Former Cloquet police officer guilty of trying to bilk senior with dementia

DULUTH – A former Cloquet police officer was found guilty Tuesday of trying to bilk a senior with dementia and later claim her estate.

Laci Marie Silgjord, 37, was convicted of felony-level attempted theft by swindle in Carlton County court.

Silgjord met then 78-year-old Joan Arney when Silgjord was working as a police officer. Four months later, Silgjord had access to her bank accounts. When Arney died, Silgjord tried to inherit Arney’s more than $150,000 estate. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated and charged the case on a referral from Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola, according to a news release from Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office.

Silgjord, who now lives in Sartell, Minn., does not yet have a sentencing date.

In May 2020, Silgjord responded to a call by Arney regarding a stolen purse — the first meeting between the two. After that, the officer was twice called to perform welfare checks on the senior. In August, the officer found that the victim had suffered a stroke.

Silgjord took Arney to the hospital and not long after was appointed by the court as her guardian, in charge of her personal care but not financial matters. Then she followed up with guardianship paperwork at Arney’s bank.

According to the statement of probable cause: Arney’s condition continued to deteriorate, she struggled with her memory and had hallucinations, and she died in October 2020. At the time, Silgjord did not notify the woman’s estranged husband or next of kin.

When she did finally tell Arney’s husband, she claimed she was in charge of Arney’s bank accounts.

Silgjord later filed two claims against Arney’s estate, in both cases claiming that she cared for Arney at the end of her life and that Arney loved her and wanted to take care of Silgjord — wishes Silgjord had recorded on her cellphone.

The police department had rules about developing relationships with victims, witnesses and others whom officers met during the course of official contact, according to a news release.

The court denied her claims against the estate and Silgjord’s employment with the police department ended in June 2022. She had started her job with the Cloquet Police Department in April 2015 and frequently responded to calls involving vulnerable adults, fraud and people with mental and physical health concerns.