Debbie Reynolds’ ex-husband is accused of fraud

At 88, Hamlett moves slowly and walks with the aid of a cane. He is believed to be the oldest person to be charged with a crime in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, at least in recent history.

Hamlett’s age – and the extent to which it should be taken into account by a jury – has become an issue in the case.

Prosecutors are asking the judge not to accept any evidence of age or mental disability as a defense to the charges, saying it is irrelevant.

“The defendant may be attempting to portray Mr. Hamlett as a doddering old man who, solely because of his advanced age, does not know what he is doing,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlene Day wrote in a motion filed Sept. 10.

But without a psychiatric examination and an expert opinion determining diminished responsibility, such evidence should not be admitted, Day argues.

Age alone “does not necessarily imply mental fitness,” the motion states. “There are many mentally disabled young people, but there are also octogenarians who are razor sharp. Therefore, the defendant cannot rely on the mere conclusion that because he is old he must be cognitively impaired.”

Hamlett’s lawyer countered that his age was “100 percent relevant to the underlying facts.”

“The jury can safely assume that a man nearly 90 years of age is less likely to have the necessary resources, the understanding of every step of the process, and the sheer desire to achieve such a nefarious goal as the government believes him capable of,” wrote Assistant Federal Public Defender Beatrice Diehl in her letter opposing the motion to exclude.

The matter could come up during a pretrial hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon. Hamlett’s trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

A “pattern” of fraud?Hamlett, a longtime Roanoke real estate developer who was once married to the late movie star Debbie Reynolds, is accused in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of “orchestrating a multi-level fraud.”

Prosecutors say that by early 2023, Hamlett had demonstrated an “established pattern” of filing sham bankruptcy petitions in the name of his companies with the sole intention of preventing foreclosure on his personal property.

After two of the cases were dismissed, Hamlett, mistakenly believing he was barred from filing further petitions, forged his neighbor’s signature on another petition, which he personally delivered to the bankruptcy court clerk, an indictment says.

Prosecutors say the neighbor was falsely described as a vice president of Northview Corp., of which Hamlett was president.

When Hamlett showed up to file the document in June 2023, he allegedly told court officials the vice president was ill. He then claimed to be “George,” the fictitious nephew of the man who was there to file the paperwork, according to the indictment.

Court officials became suspicious and a hearing was ordered to “find out what had happened.” Hamlett continued to deny that he had filed the petition – first to the bankruptcy judge at the hearing and later to an FBI agent called in to investigate, the indictment says.

“And that wasn’t you?” FBI agent Hamlett asked, according to court documents. “You didn’t go to the court and file the paperwork?”

“No, I didn’t,” Hamlett replied.

Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted Hamlett, charging him with bankruptcy fraud, filing a false bankruptcy declaration, perjury and lying to authorities.

An unusual caseIn recent interviews, about half a dozen experienced defense attorneys said they could not recall any other case in federal court in Roanoke involving a defendant as old as Hamlett.

The US Attorney’s Office declined to comment, citing the upcoming trial. Diehl could not be reached.

Age alone is not an absolute defense to criminal charges unless the defendant is very young, says Alexandra Klein, a law professor and adjunct professor of criminal law at Washington and Lee University.

It can be cited as a mitigating factor in sentencing, such as when a defense attorney raises concerns about his client’s physical health to argue against incarceration. And in certain circumstances, when a mental examination shows that the defendant was incapable of forming criminal intent, a jury may consider age because it affects the defendant’s mental state.

Prosecutors say they are unaware of any such evidence in Hamlett’s case. In her motion to exclude the prosecution, Dillon is asking to prevent the defense from arguing that “the defendant’s advanced age readily constitutes a defense to the charges against him.”

However, it can be difficult to completely ignore the issue of age.

“A jury can certainly observe the defendant,” Klein said, adding that she was speaking generally and not about a specific case. “A judge will give instructions about what a jury should and should not consider. While they follow the law, juries can also observe the defendant, and some defendants might be sympathetic.”

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, a defense attorney is required to notify the court in writing if he or she intends to submit an expert opinion on a person’s mental state that is relevant to the question of guilt.

Although she did not do so, Diehl argues in her motion filed on September 19 that the jury should be allowed to consider Hamlett’s age as one of several factors in determining whether he was fully aware of what he was doing.

“It is important to demonstrate the improbability of the government’s version of events – that an 88-year-old man with limited mobility decided to carry out a multi-step, months-long plan that involved driving back and forth and editing documents on a computer to defraud the U.S. government,” the motion states.

Diehl also argues that Hamlett’s age may have caused him to misunderstand the many questions asked of him.

“Mr Hamlett’s age and the natural consequences of a person of that age cannot be relied upon to argue that he is incapable of forming the required intent,” she wrote. “However, his age is relevant in determining whether his actions were due to ignorance, mistake or accident.”

Exploit the system?During his life in Roanoke, Hamlett became a well-known figure to many.

A prominent real estate developer, he once owned the Crystal Tower Building in downtown Roanoke, now known as the Ponce de Leon Apartments. He developed several large apartment complexes in the area and was involved in other ventures.

He is also the ex-husband of Reynolds, who died in 2016.

In the 1950s, Reynolds was known as “America’s Sweetheart” and starred in numerous classic films, including “Singin’ in the Rain.” She lived for a time with Hamlett at their home on Sugarloaf Mountain southwest of Roanoke.

The 12-year marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Reynolds later claimed that Hamlett had not repaid the loans she had made to him. She obtained a divorce decree from a Nevada court that required Hamlett to pay her nearly $9 million.

After Reynolds filed suit for the money in Roanoke federal court, Hamlett filed for bankruptcy to delay the litigation. “The purpose of the bankruptcy filing is to give Richard breathing room by delaying any action by creditors and Mrs. Reynolds,” his attorney told the Roanoke Times in 1998.

Court records containing full details of the outcome of the case were archived and were not immediately available.

But more than two decades later, feelings are still bitter.

“Richard has gotten away with this kind of thing his whole life, taking advantage of the system,” Todd Fisher, Reynolds’ son, said last week. “He’s an expert at taking advantage of the system.”

“Given this behavior, I have no pity for him.”