A Broomall man stands accused of bilking his now dead mother and her husband out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial assets after offering care for serious health issues which she died from earning an early nomination for worst son in the Philadelphia region potentially.
Lower Makefield Township Police Department began investigating a theft complaint filed by the victim who lives in the 1200 block of Pine Grove Road.
The complainant reported that he and his wife had numerous medical problems including heart catheterization and the wife being placed in hospice care. The mother’s son, Joseph DeAngelis, brought them both to his home on the 2600 block of Cynwyd Avenue in Broomall. This was so that he and his wife could care of them for a while. They arrived on separate days, Jan. 19, and Jan. 23, 2024. The suspect’s mother died on Jan. 28, 2024. Her husband continued to stay at DeAngelis’ house until he got stronger but ultimately wanted to go back home, police wrote in court papers.
On Jan. 27, 2024, four checks were cashed the day after his mother’s death. The checks were from the couple’s joint account at Penn Community Bank. On the checks were the victim’s signatures. The checks were numbers 173 ($677.00), 282 ($27,708.00), 505 ($1,100.00), 506 ($27,217.00) and 1249 ($26,260.00). The victim later reviewed the signatures on the issued checks and stated he did not authorize the checks. He also stated that it was not his wife’s handwriting on the checks, the probable cause alleged.
On Feb. 12, 2024, DeAngelis allegedly obtained a Renunciation of the Right to Administer the Estate of his mother, from a notary (First Class Auto Tag Service). The victim did not renounce his right to administer his wife’s estate. However, he signed some incomplete forms when he was sick and still living with DeAngelis. DeAngelis presented this form to the Bucks County Register of Wills. In Feb. 2024, DeAngelis obtained a Power of Attorney for his stepfather, notarized at the same First Class Auto Tag Service. The victim did not agree to having DeAngelis as his Power of Attorney. However, he signed this incomplete form when he lived with DeAngelis. During the course of the investigation, authorities learned that the owner of First Class Auto Tag Service is a good friend of DeAngelis, police said.
On March 1, DeAngelis used the obtained Power of Attorney for his parents’ Penn Community Bank accounts. DeAngelis removed $221,262.14 from the accounts and put the funds into a TD Bank account under his and the victim’s names on March 7, 2024. He then transferred $221,000.00 from their joint TD Bank account to his own personal TD Bank account. On March 12, 2024, DeAngelis returned half of the money ($110,000.00) to their joint TD Bank account but kept the other half in his personal account. The $110,000.00 in DeAngelis’ account was frozen by TD Bank when the victim made a complaint stating he did not authorize the transaction, police said.
While the victim stayed at DeAngelis’ residence, he was cared for but eventually felt he could return to his home. During this time, the victim said DeAngelis would not bring him home. He said he was not strong enough and incapable of caring for himself. The victim was examined by his doctor on Feb. 27, 2024 and determined competent and capable of living on his own. It wasn’t until March 3, 2024 that DeAngelis brought the victim back to his home in Lower Makefield Twp. he noticed many items belonging to him and his wife were missing, according to police.
The items included:
The original Power of Attorney
The suspect’s mother’s death certificates
Approximately $60,000.00 in cash
Miscellaneous documents from the Bucks County Register of Wills
US I Bonds valued at $12,000.00
Titles to the Corvette and Lincoln
Several guns
Apple IPad
Numerous additional personal Items
The victim confronted DeAngelis about the missing items. DeAngelis advised him that he had taken the items for safekeeping while nobody was at the residence. DeAngelis returned the items only after a civil attorney and the police became involved. Through his attorney, he returned most of the items on Oct. 1, 2024. The US I Bonds have yet to be returned. The victim believes that DeAngelis took advantage of his condition when he was sick to take over their finances.
District Judge Corryn L. Kronnagel arraigned DeAngelis, 60, on felony counts of financial exploitation, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and forgery and he was released pending a April 8 court date.
Recent Comments