Courts. (Credit: Flickr/Creative Commons)
David Dempsey, trusted with managing an 84-year-old woman’s life savings, faces prison after draining her resources for personal luxuries.
A former financial planner from New Hanover Township was convicted of stealing more than $100,000 from an elderly Lower Salford Township woman, who trusted him to manage her finances, but he used her life savings for personal luxuries instead.
David Walter Dempsey, 36, who operated as the CEO of Elder Care Direction and Uncommon Perspective Group, was found guilty of multiple charges, including theft by deception and unlawful taking, related to incidents between October 2022 and July 2023, that affected an 84-year-old woman, according to The Mercury.
Dempsey, who is free on $10,000 unsecured bail and had to surrender his passport, was emotionless as the verdict was announced, and the jury deliberated for about two-and-a-half hours following a three-day trial, per the report. The sentencing has been deferred until later in the year while a background investigation and evaluations for mental health, drug, and alcohol issues are completed.
Dempsey faces a mandatory one-year prison sentence on the theft charge alone.
Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull expressed her determination to seek a prison term for Dempsey, stressing the cruelty of his actions against the victim, per the report.
She said that the woman and her late husband had saved their entire lives, trusting Dempsey to manage their funds. Instead, he violated that trust and drained her resources, leaving her with nothing per the report.
The victim relied on the funds to support herself after her husband’s passing in 2021, authorities said.
Prosecutors accused Dempsey of using the woman's money for a trip to Italy, luxury cars, a Rolex watch, and divorce-related alimony.
In September 2020, the woman entered into a financial management agreement with Dempsey, totaling $284,000, per investigators. As part of the deal, she was to receive $4,400 per month. However, payments became inconsistent by October 2022, and the victim eventually asked Dempsey to return the remaining $180,000, according to the article.
Despite promising to return the money, Dempsey made various excuses and claimed the bank was at fault for the delays. In February 2023, he even claimed a wire transfer had been initiated, but an investigation revealed no such transfer occurred, per the report.
Dempsey, however, defended his actions, suggesting that his financial mismanagement was a civil matter and not a criminal one, according to the article. His lawyer argued that the case should be treated as a breach of contract rather than criminal theft.
During testimony, the victim, now 86, recounted her frustration and fear as she desperately contacted Dempsey over several months to recover her funds. She expressed anxiety in her messages, even fearing she wouldn’t live to see her money returned, per the report.
Her daughter also testified about the numerous attempts to reach Dempsey, with little to no response or more excuses. The victim’s financial situation became dire, and she was left unable to pay bills or cover expenses as Dempsey failed to make the promised payments, authorities allege.
The investigation into Dempsey began in February 2023 when the victim reported the theft to local police.
The investigation revealed that Dempsey had failed to make the woman’s monthly payments, and by June 2023, she was left with just $47 in her account, police said. She had to withdraw money from her brokerage account to cover living costs.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
