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Patrick Alderton, a 46-year-old Weatherly resident, was convicted Wednesday, Jan. 11 on multiple felonies related to the scam, said Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub.
Investigators were tipped off in October 2020, when Alderton — then living in Whitehall — was the personal representative for the estate of a relative during a guardianship case, the DA said.
The relative, who lives at a nursing home in Quakertown, had previously been deemed a "totally incapacitated person" by a Bucks County court.
As the guardianship case played out, law enforcement heard allegations that Alderton was "misappropriating" some of the relative's funds, including an $88,000 inheritance.
Financial investigators eventually determined that Alderton spent $38,608.99 —nearly half of the windfall — in ways that had nothing to do with the relative's care. About $29,000 of the money went to paying rent at his Whitehall apartment, the DA said, as Alderton filled out phony invoices to cover his tracks in court.
After his trial Wednesday, the 46-year-old remained in the county lockup in lieu of a $250,000 bail bond. He'll stay there until his sentencing hearing on March 2.
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