The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Friday that special agents with the agency have completed an investigation originating from a complaint of a Clarksville woman withdrawing large amounts of money from her elderly client’s account.
A Montgomery County caregiver has been indicted and arrested following a TBI investigation into allegations of financial exploitation of her elderly client.
NEWS RELEASE: https://t.co/oFogTAohLP
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) April 14, 2023
The investigation, according to TBI, has resulted in the indictment and arrest of the caregiver.
TBI special agents began investigating an allegation of financial exploitation of an elderly victim in November 2021 at the request of 19th Judicial District Attorney General Robert Nash, according to the agency.
Agents discovered during the investigation that the caregiver, Kathey Nance, assisted her client in withdrawing large sums of money from a bank on multiple occasions, which she then took possession of, and sent through a Bitcoin ATM to another account. A total of $116,000 was withdrawn between March 2021 and February 2022.
It was also revealed during the investigation that Nance continued to take her client to the bank for withdrawals despite the client’s daughter’s request that she stop doing so. Additionally, according to TBI, Nance created an account in the victim’s name, using personal information of the victim’s daughter without the daughter’s permission.
On April 4th, the Montgomery County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Nance with one count of Caregiver Neglect Elderly Adult and one count of Identity Theft – Obtain, Possess, Buy or Use Personal ID of Another.
One week later on April 11th, Nance was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
This investigation comes just days after the Middle District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that a Chattanooga man was convicted of 12 counts of felony fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud an elderly widow of approximately $1.2 million. The man posed as the victim’s “personal representative,” her “son” or her “godson” to make it appear as if he was acting on her behalf.
Financial abuse and exploitation of the elderly is a “growing problem” in the nation with most cases going undetected, as noted by the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability. Any illegal exploitation or abuse of elderly or vulnerable adults may be reported to local law enforcement officials in the area of the victim or to the Tennessee Adult Protective Services (APS).
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Kathey Nance” by TBI. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Clyde Robinson. CC BY 2.0.
