Legal Question in Elder Law in California

I live in California; my Mother was injured by a malpractice incident which left her as a blind quadraplegic. She was also declared incompetent by the state. She suffers short term memory loss, and while she still can hold an intelligent conversation she is easily influenced by anyone who is providing her with care. When my mother's husband and primary caretaker died, my Aunt became her Power of Attorney and her assets were placed in a trust. I learned, however, that she stepped down as my mother's POA which then defaulted to my brother.

Since then my brother has been clearly abusing her trust for his own personal needs. He has also neglected to give my mother the 24 hour care she needs. has hired illegal immigrants with little experience to save money and has left her totally alone on numerous occasions. At one point he was even feeding her medicinal marijuana, without a prescription, in food to keep her sedated. When I witnessed that I' contacted Social Services to no avail. They interviewed my brother who denied it. Interviewed my mother who said she was fine (she has no clue as to what is going on). I've also contacted local law enforcement and the D.A. but I have been told due to California budget restraints they can not investigate. My brother has isolated my mother, will not allow me to talk to her without coaxing her through calls and will not allow me to visit her since I had social services pay him a visit.

Can he just get away with this illegal activity? It's clearly elder and fudiciary abuse. Is it true that the only way to stop this "illegal" activity is to hire a lawyer, which can cost me thousands? I'm in total dismay...it seems like the perfect crime and he's taking total advantage of the fact that he's untouchable.

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