Reta Cook Court Victim

Reta Cook
Woman hiding from Santa Clara county

Eighty-five-year-old Reta Cook can’t get around without the help of her family and a wheelchair but she says she doesn’t need Santa Clara County’s help with anything.
In Spring 2008, the Santa Clara County Public Guardian planned to conserve Cook, taking over her financial decisions.
“I think that’s my right; to spend my money on what I want to spend it on. I had enough. I knew what I was doing,” she told the ABC7 News I-Team.
Public guardian under fire for isolating elderly

I-Team investigates Santa Clara County public guardian

It’s a simple regulation – you get a reverse mortgage and you must live in the home. So how come one Bay Area county moved a 92-year-old woman out more than two years ago and then took a reverse mortgage out on her home?