At a uhaul facility poss release in exchange for $20,000 he already stole $$$$$$ She is of sound mind, lives independently, was distraught from husbands death when my brother swoop down and took advantage of her. He told her that all the life ins. Money belonged to him, he made her wire money to Canada to his partner for a lot of different reasons , she thought he was there to help her after my step dads death when in fact he was taking advantage of the situAtion and took almost all her money, he put her house up for sale sold most of her husbands things pocketed the money the. Allowed certain things for her to put into a pod for storage which was sent to another state by Canada and now he won't let her have her things , he has uhaul company not allowing her any access or even be able to make any payments on her stuff until she gives him another 20,000$
But the long and short of it is that your mom was conned by a con man. Forget the stuff. Move on.
Lots of issues haven't been addressed which factor into this scenario.
She will tell him how distant and uncaring you are and she will tell you he is taking all the valuables. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
our particular county in California when this similar situation occurred to my mom being victimized my brother both financially, emotionally, and actually selling items on eBay that were reported stolen- the district attorney told me they won't file on cases that aren't $500,000 and above. APS got involved and stated our county, in that part specifically, fails to report elder Abuse crimes and say they are family issues therefore many seniors are victims and nothing is being done because families give up.
Two things can be done here. Report this. Document everything in the past that led up to his and be honest and concise. Do not complain about your brother and just stare the facts of the situation. Ask for a restraining order. There is more options here than anything if nothing else can be done.
The other option is to figure what happened, happened. They are things. If your mom can squeak by without that money for now, just walk away from the fight. Keep all documentation, call logs, wire receipts, etc. Block his number from all your phones. Still obtain a restraining order for your mom, you, and anyone else you feel may be affected by him.
Be proactive not reactive. Then just enjoy your mom, worry about you and let your brother deal with his issues on his own. If he can't pay for the property or storage, you could always call the location and ask they contact you if there are problems. But that is a last resort after you contact the police and ask them for advice.!
So might the Tax systems.
So might APS.
But Please, also do a serious a reality check, to see whether Mom is playing "divide and conquer" between the 2 of you, to get what _she_ thinks she wants.
Sometimes, its REALLY hard to tell what's going on.
Families are commonly shattered by these tactics, and they rarely mend.
If you can, for instance, rule that out entirely, like if you have documents to prove the shifted assets and reasons they got shifted [contracts, emails, other documents, letters, etc. in print], then you might have a case to go to authorities with.
Documentation goes for you, too...if you are any level of caregiver for her, you need to keep good records written down about what she does, talks about, etc. behavior records, as a diary or calendar with notations on it, could help cover your behind if needed.
OTHERwise, it might be best to just let the stuff go....anyone who does that kind of rotten behavior, deserves what they get....it might _seem_ like he "wins" by getting the goods.
But ya know what they say about "karma"? it does seem to come back and bite those persons on their behinds.
Thing is, it's fairly common for an elder to manipulate one person, then another, by telling them all kinds of stories, in very emotional terms, dramatically driving home their points.
Mom might be telling one family member you are stealing from her, abusing her, lying, etc.; then turns to you, telling you the other relative is doing same horrible things; it depends on what their goal is.
Happened here.
Really bad.
Mom finally got what she _thot_ she wanted, but, once it happened, she immediately had a major mental melt-down as she realized she'd really pulled a major bad-act.
I chose to stop playing the game...haven't spoken to any of them since she moved out. My sibs are still playing it for all it's worth.
She's been acting like she doesn't know what happened [all innocent] to them, since then....and the others are also playing dumb....but they have a few clues...they just don't want to admit how complicit they were in things blowing up as they did.
Mom has a few screws loose, but she can still process cogent thoughts---it's not all dementia; mostly related to her own mental/emotional issues she's suffered for a lifetime.
So, you've got to figure out what's really going on.
Does she try to prevent or discourage you from communicating with this relative?
Have you read letters from him to her, that clearly show his behaviors?
Those might be a good place to start.
If her reports _seem_ to have a solid basis, == and there are paper-trails == you might get somewhere via APS, State Welfare, etc.
Otherwise, might be walking on thin ice created by Mom.
Good luck!