GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – A man from Green Bay is facing up to ten years in prison after allegedly stealing from his mother who has Alzheimer’s.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by Local 5, 53-year-old William Dargan was charged with stealing from his own mother. Back in January 2022, a deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office spoke to Adult Protective Services (APS) about possible fraud.

It was said that a man was taking ‘large’ amounts of money from his mother’s bank accounts. APS received a referral about financial concerns about an 85-year-old woman. The woman reportedly had Alzheimer’s and other medical issues.

The woman was Dargan’s mother, and he previously had medical and financial power of attorney, but that was withdrawn. Dargan was accused of taking money from his mother ‘over some time’ and it totaled to about $18,000.

Dargan served as his mother’s financial power of attorney from October 2013 to April 2021.

Money was allegedly being taken from the mother’s account using PayPal and getting spent on ‘Asiandating.com’. Dargan said he paid back some money to his mother, but it was believed that he withheld one of the stimulus payments and paid her back by using one of the withheld checks.

Authorities spoke with an employee of the fraud department at the mother’s bank. The complaint says the bank saw charges to ‘www.asiandating.com’ and tried to call the mother regarding the charges.

Dargan reportedly answered the phone and he admitted that the charges were his. The bank employee then referred the matter to Adult Protective Services.

Dargan’s sister also spoke with authorities about his incident over the alleged theft. Bank statements showed that there was a down payment for Dargan’s truck totaling $3,723.17. The auto loan payments for Dargan’s truck were reportedly being paid through his mother’s checking account.

The complaint says that Dargan’s sister talked to him about a $580 check drawn from his mother’s account made to an attorney that was out of state. Dargan said that he purchased an antique model train from an online auction and the seller happened to be an attorney.

The sister said that Dargan has over $100,000 in antique trains and collects them. An additional $3,000 of his mother’s money was allegedly spent on his train hobby.

There were reportedly multiple PayPal charges on the mother’s account which totaled an estimated $17,500. The sister said that Dargan could not provide an explanation for the PayPal charges.

The complaint mentions that the mother doesn’t know what PayPal is or how to use one with her age and ‘severe’ dementia.

When authorities looked over the mother’s bank statements, the first asiandate.com transaction was on January 2020 and the last was on March 2021. A total of 293 transactions were made and reportedly ranged from $2.99 to $96. The total came to $5,380.30.

The bank records showed there were 112 PayPal transactions which added up to $15,677.78. The complaint said the total loss to the mother’s checking account was $27,512.44.

Dargan also reportedly paid off the loan on his truck with a check totaling $19,846.93. Authorities say that that money came from his mother’s own funds.

During a court hearing on September 22, 2022, the complaint says that Dargan’s guardianship over his mother was revoked and he became ‘disruptive and disrespectful’ during the hearing. He reportedly pounded his fists on the table.

It is mentioned that the mother’s living conditions are ‘near deplorable’. There are feces in multiple locations and mold reportedly growing in her CPAP machine.

On October 4, Dargan was brought to the sheriff’s office for an interview. Originally Dragna said he wouldn’t speak without an attorney, but ended up talking after signing a form.

He told authorities that he needed a new vehicle and his sister caused his credit score to be ‘destroyed’ after he co-signed on some loans and his sister defaulted on them. He says that his mother offered to assist in co-signing for an auto loan and helping with a down payment.

Dargan said he was aware of all the asiandating.com charges and he agreed to pay it all back. He also agreed that he incurred PayPay charges of around $15,000, most of which were used for his hobby of model trains.

He told authorities that his mother gave him permission to make each and every one of the PayPayl purchases without paying her back.

Dargan is charged with:

• Theft – Business Setting (>$10,000 – $100,000), Crime Against an Elderly or Disabled Person
  • Felony
  • Up to ten years in prison

Court records show that Dargan had his initial appearance on October 6. Arrest records show that Dargan paid his $10,000 signature bond and was released on October 6.

No additional information was provided, Local 5 will continue to update this story.