Is My Mom Abusing Her Power Of Attorney With Elderly Friends?

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

About 3 years ago my mother met our elderly neighbors (female and male, both in their late 70s) and she offered to help run errands for them. Take them to doctor’s appointments, pick up groceries etc. They started becoming close and my mom became their go to person if they needed help with anything.

Over the past few years their health declined more and more. Neither of them have children nor are they married (they’re just roommates). The only family either of them have is Female has a brother and sister living out of state.

As their health declined and Female started to show signs of memory loss, my mom decided to become their power of attorney. She now has access to both of their bank accounts, has all of their banking cards, checks, she holds on to their medicine and dispenses them everyday.

Now as their POA she approves any financial decisions they make. If they want to buy something online, if they need to replace an appliance in the house, even to pay their rent. All of that is now done through my mom.

My mom has mentioned on several occasions that Female has $200,000 in her savings account and $20,000 in her checking account. And that Female’s brother has tried to come for her money before.

So it started getting sketchy a few months ago. My brother’s car broke down and he needed a new one ASAP but he was tight on money. The next day my brother and mom go to the car dealership and he comes home with a new car. I immediately was suspicious. But nothing was said about how he bought a new car.

I confided in my dad and he told me that he’s been suspicious because for the past few months, his and my mother’s joint checking account has not budged. Normally by the end of the month that account is tapped because they’re on a very tight budget with a limited income. Sure enough, he showed me the account and it’s like they haven’t spent a dime!

I started wondering if my mom was using Female’s money for my mom’s benefit. It all clicked just a few days ago when I had to take my car into the shop for some emergency repairs.

I told my mom that I was struggling financially and I probably wasn’t going to be able to afford repairs. My mom said that she could loan the money from Female and I could pay her back, I would just have to sign some paperwork.

I asked my mom if that’s how my brother could afford his new car and she said yes. My mom said that Female has offered time and time again to help us financially and as long as the loans are in writing it’s fine.

Here are my issues and questions:

Female is NOT competent enough to agree to loan money. Her memory issues are at a point where she will forget something 10 minutes after you tell her, she doesn’t remember people’s names, she can’t form coherent sentences most of the time. So morally I feel this is wrong.

But legally? I’m not too sure.

As Female’s POA I know she can access her funds, and use those funds if it’s for Female’s benefit. But this seems too far. And as far as I know, there is nothing in writing stating that my mom can loan money from Female just because she’s her POA.

Can a POA loan money from someone in their care even if they are not mentally competent?