Jonathan David Robbins v. State of Maryland

Location: Appellate Court of Maryland

Description: (Unreported Opinion, not to be used in other Maryland Courts) This case shows a Power of Attorney, Jonathan Robbins, stealing from an elderly woman receiving a church pension. Robbins was convicted by jury in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County of multiple counts of theft and related offenses of his deceased client, Helen Nutt. Robbins was hired as a lawyer by Mrs. Nutt to be the trustee of her accounts and power of attorney. Mrs. Nutt was living in a senior living facility due to her state of dementia. The trouble began when Mrs. Nutt’s daughter tried to find invoices for Mr. Robbins services on multiple occasions and in 2015, was notified with over $300,000 in fees and expenses without Robbins having fulfilled his duties of the creation of a financial plan for Mrs. Nutt. Reverend Dr. Todd Adams, the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Pension Fund of the Christian Church (the “Fund”), an entity that provides retirement benefits services, testified that Mrs. Nutt joined the Fund in approximately 1982, and she enrolled in a Tax Deferred Retirement Account (“TDRA or “pension fund”) and a Benefit Accumulation Account ("savings account”) with the Fund. Rev. Adams testified that for several years they were not notified of Mrs. Nutt’s death and Mr.Robbins received those funds.

Impact: A power of attorney robbed the church pension from a deceased woman in Maryland.