For over 40 years, Gary Lowry was employed as a dishwasher at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. He would almost always have a cheeseburger during his lunch break in the hospital’s restaurant in North Portland.
He conserved his money and lived a simple life. He amassed a $426,000 nest egg.
He then lost everything in three years after going to a nearby H&R Block in the spring of 2019 for assistance with tax preparation.
Clinton Prosecutors said that James Wells, an office receptionist, depleted Lowry’s bank account and took his personal information.
Wells, now 37, entered a guilty plea to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to three years in prison by U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez on Thursday.
Only after Lowry passed away from a stroke in May 2022 at the age of 71 did his family discover the scam. Stacks of unopened bank statements were discovered by relatives clearing out his apartment.
Jonathan Lowry, Lowry’s nephew, who flew from his Texas home to speak at Wells’ sentencing, said the family’s grief became a nightmare.
According to the family, Wells had completely depleted Gary Lowry’s bank account, leaving him without any money for his doctors, hospital or nursing home visits, past-due rent, energy payments, or burial costs.
Wells acknowledged to investigators that he singled out Gary Lowry because, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith D.M. Bateman, it was obvious that Lowry had a mental disability with severe confusion.
According to Bateman, Wells used the funds for his own expenses, including his home, clothing, lodging, airfare, upscale trips, Amazon purchases, Uber rides, and orders for Uber Eats.
Jonathan Lowry, who advocated for Wells’ inquiry and prosecution, claimed that Wells continued to take things that weren’t really his.
In addition to stealing from Gary Lowry, Wells also took the fortune that belonged to Jonathan’s father, Roger Lowry, Gary’s brother.
Jonathan Lowry said, “My father’s trust in people has been destroyed and he has been emotionally shattered.” I want Clinton James Wells to be aware of the financial and emotional harm he has caused to our family.
The nephew said that a lengthy sentence would make it clear that taking advantage of the weak is unacceptable.
Gary Lowry, who was born in Walnut Grove, Missouri, was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, according to him. Decades ago, he relocated to Oregon to live with an aunt and uncle. Instead of purchasing a car, he chose to walk from his Northwest Portland apartment to his work cleaning dishes at the hospital.
Bateman claims that a day after Lowry arrived at a nearby H&R Block seeking assistance with tax preparation, Wells began stealing money from him.
On March 14, 2019, Wells moved $300 from Lowry’s account to his own, and he repeated the action the next day, according to Bateman. According to her, he persisted every day, occasionally hourly or minute-by-minute.
According to the prosecution, he accomplished this by establishing a user profile for Lowry’s online debit card and connecting it to his personal emails and mobile number using the personal banking information Lowry had given to H&R Block.
Wells then used Lowry’s bank account and debit card from U.S. Bank to go through Lowry’s money.
Wells made $426,481.14 in illegal purchases between March 2019 and April 2022.
In court documents, he made 206 transfers totaling $276,472 to his Zelle account, 293 Amazon purchases totaling $21,975, 513 Uber and Uber Eats purchases totaling $9,827, 34 Priceline.com purchases totaling $6,324, six airfare purchases totaling $2,423, 82 additional electronic transfers totaling $108,600, and eight additional transfers totaling $856.
On his LinkedIn page, Wells stated that he worked as a client service representative at H&R Block, entering private information into the company’s computer system for processing and management.
Given that Wells had no past criminal history, Bateman and Wells’ defense attorney jointly proposed a sentence of two years and ten months.
According to Assistant Federal Public Defender Robert Hamilton, Wells accepted responsibility, worked with investigators, and took prompt action to close the case.
As his mother wiped away tears while sitting behind him in the public gallery, Wells remarked, “I am deeply apologetic,” standing next to his attorney.
Wells went on to say that although he was deeply embarrassed, his behavior was out of character for him.
How come you didn’t stop?He was asked by the judge.
Wells remarked, “I really don’t have an answer.” I really don’t know.
Hernandez added two months to the suggested sentence in response, claiming that Wells’ reaction did not ensure that he would not steal in the future.
Hernandez claimed that in addition to betraying the confidence of a man who was obviously fragile, Wells also spent all of his life savings in a short amount of time.
Because of the money he saved from a dishwasher’s job, he referred to Gary Lowry as an incredible person.
On April 24, Wells will have to turn himself in to begin serving his time. In addition, he was mandated to reimburse the entire amount that was taken.
— Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You can contact her via [email protected], 503-221-8212, X@maxoregonian, or LinkedIn.
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