An Atlanta man charged with embezzling more than $200,000 of his disabled father’s Veterans Affairs payments was arraigned in federal court July 21.
William Dorsey Jr., 42, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of misappropriation by fiduciaries. According to a statement from U.S. Attorney BJay Pak, Dorsey violated a fiduciary agreement he signed in May 2010 to manage benefit payments to his father, 67-year-old William Dorsey Sr., a Vietnam veteran with Alzheimer’s disease who is confined to a wheelchair.
Defense attorney Steven Berne, the younger Dorsey’s lawyer, responded with this statement: “The facts alleged in the U.S. Attorney’s statement were based solely on testimony given by law enforcement officials in a grand jury,” Berne said.
As the financial fiduciary, Dorsey was required to spend the VA benefit funds only for his father’s daily needs, Pak said. He was removed as fiduciary after seven years for violating the terms of the agreement, including by transferring his father’s benefit funds directly into his own bank account.
Over that time, the staff at the elder Dorsey’s nursing home reported that he needed only $50-$100 per month to cover expenses, Pak said. The staff also told investigators that the younger Dorsey commonly gave his father low-quality supplies such as ill-fitting clothes and half-empty toiletries. Nurses told authorities they felt compelled to buy the elder Dorsey basic necessities out of their own pockets.
“We must be diligent in protecting our elderly citizens, especially our veterans,” Pak said. “We are focused on preventing and punishing the exploitation and abuse of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Dorsey was arrested and indicted June 24 after an investigation by the VA Office of the Inspector General. He was released from jail on a $10,000 bond after entering his not guilty plea.
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