Saginaw County woman charged with stealing from vulnerable adult

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Monday announced charges against a Saginaw County woman for stealing from a vulnerable adult.

Valda Cork, 59, of Saginaw was arraigned in the 70th District Court of Saginaw County before Judge Elian E.H. Fichtner. Cork is charged with the following:

• Two counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult over $100,000, a 20-year felony
• Two counts of taxes-failure to file/false return/payment, a five-year felony.

In 2018, Cork was appointed her mother’s guardian and conservator after her mother suffered multiple strokes and was unable to care for herself. The Department of Attorney General alleges that over a 12-month period, Cork spent approximately $1.1million of her mother’s money, which included $228,817 in spending Cork did not report to probate court and $664,872 for the purchase of a condo in Pompano Beach, Florida, for which Cork did not have court authorization. It is alleged that Cork’s plan was to inherit the condo from her mother’s estate without having to go through probate court, thereby cheating her mother’s estate of the $664,872.

“A person who takes advantage of a vulnerable person is deplorable,” said Nessel. “A person who commits these types of crimes will be prosecuted and held accountable.”

A probable cause conference was held September 26 and a preliminary examination will be scheduled at a later date.