Woman steals nearly $20,000 from her 96-year-old great-grandma in Missouri, feds say

A 96-year-old great-grandmother was defrauded by her own great-granddaughter in Missouri, authorities said.

Now, the 35-year-old great-granddaughter has pleaded guilty to a felony count of bank fraud, according to a June 28 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.

In her signed plea agreement, the St. Louis woman said she obtained her great-grandma’s credit union account number and “personal identifying information” sometime before Dec. 2, 2022.

She then added her cellphone number and email address to her great-grandmother’s account, authorities said, and she got online access. The account had a balance over $22,700 at the time.

“On Dec. 2, 2022, she transferred $2,000 to someone else,” authorities said. “The next day, she opened an account for herself at the credit union and began transferring her great-grandmother’s money to her account.”

From Dec. 2 through Jan. 19, she withdrew $26,700, according to the plea agreement. But on Jan. 6, authorities said she re-deposited $7,500, leaving a loss of $19,200.

The woman’s defense attorney did not comment to McClatchy News regarding the plea agreement or allegations.

Prosecutors and the defense have agreed to recommend a three-year prison sentence in addition to restitution, according to the release.

This story was originally published June 30, 2023 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Woman steals nearly $20,000 from her 96-year-old great-grandma in Missouri, feds say."