Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Bradenton woman hired to care for elderly woman. She stole thousands from her, police say

By Mark Young

A 34-year-old Bradenton caregiver was arrested over the weekend after a lengthy investigation revealed she stole thousands of dollars from her elderly client, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Heather Jurek has been charged with one count of elderly exploitation.

Deputies say Jurek was originally hired by a licensed caregiver company to care for the 80-year-old victim, but had left the company to contract on her own, signing with the victim’s power of attorney to perform specific tasks for the victim.

Among those tasks were to pay basic bills and purchase groceries, giving Jurek access to the victim’s bank accounts, according to the arrest affidavit.

Deputies began investigating in the summer of 2020 when the victim’s power of attorney began noticing more money was being taken out of the victim’s account that is normally needed to pay the victim’s bills.

Investigators looked into the banking activities and said Jurek began to steadily increase the amount of money she would withdraw, while also increasing the number of times a week she was taking money from the account, according to the arrest documents.

Deputies said as Jurek, “became more comfortable working for the victim, it is apparent she began utilizing the victim’s debit card and pin number as her own.”

Jurek is believed to have stolen at least $4,500 from the victim, according to the arrest report.

An arrest warrant was issued for Jurek on Aug. 3 and she was taken into custody on Aug. 14. According to jail records, Jurek posted a $1,500 bond the same day of her arrest and was released pending a future court date.

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