Couple accused of stealing $20K from 88-year-old woman

POMPANO BEACH — Peggy Sue Chormicle was hired by an 88-year-old woman to look after her in her golden years, officials say.

But instead of doing a good job, Chormicle took advantage of Dolores Farquharson while Farquharson's health was declining, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

Chormicle, 50, and her boyfriend, Kelvin Butler, 52, were arrested Tuesday for allegedly taking Farquharson's debit cards and forging her checks to steal about $20,000 from her, the agency said.

Wednesday, Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley ordered each suspect held on $21,000 bond on charges of exploitation of the elderly, grand theft and uttering a fraudulent instrument, records show.

"What was done to her [Farquharson] was horrible," said Farquharson's neighbor, Dorothy Mecklenburg. "She was extremely devastated. Her whole life was flipped upside down."

The judge appointed a guardian for Farquharson. She has since been moved to an assisted-living facility, Mecklenburg said.

Chormicle somehow managed to befriend Farquharson, who hired her as her caretaker and let her move into her home, Mecklenburg said. And when Butler was freed from prison, he also moved into Farquharson's house, Mecklenburg said.

Farquharson may not have known the couple each had a criminal record, Mecklenburg said. "People should be very cautious as to who they take in," she said.

From Dec. 11, 2011, through June 20, Chormicle and Butler fraudulently used Farquharson's debit card to make unauthorized purchases totaling about $20,000, an arrest report said. The pair made more than 100 ATM withdrawals using the victim's debit card during a six-month period "at all hours of the day," the report said.

The pair also signed Farquharson's checks and cashed them, the arrest report said. Chormicle "was trusted by the victim to be in possession of her personal information," the report said.


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Couple accused of stealing $20K from 88-year-old woman