Former Police Officer Found Guilty of Exploiting Vulnerable Adult

ST. PAUL (WJON News) -- A former Cloquet police officer has been found guilty of exploiting an elderly, vulnerable adult to gain access to her finances.

Attorney General Keith Ellison's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged Laci Silgjord with financially exploiting Joan Arney in Carlton County District Court.

Silgjord met Arney in May 2020 when she responded to a call about a stolen purse.

Officer Silgjord conducted a welfare check on Arney about a month later at the request of Arney's half-brother. Arney had suffered a stroke and had deficits in memory and attention. She was hospitalized.

According to the Attorney General's Office, Silgjord told a bank she was Arney's fiduciary, despite having no authority for the role, and gained access to Arney's bank accounts. A court then appointed Silgjord as guardian to perform duties related to personal care and custody, but she was never appointed as a conservator to make financial decisions or manage the victim's money.

When Arney died in October 2020, Arney had no surviving children and no will.

Ellison says Silgjord did not immediately notify the estranged husband and next-of-kin of her passing.

The court's order appointing Silgjord as guardian expired upon Arney's death, but Silgjord later told the victim's estranged husband that she was in charge of carrying out Arney's wishes and refused to turn over the keys to the house.

Silgjord filed a petition in December 2020 claiming the state was indebted to her for guardianship expenses totaling around $150,000. The court denied Silgjord's claims against the victim's estate, and she was found guilty on one count of felony theft-by-swindle of more than $35,000.

Her employment with the Cloquet Police Department ended in June 2022.

No sentencing date has been set.