Police and family eventually caught on in 2005, and Skrzesz was brought to justice last year - convicted of a felony theft scheme and ordered to sign over her house and pay $214,000 in restitution.
But Belinda Huesman and Brenda Hodgson, two of Mrs. Soustek's grandnieces who served as her guardian until her death last month, said flaws in the state's power of attorney laws allowed the theft.
And the two sisters are now working with Sen. Bryan Simonaire, R-Pasadena, to introduce "Loretta's Law" this afternoon to the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee in a move to make people with power of attorney more accountable for their actions.
"If the law was supposed to protect people, what law protected her (Mrs. Soustek)?" said Ms. Huesman, who will testify this afternoon with Ms. Hodgson in support of the bill - also known as the Power of Attorney Accountability Act.
Mr. Simonaire said as the state's population gets older, more people are using power of attorneys. He said there is a greater potential for people to abuse that power and the state's senior citizens need protection.
"This would allow for earlier review," he said.
Specifically, the bill would require a person with a power of attorney to keep a record of their receipts and payments and disclose that paperwork if requested. The person who gave the power of attorney, his guardian, or a representative of his estate would have authority to request the paperwork, as would the state.
The scheme
Skrzesz lined her pockets with her aunt's money for five years before anyone caught on to what was happening.Since Mrs. Soustek gave her niece power of attorney, no one questioned Skrzesz when she sold her aunt's investments - including $400,000 in Amoco Oil stock.
While Skrzesz said she built her house at 436 Harlem Ave. in 2001 intending to have her aunt move in with her, Mrs. Soustek never lived there. Instead, Mrs. Soustek moved into Peartree House Assisted Living in Pasadena.
Skrzesz sold her aunt's house, but still didn't have the money to pay for the nursing home's $3,300 monthly bill. She said Skrzesz initially borrowed money from her brother to pay the bill, but the funds ran out after a couple of months.
When the nursing home stopped getting paid in 2005 - Mrs. Soustek eventually amassed a $60,000 tab at Peartree - the family started questioning Skrzesz. Ms. Huesman and Ms. Hodgson became their great aunt's guardian that year and reviewed her finances only to see Skrzesz was even cashing Mrs. Soustek's Social Security checks and pocketing the money.
Skrzesz pleaded guilty to a theft scheme over $500 in May and settled a lawsuit filed by her aunt's new guardians. Circuit Court Judge Paul F. Harris sentenced Skrzesz to seven years in prison, but suspended the entire sentence as part of a plea agreement.
Long shot
Although supporting the bill, the nieces said it isn't perfect. They wish it made it more difficult for someone to get a power of attorney; that it required annual paperwork or even random audits to catch more thieves.
"Once a year just send in a report and say I didn't take $300,000 and blow it," said Ms. Hodgson.
But the women are already afraid the bill is a long shot since it could make life harder for many lawyers in the state. They feared any more provisions would kill some of their support.
"We need to see if we can get this through committee first," said Brenda Hodgson.
Del. Nic Kipke, a longtime supporter of "Loretta's Law" withdrew a version of the bill earlier this week from the House of Delegates. He could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Simonaire acknowledged some early doubts about the bill, but said he's spoken to some other senators and received widespread support.
Continued problems
While working to change the law, the nieces still are battling with Skrzesz.
To keep herself out of jail, Skrzesz agreed to sign over her 1,260-square-foot Pasadena home to her aunt's guardians and to pay restitution.
Ms. Huesman said Skrzesz trashed the house before handing it over and has paid only $240 to date.
"A dollar a day is all she has paid," Ms. Huesman said.
Skrzesz is scheduled to go to court May 5 on charges she has violated her probation. If convicted, she could go to prison for seven years.
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