Perhaps, but I like to think that we made the right decision by saving enough of his own money that he could live out his last years in the comfortable surroundings of home while receiving the one-on-one care he needed to remain (relatively) comfortable. We spent his money on him rather than strangers.

I'm comfortable with the decision and feel that we as a family made the right decision for him and it's hard to say it was "stealing" when the money was ultimately used for his own needs. It was a gamble, he could have passed away right after we protected his funds, then the money wouldn't have been spent on him, but that didn't happen.

Probably not illegal, you are required to act "in the best interests" of the person. From experience with another family member who gave an outsider POA, even malicious POA actions are very difficult to attempt to prosecute.

That's some marvelous empathy.