KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A northwest Missouri county is looking for a new prosecutor after the one residents elected earlier this month pleaded guilty to stealing more than half a million dollars from his elderly client.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City says 39-year-old Richard F. Turner of Bethany pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements on his tax return.

The former Harrison County prosecutor admitted stealing more than $540,000 from his elderly client, who was suffering from memory issues.

Authorities say more than $327,000 was spent on paying off and improving his Bethany home. U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson called the crime an “egregious case of elder abuse.”