Great Falls woman allegedly stole more than $20K from 82-year-old

Karen Mills Thomas

A local woman faces a second set of charges for elder exploitation after authorities claimed she stole more than $20,000 from an 82-year-old woman over the past two years.

In September 2018, Adult Protective Services received a referral regarding financial exploitation by Karen Mills Thomas.

Thomas, 66, currently has criminal charges pending for elder exploitation against a different victim.

According to charging documents, Thomas offered to help an elderly woman with her finances after she broke her arm. The woman resides in a local nursing home.

The woman claimed she had not seen her bank or credit card statements in several years because Thomas had them all sent to her home address. The woman asked to see the statements, but Thomas would not bring them to her.

The woman said when she went to her credit union to review her bank account, she noticed changes she had not made. She showed the manager her debit card, which had expired, and the manager told her she had been sent a new card. The address where the card was sent belonged to Thomas.

A teller at the bank provided a letter indicating that Thomas had identified herself as the alleged victim and provided a password for her account.

Upon review of the bank statements, APS found that Thomas had not paid any of the woman’s bills in more than a year. The woman’s credit report showed several new accounts that she claimed she did not open or give permission to open, and some of the woman’s existing accounts had balances she said were much higher than those she had accrued.

In October 2018, the alleged victim requested a change of address from Thomas’ address to her own and began receiving bills in her name.

It was also discovered that Thomas’ alleged lack of payment had landed the woman in collections on several accounts for balances she had not accrued.

Thomas allegedly racked up debts at Sears, Pier 1, Herberger’s, Montgomery Wards and Target. She also allegedly signed up for Direct TV under the woman’s name and had the service hooked up at her own address.

The affidavit states that a total of $20,619.98 is unaccounted for in the alleged victim’s credit union account, and this total does not include the expenditures on the woman’s existing credit cards and accounts or the new credit cards and accounts that Thomas allegedly opened in the woman’s name.

In August and September 2018, Thomas allegedly wrote a total of three checks for the woman’s rent at the nursing home that were returned for insufficient funds.

Thomas was arrested on a warrant with a $10,000 bond.

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Great Falls woman allegedly stole more than $20K from 82-year-old