March 8, 13

NEWS / Canadian woman charged with stealing $96,000 from mother using Power of Attorney

A Canadian woman from the city of Woodstock, Ontario has been charged with abusing her Power of Attorney to steal C$96,000 (approximately US$93,204) from her elderly mother’s bank accounts.

The woman was arrested by police in Sarnia, another city in the province of Ontario, after she surrendered herself at the police headquarters. This followed a month-long investigation into the matter, The Observer reports.

The names of both the daughter and the mother have not been publicized to protect the victim’s identity.

Investigators noted that Power of Attorney abuse crimes are becoming increasingly common, and that they are often informed of the crime by a third party, not the victim.

Sarnia police allege that the accused woman obtained Power of Attorney over her 83-year old mother’s affairs in March 2009. Her mother was undergoing an operation at a hospital at the time. Police say the woman moved into her mother’s house and kept her Power of Attorney even after her mother had been released from hospital.

Over the course of the next three years, money was taken out from the elderly woman’s bank accounts and as advances on her credit cards. The alleged perpetrator also borrowed money on her mother’s line of credit.

In March 2012, the accused woman left her mother’s house and moved to Woodstock. The money that was withdrawn from the bank accounts was never repaid.

The 60-year old Woodstock woman is now charged with theft by a person holding Power of Attorney and is scheduled to appear before the court in April. She was released following her arrest.

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