NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — A Westmoreland County woman is accused of taking thousands of dollars from an elderly man in her care and selling his dead wife’s jewelry.
Information shared by Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli on Thursday said that Tasha Tierra Williams, 45, of Arnold, was charged with financial exploitation of an older adult, several counts of theft and receiving stolen property.
An investigation began after New Kensington police received a call from the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging, which reported fraudulent charges. Police said there were multiple suspicious withdrawals for car insurance companies, electronic companies, jewelry companies and cash.
Investigators said the victim told them that he gave Williams access to his baking information, believing that she was going to help him with his personal care. Police said the victim owned rental properties and asked Williams to help him with tenants’ deposits.
Police said Williams gave the victim a new iPhone and set up a passcode on it that only she knew. Officers believed she was monitoring the calls on that phone.
Officers learned that one of the properties the victim had access to was a secondary house that he owned, which contained his dead wife’s belongings.
When police went to the house to check on it, they reported finding jewelry boxes that had been rummaged through and noticed that household items and cookware were missing.
Police tracked the missing jewelry to a local pawn shop. They say a lifelong friend of the victim’s wife was able to identify the jewelry that had belonged to her.
In total, $6,800 worth of jewelry had been sold to the shop. Surveillance video from the shop showed Williams making the sale, police say.
After looking into finance records, police said they noticed more than $17,000 taken from the victim’s personal account and the money from the stolen jewelry being deposited into it.
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