TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A local caregiver has been arrested after police say an investigation revealed she not only stole valuable items from her 81-year-old client's home, but stole her identity too.
Tawana Thompson, 43, is facing multiple charges for fraud and theft.
A probable cause document says a report was filed with the Tallahassee Police Department about the caregiver back in mid-January.
According to the complainants, their 81-year-old mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease and can't care for herself, so they hired Thompson to help. From April to June 2017, Thompson was employed by the complainants.
However, shortly after Thompson started working, they began noticing valuable items going missing from their home. In the report, they alleged Thompson had been stealing jewelry, valuables and money from the home while taking care of their mother.
In addition, they accused Thompson of stealing their mother's identity to open up a Fingerhut and CenturyLink account in her name.
When police began investigating, they found that Thompson had a history of pawning jewelry and had pawned several pieces of jewelry shortly after gaining employment with the complainants.
They also connected the fraudulent Fingerhut and CenturyLink accounts to Thompson's address. Investigators note only one item was purchased from Fingerhut and that was a $399 grill. Documents say she later posted about it on her Facebook page.
In early May, police spoke with Thompson who said she had short and long-term memory loss due to a stroke she had earlier in the year. She told them her memory was "spotty" and commented, "Some days I can barely tell you who I am."
When told that she was under investigation for theft and identity theft, Thompson stated "That doesn't sound like something I would do."
But when asked, police note she seemed sure she had never had financial issues despite having memory issues about large portions of her life. They also note she was able to provide her personal information "without hesitation when asked."
Based on the investigation, police found probable cause to charge Thompson with burglary, two counts of criminal use of personal identification information of a person 60 years old or older, and two counts of grand theft.
A warrant was issued for her arrest on May 17. She was taken into custody on Thursday. As of Friday, Thompson remains in jail on a $3,000 bond.
