In April 2025, the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (“MAARC”) received a report of suspected maltreatment involving DDV, a vulnerable adult. The report indicated that PATRIC JAMES VON DRASHEK ([DOB redacted]) held power of attorney authority for DDV’s checking account and had written out a number of checks to himself. At the time, DDV resided at The Alton, an assisted living and memory care facility located at [address omitted] in St. Paul, Ramsey County. The vulnerable adult, DDV, had three children.
Von Drashek is DDV’s son, one of her three children. St. Paul Police Department Investigation The St. Paul Police Department (“SPPD”) received the MAARC report and opened an investigation. SPPD obtained information indicating that DDV had almost been evicted from The Alton because Von Drashek failed to pay a balance due while he was handling DDV’s finances. After reviewing bank and other financial records, the SPPD investigator determined that Von Drashek had in fact written out a series of checks to himself from DDV’s checking account for tens of thousands of dollars.
The SPPD investigation also received reports that DDV had not been provided with essential personal and grooming items such as towels, wash cloths and basic clothing items. Staff from The Alton reported requesting that Von Drashek deliver those types of items to the facility, but he never did. SPPD called The Alton during its investigation and spoke with an individual named Jennifer who identified herself as the director of the facility. Jennifer said she was familiar with DDV and that DDV was unable to speak, care for herself, or make independent decisions.
Jennifer indicated that facility staff provided full care for DDV’s everyday needs. Jennifer recounted contacting Von Drashek in September 2024 regarding outstanding balances on DDV’s account. Jennifer said that, every time she spoke with Von Drashek, his conversations were long winded and full of excuses. Jennifer stated that Von Drashek’s interactions became increasingly erratic, and she referenced an incident on Thanksgiving Day when Von Drashek threatened a facility staff member to the point where another resident physically intervened.
Jennifer indicated that she made multiple attempts to get Von Drashek to fill out necessary paperwork on DDV’s behalf, and he refused to do it. Von Drashek also refused to work with a caseworker. Jennifer confirmed that DDV faced eviction from The Alton because Von Drashek was not providing the facility with required payments or other necessary financial documents. As part of its investigation, SPPD obtained records for multiple accounts that Von Drashek held with Wells Fargo. The SPPD investigator observed, in reviewing the Wells Fargo records, that Von Drashek received steady paychecks from Kline Volvo and then Lexus of Maplwood from January 2020 through September 2021. The Wells Fargo records did not reflect a source of income for Von Drashek for the time period of October 2021 through December 2023. The Wells Fargo records did also show that, in January 2024, Von Drashek began receiving social security payments.
