Carr: Hart County Man Pleads Guilty to Elder Exploitation

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Lawrence Montgomery, Jr. has pleaded guilty to one felony count of Exploitation of an Elder Person in Hart County. Superior Court Judge Jeffery Malcom accepted the plea on April 2, 2024, and sentenced the defendant to 10 years of probation. The Court also ordered Mr. Montgomery to pay restitution to the victim, and he barred the defendant from serving as a guardian or power of attorney for another person for the duration of his sentence.

“Far too often, a family member takes advantage of a vulnerable older adult – one who is unlikely to protect themselves or their finances,” said Carr. “Ensuring the safety of Georgia’s seniors remains a top priority, and we will continue fighting to combat elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation of any kind.”

Case Summary

Lawrence Montgomery, Jr. placed his mother, Ruth Montgomery, under the care of Hartwell Health & Rehabilitation, becoming her personal representative, after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019. Mr. Montgomery was thus obligated to use his mother’s monthly social security checks to pay for her room and board at the facility. Instead, over the course of five months from October 2019 to February 2020, Mr. Montgomery gained sole access to her bank account and diverted his mother’s funds to himself, putting the 77-year-old woman at risk of being discharged from the facility. Hartwell Health & Rehabilitation reported his conduct to the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), and the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Division launched an investigation in 2020.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Tarrea Williams and Kendra Mitchell of the Medicaid Fraud Division. Other members of the Medicaid Fraud Division who played important roles in the prosecution include Investigator Lee Thompson, Nurse Investigator Victoria Hall, Intelligence Analyst Vanda Russell, and Investigative Auditor Cecilia Isaac Vazquez.

Older Adults Guide and Reporting Resources

To help older Georgians protect themselves and their finances, Carr’s Consumer Protection Division created the “Georgia Consumer Protection Guide for Older Adults.” The guide covers a range of topics of importance to seniors, including scams, identity theft, reverse mortgages, home repairs, long-term care, elder abuse, and more. Available in English, Spanish and Korean, the guide is free to download here.

To report the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an older or disabled adult who lives in a private residence, contact Adult Protective Services by calling 1-866-55AGING (1-866-552-4464) and press “3.” Georgians can also file an online report here.

To report the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an older adult, disabled adult, or resident in a long-term care facility, contact the DCH Healthcare Facility Regulation Division here.

About the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division

Since Attorney General Chris Carr first took office, his Medicaid Fraud Division has secured 90 convictions for Medicaid fraud and the abuse, neglect and exploitation of older adults, resulting in over $19 million in restitution orders in criminal matters. Over this same time period, the Medicaid Fraud Division has obtained civil settlements and judgements totaling more than $108 million as a result of its efforts to safeguard the Georgia Medicaid program.

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $4,871,744 for Federal FY 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,623,912 for FY 2024, is funded by the State of Georgia.