There is almost nothing that ticks me off more than someone taking advantage of someone who has entrusted them with taking care of them. Bilking the elderly certainly falls in this category.

Sometimes there is justice. Other times there can be no justice. The case I am writing about can have no justice!

In Seattle, the state court of appeals just overturned a conviction in the case of Tyrone Dash, an accountant trusted by 88-year-old Frances Joy Taylor to handle her finances. This scumbag bilked her out of more than $1.5 million.

Dash was charged with one count of first-degree theft in 2008 by prosecutors who alleged that Dash had drained Taylor's $1.5 million estate by writing checks to himself, liquidating her assets and making numerous ATM withdrawals from her account.

Charges were filed against Dash on March 20, 2008, exactly three years after the thefts allegedly ended.

How Can This Pig Get Off?

Jurors convicted Dash of the theft and sentenced him to a mere 5 years in prison. He appealed.

So, how did he get off? The Court of Appeals said that because the statute of limitations for theft is three years, jurors should have been instructed that, to convict, they had to find that Dash had continued to steal from Taylor up until March 20, 2005. In other words, the court said, it was unclear whether jurors had convicted Dash for criminal acts that occurred within the statute of limitations.

How Scummy is this Guy?

According to court documents, Taylor was 88 years old and owned two apartment buildings, a debt-free home and a valuable stamp collection when she met Dash in 2000.

By 2005, when police were alerted, both apartment buildings and the stamp collection had been sold. Her home had been remortgaged numerous times and she had $40,000 in credit-card debt, according to charging document

Dash protested his innocence throughout his trial, claiming that Taylor had given him money as compensation for his management services and out of friendship. At his sentencing hearing, he said he was sorry Taylor had died believing he had deceived her.

Cases like this make me sick. Guys like Dash should not be free to prey on innocent victims anymore.