Lawyer and his mistress busted for financial exploitation of elderly man

People seem to be endlessly creative when it comes to finding ways to cheat others out of their money. This story really takes the cake. It involves a 38-year-old Florida woman named Khadija Rhoualmi. She was in a so-called relationship with a rather frail 71-year-old man. She took advantage of him financially, including adding her name to his bank account, taking his money and buying a vacation to Spain.

However, that wasn't enough. Ms. Rhoualmi was also having an affair with a married man named Howard Swann who just happened to be a lawyer. Her older boyfriend was undergoing medical issues and hospitalizations and was becoming more frail physically and mentally. Despite this, Ms. Rhoualmi brought her older boyfriend to Mr. Swann, who drew up deeds adding the girlfriend's name to the older man's properties as a joint owner with right of survivorship. This pair took the poor old fellow for pretty much everything he had.

Ms. Rhoualmi married the older man, who died only a few months later. Fortunately, while the older man was alive, he mentioned something to his son about Ms. Rhoualmi's behaviour, and the son lost no time hiring a lawyer and taking action. The court annulled the marriage, and rescinded the land transfers. It also ordered Ms. Rhoualmi to repay the stolen funds. Mr. Swann was disbarred.

To read a more detailed account of this story, click here to read a blog entry by www.whaleyestatelitigation.com.

The story doesn't say whether Ms. Rhoualmi or Mr. Swann were charged criminally for their actions.

What an unbelievable, predatory pair of crooks. Thank goodness the son took  his father at his word and did everything he could to stop the theft from his father. It should be a reminder to all of us to keep the lines of communication open with our parents as they age, and with other seniors in our lives. They are vulnerable, and sometimes they need us to step in on their behalf.