Assistant State Attorneys Jennifer Royal and J.D. Miller of the State Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit received awards for Special Achievement in a Public Safety Investigation from the Tampa Region Financial Crimes and Inspectors General Council of the United States Attorney’s Office.
A.S.A. Miller is the lead prosecutor for the Economic Crimes Unit. A.S.A. Royal works in ECU and specializes in financial crimes against the elderly.
They received the award for their work on a case involving a Fort Myers man, Ryan Todd Powers, 41, who abused his power of attorney to handle the legal and financial affairs of his parents. Powers was sentenced to 20 years in prison last October after being found guilty of Exploitation of the Elderly. Powers took all of his parent’s money and spent it on himself. He also sold their assets leaving the couple destitute and in separate nursing homes. In the victim impact statement from his mother read during his sentencing it said, “You abandoned us like last week’s trash.”
Click here to view a copy of the judgement and sentencing sheet.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
239-533-1125
ssyoen@sao20.org