State v. Cuthbert

Ryan Cuthbert suffered from severe mental and physical disabilities from birth. Ryan was cared for by his parents, Ronald (defendant) and Deborah Cuthbert, in their home in Vancouver, Washington. Ryan received monthly disbursements from a medical-malpractice lawsuit settlement and received regular disbursements as an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. Ronald was appointed as the guardian of Ryan’s person and estate in 1983. The guardian appointment order dictated that Ronald was to deposit all monies Ryan received into an interest-bearing account and then to use those funds for Ryan’s medical and physical needs. The order also required Ronald to file an accounting for Ryan’s estate with the court every three years. Until 1994, when Ryan turned 21 years old, Ronald complied with the exact terms of the order and properly managed Ryan’s funds. However, starting in 1994, Ronald began taking unauthorized disbursements from Ryan’s account to cover Ryan’s alleged room-and-board costs and to pay himself $2,500 per month for managing Ryan’s care and estate. Ronald also deposited some of Ryan’s medical-malpractice settlement checks and Grand Ronde tribe disbursement checks directly into his own bank account. Ronald left the unauthorized disbursements and deposits out of the accountings filed with the court. Then, in 2001, Ronald failed to file an accounting. The court then issued an order compelling Ronald to file an accounting and appointed a guardian ad litem (GAL) to investigate Ryan’s estate and welfare. Based on the GAL’s findings, Ronald was removed as Ryan’s guardian. The State of Washington charged Ronald with multiple counts of theft for (1) scheming to deprive Ryan’s estate of funds exceeding $200,000; and (2) depositing Ryan’s Grand Ronde checks and medical-malpractice settlement checks into his own personal account rather than into Ryan’s guardianship account. The state cited Ryan’s vulnerability and Ronald’s abuse of his fiduciary responsibilities as aggravating factors. Ronald admitted he failed to obtain court permission to charge Ryan for room and board or to pay himself a salary but argued that the costs he appropriated were reasonable because of the time and cost involved in Ryan’s care. The jury convicted Ronald as charged, and Ronald appealed.