LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. —
A man with special needs whose mother is accused of conspiring to scam him out of his trust fund was found after a month long search, according to Gwinnett officials. Gwinnett Co. Police Department said they located 20-year-old Lee Earnest Longmire on Friday, March 22.
Authorities said his mother Yvonne Longmire, from Lawrenceville, is accused of hiring another man, 23-year-old Maurice Ford from Atlanta, to pose as her son in court to convince a judge that he no longer needed a conservator over his trust fund so she could get access to his $200,000.
Police said Longmire testified that her son's medical trust fund -- established by a relative years earlier -- was no longer needed for his care. The judge agreed and ordered that the $200,000 be released. However, police discovered the scheme before she received the check.
She surrendered to the Gwinnett County Detention Center on March 5, according to Gwinnett officials.
Her attorney, Robert Brooks, told police that Lee was “okay” but did not tell police where he was and they did not turn him over to DFCS as ordered by the state.
Officials are not disclosing where they found Lee, since it is part of the investigation. Lee told police that he does not want to be placed in alternate care, so he is staying with his family members.
Officials first reported Lee missing February 27. He was declared as a ward of the state and had a guardian at the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
Longmire remains behind bars without bond on charges of perjury, forgery, identity theft, theft by deception, criminal solicitation and exploitation of an at-risk adult.