Steve Nasseff is still shaken by what happened to his ailing uncle by someone who was trusted to take care of him last year.
It started shortly after the family of John Nasseff — a retired senior West Publishing executive and one of St. Paul’s most prolific donors — hired someone to help care for the 94-year-old after he suffered a stroke in 2016, Steve Nasseff said.
At the recommendation of a family friend who ran a business that provided in-home care for seniors, they ended up bringing in Nicholas Aaron Lofquist-Sprangel for the job in October of that year.
The 23-year-old Andover man was tasked with looking after John Nasseff overnight at the downtown St. Paul condo he shares with his wife while Steve Nasseff kept watch during the day. His stroke impacts John Nasseff’s mobility and balance, so he needs help getting in and out of bed and moving around his residence, his family said.
Months after Lofquist-Sprangel was hired, the family noticed some of John Nasseff’s valuables were missing.
At first, Steve Nasseff chalked it up to misplaced belongings. But as more disappeared — rings, cufflinks, watches, cash, loose diamonds — he knew something was amiss, he said Wednesday afternoon.
“It just got to the point where I couldn’t ignore the situation any longer,” Nasseff said.
He set up a hidden camera in John Nasseff’s residence, and two hours later, the mystery was solved, according to authorities.
“I watched (Lofquist-Sprangel) going through my uncle’s drawers,” Steve Nasseff said.
Footage collected over the next couple of days showed him pocketing more valuables, including 25 $100 bills that the family strategically placed in a spot John Nasseff typically keeps his cash to bait the burglar, court documents say.
In total, Nasseff’s former caretaker is accused of taking nearly $1.4 million in valuables, authorities say.
Lofquist-Sprangel was charged in October 2017 with one count of felony-level theft for his conduct, according to the criminal complaint filed against him Ramsey County District Court.
He pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 30 and is expected to be sentenced in April. His attorney, John Leunig, could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
A few days after installing the hidden camera, Steve Nasseff reported the theft to police. They stopped Lofquist-Sprangel on the way back to his car after leaving John Nasseff’s home Sept. 6, court documents say.
When asked if he had any items that didn’t belong to him, Lofquist-Sprangel admitted he was carrying cash and a gold chain that weren’t his, the complaint said. He told police he had other stolen items stashed in a safe at his Andover home.
Police accompanied him there and recovered much of John Nasseff’s stolen jewelry, including watches, rings, earrings, necklaces and loose diamonds, according to court documents.
Lofquist-Sprangel told investigators that even though the Nasseffs were paying him “an absurd amount of money,” he was “extremely stupid” with finances and so he stole things to supplement his income, the complaint said.
He told police he started by taking a couple of items but soon escalated, according to court documents.
He sold at least two pieces of jewelry valued at more than $1,000 each to local pawn shops last winter, the complaint said.
The family was able to recover about $1.37 million worth of their stolen belongings. They no longer keep valuable items in their home.
Despite catching Lofquist-Sprangel and obtaining a guilty plea in the case, Steve Nasseff said he is still troubled by what happened.
“It’s a violation like you can’t believe,” Steve Nasseff said. “Now I would never, ever hire an outsider to take care of my uncle. … We were told he was the best we would find. … We felt fortunate we had a guy we could trust.”
Not only did Lofquist-Sprangel steal from his uncle, but he also failed to take care of him properly, Steve Nasseff said.
He explained that video footage showed Lofquist-Sprangel neglecting to accompany his uncle to the bathroom, which was a critical component of his job duties because John Nasseff’s stroke left him prone to falling.
Though he tried to avoid troubling his uncle about what happened, he eventually had to tell him, Steve Nasseff said.
“He was upset, but he has taken it in stride,” Steve Nasseff said. “I felt like we kind of let him down in a way, but I’m happy we were able to get a lot of the stuff. … He is doing OK.”
Steve Nasseff said he plans to make a statement at Lofquist-Sprangel’s sentencing hearing April 10.
The state will argue that his crime warrants a longer sentence than the 42 months agreed to under his plea deal, according to court records. Conversely, Lofquist-Sprangel’s attorney will argue that his client, who has no other criminal record, should receive a stayed sentence.
MORE ABOUT JOHN NASSEFF
As the son of illiterate Lebanese immigrants, Nasseff and his six siblings lived largely hand-to-mouth in their home in St. Paul’s West Side Flats neighborhood.
When his father died, Nasseff dropped out of school in the ninth grade and took a job unloading boxcars and sweeping floors for West Publishing as it was making its start in downtown St. Paul. He worked his way up in the company, becoming a vice president, board member and major stock holder.
The company was sold to the Thomson Corp. for $3.4 billion in 1996, and Nasseff found himself rich, a multimillionaire at age 72. An efficiency expert, he retired as the company’s vice president for engineering and facilities.
Nasseff has spent much of the past 20 years serving as St. Paul’s most visible donor. His name adorns the Nasseff Heart Center at United Hospital, and his contributions have helped buy firearms and dogs for St. Paul police and the bells at the Church of St. Louis, King of France in downtown St. Paul.
He has funded youth soccer teams in Haiti, orphanages in Mexico and a medical clinic in his mother’s village in Lebanon.