WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Norwich Selectboard member is scheduled to be arraigned on a felony charge of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult on Tuesday morning in Windsor Superior Court.
Mary Layton, 72, faces one felony count of financial exploitation of Bill Clauson, a well-known Upper Valley lawyer who died at 81 in July 2025 from Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia.
If convicted, the former Selectboard chairwoman and current member, could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years or a fine of up to $10,000 or both.
Reached by email on Friday, Layton declined to comment.
Clauson and Layton met on an online dating site in 2015. When he moved into her Norwich home in 2016, he had more than $200,000 in savings, the Valley News previously reported.
In 2024, when Layton returned Clauson to the Hanover home where he and his wife raised six children, he had less than $1,400 remaining. They cared for him there until his death.
In 2002, Clauson moved into a condominium after his wife asked him to move out of their Hanover home because of changes in his personality, including aggression and staying out late with other women.
Clauson’s cognitive ability began to decline in 2009, according to the affidavit in support of the charge against Layton. In 2011, he was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
During the time he lived with Layton, from October 2016 through July 2024, the affidavit states that Clauson “went from Stage 4 to Stage 6 of Alzheimer’s disease,” the second to last stage of the disease.
When he moved into Layton’s residence, her name was added to his Mascoma Bank Account, according to the affidavit. In the next three years, $107,000 in Social Security checks and $220,000 from Clauson’s retirement account were deposited into the joint account.
“At the end of 2018, (Layton) needed money for her divorce settlement,” Laura Clauson, Bill’s eldest daughter, wrote to Adult Protective Services in June 2025, when she reported her allegations of financial exploitation by Layton against her father.
Vermont State Police launched their probe into the allegations in July 2025.
Laura Clauson told APS that Layton’s ex-husband was trying to enforce their 2008 divorce decree, which required Layton to pay $125,000 to keep her house. In October 2018, “(Layton) transferred the beneficiary’s money directly into her private account,” she stated.
Over a week later, Layton paid her ex-husband $25,000 “in exchange for the warranty deed to her house,” Laura Clauson reported.
“A total of $124,678 was transferred directly into her private account during this period,” she wrote.
The affidavit also alleges that in 2017, Layton “diverted (Clauson’s) Social Security payments and used them for her own personal benefit to include a cruise for her family,” which cost a total of nearly $8,000.
In July 2022, the affidavit stated, Clauson’s Mascoma Bank account was closed and his Social Security checks, totaling $180,000, were signed over to Layton to deposit into her private bank account.
Layton later opened a joint account “because Social Security insisted on direct deposits into an account with (Clauson’s) name,” according to the affidavit.
In reviewing Mascoma Bank records beginning July 2022, police found “numerous Social Security deposits were made to (Layton and Clauson’s joint account) and several days later a large amount of money would be transferred. The same amount would be deposited into (Layton’s) checking account.”
Between July 2022 and June 2024, over $90,000 of Clauson’s Social Security went into their new joint account and over $80,000 was then transferred into Layton’s private account.
All of this is alleged to have occurred as William Clauson’s mental condition deteriorated. Between 2017 and 2019, Clauson’s medical records documented his inability to remember medical conversations, Laura Clauson reported to APS.
In 2018, Layton became his health representative, Laura Clauson told APS, but between 2018 and 2019, Layton didn’t accompany Clauson to his medical appointments.
Between July 2023 and July 2024, the affidavit stated, tens of thousands of dollars were transferred from Layton and Clauson’s joint account to other accounts, including Layton’s private account, along with numerous checks.
Before Layton created the joint account with Clauson, the affidavit alleged, Layton was using her own account to pay his bills, including monthly condo fees, utility fees, insurance, DMV fees and property tax payments.
“After the joint bank account was started in July of 2022, I found three checks ($270 each) that were written on behalf of (Clauson) on (Layton’s) checking account,” the affidavit states.
Since July 2022, police found that the amount of Social Security money transferred out of Layton and Clauson’s joint account totaled over $70,000.
State Police cited Layton to appear in court for an arraignment in Windsor Superior Court in White River Junction on Tuesday, May 26, at 8:30 a.m. Layton’s attorney, Lisa Shelkrot, accepted the citation on her behalf, the affidavit states.
Efforts to reach Shelkrot and the prosecutor in the case, Windsor County State’s Attorney Taaha Rehmani, were not immediately successful on Friday.
