DUNMORE -- A man from Lackawanna County who is accused of bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from his elderly aunt told Newswatch 16 that he has been framed.
Prosecutors in Lackawanna County called this the largest elderly exploitation case they've seen.
Robert Shutta of Dunmore was arraigned Wednesday on theft charges and welfare fraud.
State officials now say that Shutta lied about his aunt's wealth in order to cheat Medicaid.
Robert Shutta left a magistrate's office in Dunmore in handcuffs on his way to jail. He told us how much he loves his 97-year-old aunt who he has taken care of for a decade.
"She's my aunt. I love my aunt," Shutta said. "If I'm not seeing her, then my aunt's going to die."
Lackawanna County prosecutors say Shutta illegally paid himself $25 an hour to visit his aunt who has Alzheimer's at the Jewish Home nursing facility in Scranton.
He's also accused of abusing his power of attorney by using his aunt's money to pay off his house in Dunmore.
But as he went to jail, Shutta called it all a conspiracy.
At his arraignment, Shutta was also charged with welfare fraud. The state Office of the Inspector General says Shutta lied about his aunt's money to illegally qualify her for Medicaid.
Shutta is accused of stealing almost $400,000 from his 97-year-old aunt and he's also the sole benefactor in her will.
"Whichever way it goes, whether it goes to trial or to a guilty plea, I hope there's something that I could revoke the will. I don't want him to be the beneficiary of her proceeds, obviously," said Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Suzy Tierney.
Prosecutors told us that they don't have any evidence that the victim in this case was medically neglected in any way, but she is in hospice care suffering from dementia. Her nephew, Robert Shutta is in jail on $40,000 bail.
