Florida Lawyer Arrested

A Kissimmee lawyer hired to manage money for an Alzheimer's patient and his wife used their credit cards to pay for a trip to Mexico, office furniture and other personal expenses, Osceola County investigators said.

Linda Littlefield, 38, was arrested at the Sheriff's Office, where she went to meet with detectives. The charges are grand theft and credit-card fraud. The Florida Bar also is investigating a complaint about the case.

Deputies say the man's family hired Littlefield in 2006 to set up a $40,000 trust. She told them they needed to give her their credit cards and monthly bills so she could pay them with the trust fund, investigators said.

The man was in his mid-80s when he died in February 2009. Last January, his wife began receiving statements from her credit-card company saying she owed nearly $15,000 on one of the cards. There was no balance when she hired Littlefield, detectives said.

An investigation showed Littlefield made five unauthorized purchases, one on each of five cards, sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said. The total spent was nearly $54,000. Littlefield also used $7,900 of the trust to make payments on the credit-card bills, she said.

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Investigators: Kissimmee Laywer Used Client's Credit Cards to Pay for Mexico Trip