Pasco man spent mother's $150,000 line of credit on drugs, party, deputies say

DADE CITY — Thomas Davis secured a $150,000 home equity line of credit on his elderly mother's home last year, authorities said.

Within seven months, he had spent it all — on drugs, a hydroponic garden for growing marijuana, even on a $40,000 party that Davis, 47, threw for himself, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said.

By March, the bank began foreclosure proceedings on the home of the woman, who has Alzheimer's. And Davis, who had power of attorney as his mother's live-in caretaker, told family members he had dug a financial hole from which he couldn't escape, the Sheriff's Office said.

A judge transferred guardianship of the 87-year-old mother from Davis to his sister. The sister began making mortgage payments to save the Dade City home from foreclosure. And Davis was arrested this week on a charge of exploitation of the elderly.

Davis became his mother's caregiver in 2003 after his father died. He told deputies he spent some of the money on her care, but could not document those expenses.

Deputies found that Davis had also obtained a $4,000 line of credit on his mother's bank account in 2007. Debit card transactions showed many purchases at liquor stores and Wal-Mart, as well as PayPal and ATM transactions, the report said. By November, that line of credit was also overdrawn.

Davis, who gave his address as Lot 25 in the RV park at 19140 U.S. 301 in Dade City, remains at the Land O'Lakes jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.