Hello,
I need some help please.
I believe this would fall under financial exploitation of the elderly.
An aged person of 66, hospitalized, suffered stroke in brainstem, totally paralized, unable to communicate, and in a sleeping state until they passed away.

After their death, we discovered a poa was obtained. It was used to with draw large sums of money from accounts in his name, payable upon death accounts for his children, entered into their safety deposit box, and cashed large royaly checks from gas companies, that were mailed to them, in thier name only.

It was also discovered, there was NO notary present at the time the principal & one of the wtinesses "supposedly" signed the poa. That witness, at some point, took the poa, to the other witness that signed this poa, and left it there. At some later date, dont know when, the notary notarized the poa.

If the notary wasnt present at the time the "principal" & a witness signed this document, is this poa valid or legal?

The "agent" told several people, at hospital, that they didnt have a poa, and would get one when the principal went home. This is an admission, there was no poa.

I believe the agent, when they knew this aged person wouldnt live long. They put all this into motion, to obtain this poa, asked their friends to help, and proceeded to take advantage of this person.

What are the laws and punishment for these people, if this is illegal? And who do I report this to, if found to be illegal?

I believe these people think they are above the law because of their status in the community. I am not sure if they would even be charged with anything, because of who they are. And their ties with the police there.

I hope someone can tell me what to do or if this is legal.
Thanks for your time and expertise...

Fortunately for you, you don't have to determine if it was illegal or not - all you have to do is report what you feel MIGHT be criminal fraud to the police - and then you let the law enforcement people who investigate such things do the job that taxpayers pay them to do.

If they investigate and find evidence of fraud or any other criminal activity, then they'll file with the state attorney's office. They in turn will take care of getting warrants for arrest issued and bringing the case to trial.

You really have no choice BUt to go through the police - but if you fear that corruption is an issue you can always invite a member of your local press to go with you - no one is better at holding ANY public official accountable than your friendly neighborhood newspaper reporter or TV station news folks.

__________________
While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

http://www.aardvarc.org

I do agree with aardvarc on this one. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.