DUBOIS – A woman has been accused of theft for taking funds from an elderly woman.
Aimee Sue Poorman, 50, whose current address is listed as Gendive, Mont., was charged by Pennsylvania State Police with a felony count of theft by unlawful taking as a result of her actions beginning in April of 2012 when she was granted power of attorney for the victim.
A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled for centralized court in DuBois on June 10.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, in June of 2014 the victim’s daughter told police that Poorman was cashing checks signed by the victim. She also received a bill from collections for more than $9,500 from a credit card.
The daughter told police that Poorman cashed out the victim’s IRA for $24,723.12. Of this $10,000 was put into the victim’s money market account and $10,000 was put into the victim’s peak account, but no one knew what happened to the remaining cash.
When a trooper spoke with the daughter again in February of 2015, she said she was getting all the paperwork together for the case. She also said her mother’s car had been sold and she didn’t know where that money went.
A representative from the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging had tracked Poorman down, and Poorman was supposed to be paying $25 per month toward the money taken, she said
The next time the trooper had contact with the victim’s daughter was in October of 2015. At that time, she told them her mother had dementia. She again stated that Poorman cashed out the IRA and put funds into other accounts but kept more than $4,000. She also accused Poorman of cashing out a $160,000 CD.
A trooper spoke with Poorman later that month via telephone. Poorman said that the victim told her to use what she needed to keep the bills current. She admitted to writing checks to herself and said all the receipts were in a china cabinet.
She said the IRA money went into the victim’s other accounts. The CD was either split between the accounts or put into just one of them, but she couldn’t remember. Poorman suggested the cash may have been taken to her house and stated she did not spend any money out of the CD.
Poorman did admit to using between $50,000 and $60,000 that the victim knew about for bills. She explained she had to have a four-wheel drive vehicle to get her in and out of the doctor’s office so she bought a Chevy Blazer. She also admitted she bought heating oil.
Poorman explained her house was in foreclosure. She said she wanted to pay the money back, adding she didn’t do it maliciously. When the victim said to use what she needed, she said she just did it and didn’t question anything.