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Former attorney Matthew Roby has agreed to a plea deal of five years in prison for the Exploitation of an Elderly Person and Grand Theft of more than $100,000. Detectives said he had been siphoning off millions from an elderly woman, identified as Helen Kuhn.
Investigators said Roby gained power of attorney over Kuhn through fraud and drained $3 million from her accounts.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office said:
"Roby agreed to a plea deal today that will land him in prison for 5 years for Exploitation of an Elderly Person and Grand Theft of more than $100,000."
Matthew Roby was arrested in 2021 and was subsequently disbarred. He is no longer allowed to practice law in Florida.
According to reports, Kuhn, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 108, became conscious of Roby's fraud years ago.
The suspicions arose after Kuhn received a large tax bill in 2019. He told her to pay for it when she asked Roby about it. When Kuhn felt something was off, she went to the sheriff’s office.
Several years of investigation revealed that Matthew Roby somehow became her power of attorney. The accused took her money and transferred it to another bank and even spent some of it.
Disgraced attorney Matthew Roby to pay for his crimes
The Orange County Sheriff's Office on June 24 announced that Winter Park lawyer Matthew Roby, who represented the now-deceased Helen Kuhn, would be spending five years in prison.
Interestingly, Roby’s father was also Kuhn’s attorney before his son. Ronald Roby was also disbarred in 2014 for misappropriation of funds. One of his clients claimed that Ronald stole tens of thousands of dollars from his account.
Who was Helen Kuhn, Matthew Roby's fraud victim?
The late Helen Kuhn was known for her vibrant personality. She got married for the first time when she was 60, got her pilot’s license after that, and drove until she was 101.
Speaking about her, Orange County officials said:
"Helen taught school for 35 years, flew planes until the age of 93 and drove until the age of 101."
Kuhn's close friend also said she was good with finances.
Karen Murillo, an advocacy manager for AARP Florida, stated that, on average, one in 10 Americans is a victim of "some sort of elder abuse."
Murillo also added that instances of exploitation by attorneys have risen in recent years. Speaking on the matter, she said:
"Unfortunately, this is not the first case of exploitation of an attorney. I’ll tell you that exploitation occurs based off the proximity to an older or vulnerable adult."
She continued to say:
"Sadly, exploitation is on the rise. What we are seeing is that it has increased nationally, there’s an average loss for victims of exploitation of about $120,000 annually."
Economic Crimes Detective Chris Williams said deputies were able to recover more than $2.4 million that was stolen from Kuhn.
Officials said there might be more victims. Anyone with information is asked to call 407-836-4357.
