ATLANTA, GA –Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that on Monday, August 28, 2017, Reginald Keith plead guilty to two counts of Exploitation of an Elder Person, O.C.G.A. § 30-5-8(a) (as effective on the date of the offenses alleged), and three counts of Forgery in the Third Degree, O.C.G.A. § 16-9-1(d).

“Abuse, neglect or exploitation of an at-risk, older adult is simply unacceptable,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “We will never hesitate to investigate and prosecute anyone engaging in these criminal activities. Ending the scourge of elder abuse is an all-in effort, and we will continue to make it a priority for our office. I am very proud of our entire team in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and our local partners for seeking justice in this case.”

Reginald Keith is the adopted son of the victim in this case, an eighty-nine year old retired U.S. Postal Service employee. Over a period of four years during which his father was in and out of the hospital and rehabilitation centers, Reginald Keith systematically exploited his father by forging checks in his father’s name and depositing those checks into an account for his own cleaning business. Mr. Keith ultimately stole approximately $90,000.00 from his father, including funds from a reverse mortgage Mr. Keith initiated and helped obtain on his father’s home. Mr. Keith then used these funds for his own living expenses and items for his personal use, including a BMW luxury sports sedan. As a result of Mr. Keith’s actions, his father ultimately lost his home, which prior to the reverse mortgage, had been owned by he and his wife free and clear.

At the conclusion of Mr. Keith’s guilty plea, the Honorable Judge Frank C. Mills III sentenced Mr. Keith to fifteen years, to serve two of those years in prison with the remainder to be spent on probation, and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $90,000.00 to his father.

Assistant Attorney General Amanda E. Love prosecuted this case in conjunction with Assistant District Attorney John Tully of the Office of the District Attorney, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit. The case was investigated by the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Investigator Lee Thompson. The case was also investigated by Investigator Tish Murray, Investigative Auditor Robert Jones, Investigative Auditor Alex DeLoach, Nurse Investigator Renee Sherwood, Nurse Investigator Nancy Dickerson, Intelligence Analyst Vanda Russell, former Investigator Jeremy Jefferson, and former Investigative Auditor Shanavia Carter.