Charges Held for Trial Against Elder Care CEO Accused of Theft, Exploiting Older Adults

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

All charges against the founder and CEO of Elder Care Direction have been held for trial, as additional victims from across the country have come forward alleging their family members were also scammed by the company.

Magisterial District Judge Adam Katzman held over all charges against 35-year-old David Dempsey, of King of Prussia, during his preliminary hearing on Feb. 26. Dempsey was arrested last summer on counts of theft by failure to make required dispersal of funds, financial exploitation of an older adult, receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, and deceptive business practices, along with a misdemeanor count of misapplication of entrusted financial institution property, following an eight-month investigation by the Lower Salford Township Police Department.

Dempsey — who is also a partner of the Gilbertsville-based Uncommon Perspective Group — is currently free on $10,000 unsecured bail while awaiting formal arraignment.

Investigators were first contacted on Feb. 1, 2023 by a woman living within the township who claimed she had entered into a contract with Elder Care Direction to manage her finances. Per the contract, which was dated Sept. 1, 2020, Dempsey was responsible for managing the woman’s financial accounts, including providing her with a $4,400 monthly allotment for her expenses. Police said the woman provided Dempsey with $284,000 from her accounts at the start of the contract, with each payment to be made on the 28^th of each month beginning October 2020.

Investigators said Dempsey would make the monthly deposits, but the dates were inconsistent. Dempsey then began making late payments to the woman, prompting the woman to request that Dempsey transfer the remainder of her balance on Oct. 27, 2022, as she no longer trusted him with her finances, police said.

At the time the woman requested to terminate the contract, her account had a balance of approximately $180,000, investigators said. Between the time the woman requested to terminate the contract and the time she contacted police, Dempsey continued to make the monthly payments but never returned the balance or terminated the contract, police said.

Investigators contacted Dempsey on Feb. 2, 2023 at which point he allegedly stated he was working on returning the woman’s money, adding a transfer had been initiated on Feb. 1. Dempsey agreed to send police documentation confirming the transfer, however he never sent the information, according to police.

Over the months that followed, investigators and the woman’s daughter repeatedly attempted to secure the remaining funds, however Dempsey would repeatedly make excuses including failed transfer attempts, needing a signed release form, and bank errors, according to charging documents. Dempsey then stopped making the monthly payments to the woman in April 2023 and ceased all communication with the woman and her daughter, police said.

"Because of Dempsey’s failure to make payments to [the woman], [she] only had $47 left in her checking account, which led her to have to take money out of her brokerage account to afford her daily living expenses,” investigators said, in the affidavit of probable cause.

Further attempts by police to contact Dempsey yielded negative results, prompting police to file charges on Aug. 8, 2023. Dempsey was arrested and taken into custody on Aug. 31, 2023 when he was subsequently arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Margaret Hunsicker.

The complaint notes that as of the time the charges were filed, the woman had lost $17,600 in monthly income for the months of April, May, June, and July. She additionally has a loss of $160,211.11 in the remaining fund balance that was never transferred, police said.

Following North Penn Now’s initial report on Dempsey’s arrest, additional victims from various areas of the country came forward — both to this news organization and to Lower Salford Police —alleging they had similar experiences with Dempsey and Elder Care Direction. In email correspondence with North Penn Now, investigators confirmed that additional victims have come forward and the investigation is ongoing.

Neither Dempsey nor Elder Care Direction has responded to a request for comment. The court docket does not list an attorney for Dempsey, and his next court appearance is a formal arraignment at the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas at 9:30 a.m. on April 10.

Anyone who believes they may have also been scammed is asked to contact the Lower Salford Township Police Department at 215-256-9500.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using police reports, court records and the affidavit of probable cause.