misappropriated, the Civil Action may be   
   reasonable," Anderson wrote.    
      
   She rejected Troy Engels' argument that the lawsuit is not in the best   
   interest of his mother because any assets returned to her estate ultimately   
   would be distributed back to him and his siblings when she dies.    
      
   "It is common knowledge that a child cannot legally steal from a parent simply   
   because they will inherit [the] parent's assets eventually anyway," she wrote.    
      
   The suit accuses Troy Engels of systematically looting his mother's estate of   
   assets and cash, going so far as to take the diamonds from her wedding ring   
   and replacing them with fake stones. To cover his tracks, the suit alleges, he   
   paid hush money to    
   his siblings, had his employees shred his mother's financial records, and   
   claimed that a safe containing his business records was stolen from his home   
   -- the only item he claims was taken in a burglary. The suit also alleges that   
   Troy Engels persuaded    
   his mother to resign from Engels Construction and sell him the company's stock   
   for $2 million, then never paid her.    
      
   "Troy has used the Engels Construction Inc. checking account as his personal   
   spending account," the suit says. It says he used company money to pay child   
   support, gamble, fund his retirement and personal accounts, build a $692,500   
   cabin in Nisswa, and    
   for dining, traveling, boating, and myriad large-ticket purchases. The suit   
   lists a series of property transfers and loans to the three children and notes   
   that a codicil in Beverly Engels' will states that any loans would be forgiven   
   at her death.    
      
   "This goes against Beverly's original intent to treat each of her children,   
   the Defendants, equally," the suit says.    
      
   Fiduciary Foundation argues in court filings that the transfers from Beverly   
   Engels' estate could have "potentially catastrophic tax issues."    
      
   Troy Engels argued that the conservator lacks standing to pursue the claims.   
   He accused Fiduciary Foundation of having a conflict of interest because the   
   firm gets paid with Beverly Engels' assets. He also objected to the legal fees   
   that have been spent    
   thus far in a case that's estimated to cost as much as $250,000.    
      
   Todd Engels and Brinker support the conservator's decision to sue for an   
   accounting and possible restoration of their mother's estate. Brinker said in   
   her court filings that she suspects that her brother Troy "improperly took or   
   received property and    
   assets" that belonged to her mother and Engels Construction.    
      
        
      
   Dan Browning * 612-673-4493    
      
          
      
   http://m.startribune.com/suit-alleges-that-kids-stole-24-million   
   from-mom-with-dementia/374983471/   
      
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