Former Oronoco City Council member makes court appearance on theft charges

Emily Cutts, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·3 min read

May 19—A former Oronoco City Council member made an appearance in Olmsted County District Court Tuesday morning on charges that she stole more than $126,000 while acting as a power of attorney for a man serving a prison sentence.

Patricia Ann Shields, 58, is charged in Olmsted County District Court with five felony counts of theft-indifferent to owner rights and one count of felony theft by swindle.

The criminal complaint for the case was filed in July 2020, but court records indicate that the investigation into the alleged theft began in January 2019. An amended criminal complaint was filed on May 5, 2021.

Court records indicate that an attorney for an incarcerated man contacted the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office in early 2019 and said the man received an anonymous letter in fall 2018 telling him that Shields, who was given general power of attorney, was stealing from him.

A detective spoke with the man in May 2019. He told the detective that prior to being given his prison sentence, he had his lawyer draw up a power of attorney document naming Shields as his attorney in fact. Around the time he went to prison, the man said he sold off his property and Shields deposited the proceeds from the sale into his bank account. She was supposed to send him copies of the bank statements, which she did initially, but stopped, according to the criminal complaint.

After obtaining copies of his bank statements, he learned that Shields had been making unauthorized withdrawals from his account since 2011, the complaint states. From 2017 to 2018, Shields is alleged to have made more than $45,000 worth of unauthorized transactions.

In a recorded phone call in June 2018, Shields reportedly admitted to a detective that there was $24,000 that was not in the man's account and had used the money for her business with the expectation of paying it back but she has been unable to do so, according to the criminal complaint.

When asked if the man authorized the loan, she reportedly said she assumed so because he had loaned her money in the past and had written to her about using the money for her own needs.

Shields was able to provide the detective with some letters from the man from 2011, in which he states she could use some money for her own needs. She allegedly admitted that the man did not specifically authorize this business loan and assumed he would be OK with it.

In September 2020, the man's attorney submitted a letter and supporting documents detailing unauthorized transactions on the man's account beginning in September 2011 and ending in June 2018 totaling more than $126,000, according to the amended complaint.

There is also an ongoing civil case against Shields brought by the alleged victim in this case. Court records indicate a jury may have been scheduled for February 2021 but was canceled as a result of the pandemic. No further date has been scheduled in that case.

Shields resigned from her position on the Oronoco City Council in February 2021. She had been on the council since 2015.

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