Fire Survivor Exploited By Her Own Son - Please Help Juanita

My mother lost everything in the 2018 Camp Fire, and my half-brother Bill lured her into living with him out of state. Within days, he coerced her into making him joint owner of her bank accounts. My brother looked at this disaster--the worst wildfire in California history, and saw dollar signs for himself.

Two years ago, she received a large settlement from the disaster, and he advised her to buy a house all cash and put his name on the deed alongside hers--despite the fact he contributed zero. (It's the house in the photo.) He was her caregiver at that time, and from the outside, I might not have balked at that--but he then took out large mystery cashier's checks, and massive daily ATM withdrawals until he siphoned off all the money. All of it. Several hundred thousand dollars, GONE.

Last summer, I rented a guest house in New Mexico and tried to stage an intervention, although I had no idea of the extent of his crimes at that time. The bank confirmed that he was transferring her pension and social security to himself every time it was deposited, but she didn't want to believe it, and he fully exploited her trust. He took my mother to an attorney and had her draft a will, making him the sole heir and leaving out all her other children.

My brother grew impatient with my mother's robust health and longevity, and he apparently couldn't wait for his inheritance. He cashed out a $150,000 CD my mother had, emptied her safety deposit box, and tricked her into signing a quit claim deed to her new house with the help of another of my scheming brothers who lived in the same town.

While I was living in LA, my mother asked me to move to Las Cruces and become her caregiver. I wanted to be with her, but not in that town and not in proximity of my antagonistic brothers. I eventually gave in to her wishes, but when I arrived, the entire story came to light via records. After we found out that Bill had stolen her house out from under her, I helped her relocate to Northern California, where my mother had lived for decades.

I'm her full-time caregiver now, but without financial support coming in, outside of what she receives via social security and a small pension. Almost ALL of that goes for rent, as I don't own a home of my own. My half-sibilings have not so much as sent her a birthday card, and one of them insists on gaslighting her that her story of financial abuse "isn't true." Meanwhile, my brother has blocked our mother and refused certified mail from her requesting an accounting of what he did with her funds.

Meanwhile, we're subsisting on SNAP benefits to eat...

Although I've experienced cruelty from my half-siblings my entire life, I can't sit by and allow my mother to be hurt in this way. She is the most pure and generous soul, and has cried too many tears over this unfathomable betrayal.

I so appreciate any contribution you can make to helping her. Even the smallest amount is a message that she isn't alone, that she matters. She is going to thrive! May God bless you and return a financial blessing to you many times over what you've gifted to help my precious mama.