Last night’s Four Corners revealed that Siham Benz was accused of stealing $140,000 from her mother, Amina Carollisen, who was living with dementia.
Ms Benz was caring for her mother, and during a five-day trial was interrogated about money she spent on her, including shoes bought for her mother’s daily walks, massages for the two women, and other household expenses, the ABC reports.
After only 10 minutes of deliberation, the jury found her not guilty.
Cared for her mother for three years
Ms Carollisen was separated from her husband, and moved in with Ms Benz and her young family in 2012.
A couple of years later, Ms Carollisen was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Ms Benz left her job to care for her mother, which she did for three years – as well as her two young children and her husband, who has a brain injury.
When Ms Carollissen moved in, she told Ms Benz she could use the money from her divorce settlement.
Mr Carollisen’s son, Mirwan Carollisen, was present when his mother made these arrangements with Ms Benz, and was in support of it.
In 2015, Ms Benz applied for the State Administrative Tribunal in Western Australia to become her mother’s official guardian and financial administrator.
The tribunal granted Ms Benz guardianship, but gave the Public Trustee of Western Australia responsibility for Ms Carollisen’s finances.
Ms Benz told the ABC it was “a massive relief” when the Public Trustee was appointed because she was busy and there was a lot of pressure on her at the time.
“It felt like a relief,” she said.
However, soon after the Public Trustee became involved, it began asking Ms Benz about her household spending. They queried her purchase of a seven-seater vehicle, which Ms Benz had acquired to fit her mother, husband, children, brother and wheelchair in.
What is the Public Trustee?
Public Trustees are state government bodies that take control of the finances of people who no longer have capacity to make decisions themselves because of conditions like dementia, a brain injury, an intellectual disability and mental health problems.
They sometimes pursue family members if they think funds have been misappropriated.
Charged to build case against daughter
The Public Trustee sent Ms Carollisen invoices revealing she had been charged almost $10,000 to establish information for their case against her daughter.
The information eventually led to the arrest of Ms Benz in the presence of her children, five months after Ms Carollisen died.
According to the ABC report, Ms Carollisen was billed:
Ms Benz told the ABC the case appeared to be based on the transactions alone. They did not call any witnesses.
She said she thought costs for Public Trustee investigations should be paid for by the government.
“They have charged for every email, every letter, every phone call.
“If you went to a law firm, that’s the sort of billing you’d expect, not from a government agency that’s supposed to look after vulnerable people,” she told the ABC.
“It was humiliating”
After charges were laid, the matter took two-and-a-half years to reach Perth’s District Court.
During the five-day trial in September 2019, headlines read, ‘Charity boss steals from her dying mum’.
“It was humiliating, not just for me, but for my family,” Ms Benz told the ABC.
Eventually, the prosecution reduced the 10 charges to one – theft of $120,000. The jury returned a “not guilty” verdict within 10 minutes of adjourning.
“I was a shell of who I was,” Ms Benz told the ABC.
She wants the $12,000 in legal fees charged by the Public Trustee refunded, which would help recoup some of the $50,000 in legal fees she spent defending herself.
“I do believe the Public Trustee should be allowed to pursue people because there are genuinely people who financially abuse elders, but to slate the costs home to my mother to investigate me is astounding,” Ms Benz told the ABC.
“They’re a law unto themselves.”
Ms Benz believes there should be more oversight of the Public Trustees.
This story aired on ABC’s Four Corners on Monday, March 14.
Fantastic investigative journalism by Anne Connolly again! Great job exposing The Public Trustees.
As a Banker, now retired , over the years, I saw many examples of unfair treatment to Clients.
Absolutely disgraceful !
Amina Schipp
This poor woman has dealt with so much, caring for her husband, children as well as taking her mother in. To arrest this woman 5 months after her mother’s death just made me feel physically sick.
I have heard very negative stories about the public trustees misuse of vulnerable peoples money and have been advised to stay far away from them.
Perhaps it’s time to investigate the public trustee around misuse of funds.
I wish Ms Benz nothing but the best for her future, this woman deserves a medal.
I cared for my father for over 10 years and he had dementia. My brother who was stealing from my father’s rental property applied for guardianship in the hope that he would be made guardian. The NSWTrustee was appointed to manage my father’s finances and made him sell his rental property. The proceeds were over half a million dollars.
My father and I were living in rented property and I went to the supreme court in the hope that the court would make the NSW Trustee release my father’s money to buy a home for him. They used $140,000 of my father’s money to fight against him without asking my permission, my father’s permission, or any family members permission, if they could use his money.
My father desperately wanted his own home and the Public Trustee and Guardian denied him that right stating he was too old to own a home. Since when is a person deemed too old to own their own home. Dont go anywhere near the Public guardian or Trustee in any state. .
Let’s not forget the role of the state tribunal, they are the ones who give the Trustees the power. They are a law into themselves for sure. They railroad families and trap people into paying the government to protect them. Who’s protecting us from the government?