PD: Caretaker steals over $1,500 from dementia patient

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that McRae was not an employee of The Meadows Apartments.

DALLAS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY — A resident of the Meadows Apartments in Dallas Township who suffers from dementia had over $1,500 stolen from her by a caretaker from an outside home-health agency, according to police.

On July 10, investigators say an advocate for the 76-year-old woman alerted them that someone made transactions of $301.00 to a PayPal account that was not hers. There were also additional transactions made from Venmo, Zelle, Lyft, and JP Morgan that totaled $1,634, which the resident could not make due to her physical and mental state, according to the criminal complaint.

During the investigation, authorities say they discovered Mikayla McRae, 18, of Nanticoke, who was a caretaker of the victim through America’s Home Health Agency, had benefitted from these transactions. Search warrants uncovered a PayPal and Venmo account linked McRae to the fraudulent transfers, according to court documents.

McRae was charged with financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person, forgery, and identity theft.

America’s Home Health Agency provides in-home care for individuals with health and mobility issues and are not employees of the Meadows Apartments.

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