Man accused of gambling away grandma's thousands

On Jan. 12 2015, the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Governor’s Office of Elderly Protection regarding suspicious financial activity in the bank account of an elderly St. Landry Parish resident.
The head of S.L.S.O. Elderly Affairs Division, Captain Cheyne Platte, began an investigation which led to the arrest of Martin Thibodeaux, of Arnaudville.
Thibodeaux had apparently been pilfering from his grandmothers’ bank account for quite some time. He had been listed as an authorized user of the Chase Bank account for the purpose of caring for the 86-year-old woman.
Thibodeaux allegedly betrayed that trust, and allegedly stole more than $36,000 dollars. His actions allegedly included 12 ATM withdrawals, cashed checks and in-person direct cash withdrawals. Further, he visited the bank in person 22 times to open his grandmother’s safety deposit box, which, according to the investigation, had been filled with cash.
Thibodeaux accessed his grandmother’s account a total of 34 times over the course of six months, from July 2014 through Jan 2015. By the time her extended family brought the her in person to her bank, $36,230.09 was unaccounted for, and her safety deposit box was empty. The exact amount of the cash that had been held inside the box is unknown.
Captain Platte’s investigation led him to the Evangeline Downs Casino, where he observed video after video of Martin Thibodeaux gambling.
Casino records showed that he gambled large amounts of cash… $19,457… $5,870… $45,128… $13,930.
When asked to explain his actions, Thibodeaux could offer no explanation for the missing cash, the empty safety deposit box, or the source of his gambling money.
Thibodeaux was arrested on Jan 16 2015, booked on the charge of Financial Exploitation of the Elderly, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 10 years at hard labor. He was released on bond of $10,000.00 dollars and is currently awaiting trial.