ALPHARETTA, Ga.,None — Police in Alpharetta tell Channel 2 Action News they're actively investigating the theft of an elderly woman's credit card from her room at an assisted-living facility.
Linda Hodgkins, whose 87-year-old mother is Janice McDaniel's, reported the theft after finding nearly $1,500 in fraudulent charges on her mother's card.
"It came to her attention because the credit card company called and said she was over her limit and hadn't made any payments," Hodgkins told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik.
Hodgkins said the person made purchases at Walmart and Target about three times a week, returning the card to her mother's room after each use.
"It's unfortunate, being in a nice facility, that you think you're being taken care of and you've got people that are taking advantage of you," Hodgkins said.
Alpharetta police aren't telling Petchenik whom they believe is behind the theft, but Hodgkins said a detective told her it's likely someone who had direct access to the room.
It's unclear, she said, whether the person is a direct employee or a contractor doing work for Dogwood Forest Assisted Living on North Point Parkway.
"She's got people that take care of her," Hodgkins said. "Therapists, nurses aids. Some are people who work for the facility and some are outside services."
The area director of the facility told Petchenik he is working closely with police to find the suspect. Edgar Mirabal told Petchenik he will look at surveillance video taken from a Walmart of the person using the card to see if he can identify the person.
"We don't condone anything like this and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," said Mirabal. "It's not that something that occurs every day and we take it very seriously. "
The executive director of Georgia's Council on Aging told Petchenik elder abuse in any case is only reported to police between five percent and 10 percent of the time. Kathryn Fowler said many victims are too afraid or too embarrassed to come forward.
Fowler told Petchenik there aren't good statistics available to show how many cases occur in Georgia, but she pointed to a recent study by MetLife that showed older Americans losing about $2.9 billion because of financial exploitation, up 12 percent from a similar study conducted in 2008.
"There is still a misconception that financial crimes are 'civil matters' when in fact, they may very well be criminal," Fowler told Petchenik in an email.
Fowler told Petchenik the Georgia Division of Aging Services has worked with other state agencies to develop a two-day educational program to inform judicial system, law enforcement, and aging-services workers about the issue of financial exploitation.
Linda Hodgkins told Petchenik she was naïve about her mother's safety and hopes others will take precautions to ensure their loved ones' financial and personal well-being.
"If you're letting them write checks and have credit cards, you've got to stay on top of it," she said.
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