Crime & Safety
Evergreen Park Man Charged With Stealing From Elderly Veteran Stepdad
The 79-year-old veteran told police he never authorized his stepson to access his finances.
An Evergreen Park man has been charged with stealing from his stepfather, a 79-year-old military veteran, police said.
Gregory V. Seaphus, 65, was arrested Monday afternoon after his court appearance at the Daley Center in Chicago on an unrelated matter, according to the report.
Seaphus stole $13,993.79 from his stepfather by accessing an account he created in the man's name at Standard Bank & Trust of Evergreen Park, 2400 W 95th St., police said.
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Investigators got a call from the bank on Jan. 28 alerting them to a possible exploitation of the elderly, after bank employees became suspicious about several withdrawals made from the victim's account, police said. After employees were not able to reach the customer, they froze his account and contacted police.
On Feb. 28, detectives showed a photo spread to bank employees and they identified Seaphus as the man that opened the account in his elderly relative's name, police said.
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Later, the victim told police that he gave a medical power of attorney to Seaphus in 2009, but never empowered him to act on his behalf in his financial affairs, according to the report. The man said he had talked with Seaphus about his benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and expressed his intention not to have checks disbursed, police said.
Seaphus admitted that he forged his relative's name on a power of attorney and VA checks, police said.
