Recovering Settlement Funds Taken From a Cognitively Impaired Adult

Attorney Answer

You may well have a case, but "false pretenses" is not the strongest frame for it, and it will not be easy. What this turns on is your son's capacity and whether he was unduly influenced — not on the promises this man broke.

Be clear about why that distinction matters. Broken promises about future conduct are usually a weak fraud theory on their own. What makes a case like yours viable is that the person handing over the money did not have the capacity to make that decision freely, and that someone in a position of influence exploited it. Everything below points at proving that.

On the criminal side, W. Va. Code § 61-2-29b, "Financial exploitation of an elderly person, protected person, or incapacitated adult," criminalizes "the intentional misappropriation or misuse of funds or assets" of an elderly person aged 65 or older, a "protected person" as defined in W. Va. Code § 44A-1-4, or an "incapacitated adult" as defined in W. Va. Code § 61-2-29, excluding good-faith assistance. Where the value is $1,000 or more it is a felony punishable by two to twenty years and a fine up to $10,000; below that it is a misdemeanor. Restitution is required on conviction, and multiple acts under a common scheme may be aggregated. Note that West Virginia's statute contains no requirement that the wrongdoer hold a position of trust — so the "father figure" relationship, while it explains how this happened, is not something you have to establish.

The threshold question is whether your son fits the statutory definitions. He is 31, so the elderly category does not apply, and a diagnosis of mild intellectual impairment does not by itself make someone a "protected person" under § 44A-1-4 or an "incapacitated adult" under § 61-2-29. Whether he meets those definitions is the gate the criminal referral has to pass through, and it is a clinical and legal question, not an obvious one.

There is also an administrative route that costs nothing. West Virginia's adult protective services framework is at W. Va. Code § 9-6-1 et seq., which defines "financial exploitation" as "the intentional misappropriation, misuse, or use of undue influence to cause the misuse of funds or assets of a vulnerable adult or facility resident," and defines adult protective services to include receiving and investigating reports of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation. That definition expressly reaches undue influence, which is exactly what you are describing.

What you can do

1. Pull the bank records first — the transfer amounts, the dates, and any wire, cashier's check, or in-branch withdrawal, along with who was present. 2. Get the dealership file: purchase agreement, buyer's order, title application, financing documents, and who signed what. Whose name is on the title is the single most important document in this dispute. 3. Preserve every text, voicemail, message, and social media post containing the promises he made, and the ones since where he has been bragging about the truck. 4. Report to Adult Protective Services under W. Va. Code § 9-6-1 et seq., and separately to the police or the prosecuting attorney in the county where the transfers occurred. Ask for a case number in both places. 5. Get a current clinical evaluation of your son's capacity to contract and to manage money. The civil case and the definitional question under W. Va. Code § 61-2-29b both rise or fall on this. 6. Consult a West Virginia civil attorney about claims for fraud, undue influence, and unjust enrichment, and specifically about a constructive trust on the vehicle. A constructive trust is the mechanism for recovering the truck itself rather than settling for a money judgment against someone who may have nothing else. 7. Ask that attorney whether a guardianship or conservatorship for your son is appropriate going forward. It protects him from a repeat and it addresses the same capacity question the exploitation statute asks. 8. Move now. Civil fraud and exploitation claims carry filing deadlines, and the clock started when the money moved, not when you found out.