TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - An Arkansas woman is accused of lying in a Leon County court to get guardianship over her elderly mother and exploiting her for almost half a million dollars.
The Tallahassee Police Department says Laura Cooper was arrested over the weekend.
TPD says investigators with the Financial Crimes Unit worked on the case for several weeks gathering official documents and evidence from multiple counties in Florida and numerous states to prove the 59-year-old victim was being financially exploited by her daughter, Laura Cooper.
According to court documents filed in Leon County, Cooper filed a petition for emergency temporary guardianship of her mother in 2014, citing mismanagement of funds and mental health concerns.
Cooper was granted the emergency guardianship, giving her full control over everything concerning the 59-year-old.
Reports from investigators say that during her time as guardian, Cooper had transferred money from her mother's account into her account and had liquidated various assets for profit. They say that the value of the exploitation exceeded $400,000.
Court documents say that investigators were also able to discover that Cooper had lied about numerous things when she had applied to get guardianship over her mother, including her past criminal charges.
In May 2017, Cooper was removed as her mother's guardian.
She was arrested on Saturday and charged with exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult and perjury.
Cooper remains in jail on a $55,000 bond.
