Financial advisers are supposed to bring you security and peace of mind, especially when they're assisting you in end-of-life details like your will and estate. It's stressful enough of a process thinking about death and the sum total of your time on Earth without worrying about whether advisers like William Dilley are out to scam you.
66-year-old William Dilley must have been in desperate straights, or saw a golden opportunity for a quick buck. One of his clients was a 93-year-old woman from Solon. She was sick and fading fast and there sat her estate, worth $750,000.
Dilley noticed that the woman had no relatives — no grandchildren, children, or sisters to check up on the paperwork. Her will left her accumulated wealth to a few friends, Holy Family Cancer Center, and Save-A-Pet.
They surely wouldn't miss her money, he thought to himself, and with the woman's mental health as shabby as her physical health, she would sign anything put in front of her, trusting her honorable financial adviser.
