Caregiver Accused Of Making $12K In ATM Withdrawals From Patient

HAINES CITY, FL — A caregiver of a 91-year-old woman in Haines City is accused of stealing about $12,000 from the woman, who has dementia.

Sharon Dawn, 63, told detectives the money was a loan, and she was paying herself back for buying the victim a robe with her Capital One credit card.

Thirty-four unauthorized ATM withdrawals that equaled $10,400 occurred from August 2020 to March 2021, Polk deputies said. Three more unauthorized payments to Capital One totaled $1,502 during the same period.

The victim's son told police Dawn was helping his mother pay bills, but the ATM withdrawals and the Capital One payments were not authorized. He confronted Dawn on a telephone call, and she told him she took the money, according to authorities.

The investigation began in February when the victim's son called Polk County Sheriff's Office after he noticed large amounts of ATM withdrawals from his mother's bank account while she was bedridden.

"Stealing from an elderly person with dementia is lower than low," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "This woman was entrusted with the care of one of our most vulnerable citizens, instead she betrayed that trust and stole thousands of dollars from her elderly victim."

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Dawn was arrested on the following charges:

• Fraud
• Criminal use of personal ID
• Felony theft
• Elderly exploitation