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: The Home Equity Theft Reporter

Cops: Caregiver Emptied Out Vulnerable Man's Bank Account, Stiffing His Landlord, Leaving Him Broke, Causing Victim To Get The Boot

By r morris

In Ninety Six, South Carolina, the Index-Journal reports:

• A Ninety Six man ended up homeless after his bank account was emptied by a woman who was caring for him, said Ninety Six Police Sgt. Cerrior Mansel.

  Zaketa Shandrell Peterson, 29, of 401 S. Cambridge St., Ninety Six was arrested Wednesday and charged with obtaining money under false pretenses and breach of trust with fraudulent intent.

  The man's caregiver convinced him to put her on his bank account, and after his account came up empty, he was evicted for unpaid rent, Mansel said. On Aug. 10, officers went to speak with him because a woman had his credit and personal identification cards, according to a report.

  The man told officers he didn't know she had them, and said he was being evicted and the woman was supposed to be paying his bills, the report said. She was his caregiver, and had access to his bank account, the report said.

  Officers found surveillance video showing the caregiver withdrawing money from the man's account at two different ATMs at a bank, Mansel said. When asked, the caregiver told officers the man was waiting in the car for her and the money was taken with his permission ? but when pressed on details, she said the man was home sick, Mansel said.

  The woman told officers she was added onto the man's account because she was his caregiver, Mansel said, but records showed she was on his account about a month before she started working for a caregiving agency.

  Mansel said police believe Peterson might have taken money from others.

  "If anyone recognizes her and has been a client of hers, call your respective law enforcement agency," said Ninety Six Police Chief Chris Porter.

  Ninety Six police can be reached at 864-543-3122, and the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 864-942-8600.

Full post as published by The Home Equity Theft Reporter on August 31, 2017 (boomark / email).