A Big Island jury has convicted a Hilo couple of stealing an elderly man's life savings, his home and a vacant lot in what the state attorney general's office called a case of financial exploitation.

The jury on Monday found Laura Kauwe guilty of three counts of first-degree theft and her husband, Abraham Kauwe, guilty of two counts of firstdegree theft.

The theft convictions, which are Class B felonies, mean the two will face as much as 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine for each count. The state attorney general's office, which prosecuted the case, said it might ask for enhanced prison sentences. Sentencing is set for Nov. 1.

The victim, Hong Chow Chock, was 86 and recently widowed when he advertised in a Hilo newspaper in early 2000 for a caregiver, said Gary Senaga, the deputy attorney general who prosecuted the case.

The jury found that the Kauwes stole or spent more than $40,000 of Chock's savings and about $20,000 from his checking account. Laura Kauwe also was found guilty of deceiving Chock when he agreed to a deal that gave her ownership of his $95,000 home and a separate piece of property after his death, Senaga said.

Laura Kauwe told Chock she was his niece and Chock was under the impression that the Kauwes would care for him for the rest of his life in exchange for free room and board, Senaga said.

But within a few weeks of meeting Laura Kauwe, she became a joint holder on Chock's savings and checking accounts. Four months later, the savings account was empty and Laura Kauwe was bouncing checks from the checking account, even though Chock received a monthly retirement check of $1,700, Senaga said.

The Kauwes bought furniture, a refrigerator, a truck and jewelry, he said.

In July 2001, Laura Kauwe persuaded Chock to give her his home as well as the vacant lot, which was worth about $6,000, Senaga said. She would only have ownership, though, when Chock died.

Not all of the money has been accounted for, Senaga said.

"We don't know what they did with the cash," he said. "It's a mystery."

While Chock was under the Kauwes' care, the couple frequently left him at the Prince Kuhio Plaza for hours at a time, Senaga said.

Mall authorities, who knew and liked Chock, grew worried and called state Adult Protective Services when he started looking less and less cared for in September 2002. Their investigation led to a grand jury indictment.

Michael Parrish, the deputy attorney general who supervises the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, said elderly victims in cases like this tend to be trusting.

"We tend to take people at their word when they say they are here to help," he said.

But victims also have little choice, he said.

"You have people who have gone through the course of their life and are placed in a position where they need to trust others in order for them to carry out their own activities of daily living," Parrish said. "And when you are in that position, you sometimes can't be picky about who you let in your door. And that is scary."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.