A Casper man with an “addiction to money” and access to his elderly mother’s bank account has been charged with stealing nearly $250,000 from her over four months.
Lawrence Floyd Smith, 57, got access to his 82-year-old mother’s bank account in July 2025 to pay her bills and take care of her finances, according to affidavit of probable cause by Lander Police Department Detective Jesse Mattocks.
By November, he had blown through a little more than $246,000, draining the account so that when his mother’s assisted living facility in Lander tried to process her monthly payment, it bounced back, the affidavit says.
After months of not responding to Lander Police Department attempts to contact Smith, an arrest warrant was filed with the Fremont County Circuit Court on Friday on a single charge of felony theft.
The mother told investigators that Smith was given access to her money after her husband of more than 30 years died, Mattocks wrote.
The husband had always handled the finances, and when he died “she expected the same from Lawrence, but discovered he was stealing her money far beyond the payments to the facility,” the affidavit says.
“This eventually led to her payment not being paid to the facility, leaving her vulnerable to being discharged,” the affidavit continues. “However, the facility would still care for (her) as they understood the issue at hand.”
The mother, who depends on the care she receives at the assisted living center, told Mattocks that when the payment didn’t go through, her son “admitted to her that he has an ‘addiction to money and he ‘never thought about it’ in regards to spending all her money,” the detective wrote.
Smith also didn’t consider what taking all her money would do to his mother, the affidavit says.
Was Supposed To Help
The investigation into the alleged theft began Nov. 21, 2025, when the Lander Police Department received a report of a fraud or theft involving an elderly client at the assisted living home, the affidavit says.
After that initial report, Mattocks interviewed the mother and the administrator of the facility on Nov. 25, where he learned that between that first report and then, Smith had met with his mother on Nov. 23.
That’s when he admitted to stealing from his mother and his “addiction” to money, the affidavit says.
The mother told authorities that her son was on the account “in the case something happened to her, then Lawrence would be able to access her money,” the affidavit says. She did not, however, “allow Lawrence to take all of her money as he did and never gave him permission to do so.”
After examining the mother’s bank records, “I observed Lawrence had stolen $249,589.25,” Mattocks wrote. “This was confirmed via transactions that coincided with Lawrence’s personally issued Wells Fargo debit card.”
Casino And Walmart
In addition to the bank records and the mother’s information, Mattocks reports that he also viewed video surveillance from the Wind River Casino and Walmart in Riverton that showed Smith using the debit card linked to his mother’s account.
“Since then, I have attempted to contact Lawrence on numerous occasions, but he has not cooperated with the investigation,” Mattocks wrote.
“I observed (the mother) to be physically limited in mobility as she had to walk with a walker,” the affidavit continues. “(She) was extremely slow in her pace even with the assistance from the walker.
“It appeared (she) needs constant supervision to ensure she gets around safely within the facility," Mattocks added.
Because of the evidence found during the investigation and his own observations, Mattocks requested, and was granted, the arrest warrant for Smith.
“I am requesting the approval of this arrest warrant in order to pursue justice for (the mother),” he wrote.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
