Man sued over
alleged estate fraud

The state attorney general's office has sued an insurance salesman who allegedly took control of the finances of an elderly couple whom he met on an Oahu bus in 2003.

The lawsuit names Aldon J. Arquette as defendant. It alleges that he took control of Limuel and Hazel Cherry's finances while she was suffering from dementia, and mismanaged the funds. Limuel Cherry was 78 and his wife was 91 when they met Arquette.

Arquette allegedly "positioned himself to secure the Cherrys' trust and reliance on him" until he had "undertaken the role of the Cherrys' financial officer," the suit says.

According to the suit, at the time Arquette met the Cherrys, they had an estate estimated at nearly $1 million. Arquette knew Hazel suffered from dementia but pushed her to assign him power of attorney, the suit says. In October 2003 she granted Arquette power of attorney after her husband died of a heart attack on Aug. 2.

Arquette then arranged for a revocable living trust in which he designated himself and his sister, Vana Arquette-Leong, as the trustees of Hazel Cherry's estate, the suit says. The suit alleges that Arquette committed "large portions of Hazel Cherry's finances to real estate transactions" for which Arquette-Leong served as Realtor and took commissions.

The suit asks for an injunction to stop Arquette from exercising control of Cherry's assets or over Cherry's "physical welfare." It also asks that Arquette make full restitution to the Cherrys' estate for losses suffered as a result of his "financial exploitation."