(FOX40.COM) — An Amador County business owner is under arrest for multiple felonies including theft and elder abuse, officials announced Thursday.
According to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, 66-year-old Gregory Brotherton, owner of Posey’s Hearing Aids in Jackson, was arrested after an investigation that began in May 2026. The sheriff’s office was notified of allegations regarding an elderly victim and began an “extensive” investigation.
Officials said Brotherton approached the victim and persuaded them to provide a “substantial” loan under the pretense that the money would be repaid. The investigation led them to believe the loan was never repaid, causing financial losses of over $100,000 to the victim.
Brotherton was arrested for felony violations related to theft by false pretenses and elder abuse after detectives developed probable cause to do so. He was taken into custody and booked into the Amador County Jail.
The case remains active and ongoing. Those who may have information related to the investigation or believe they know another victim of Brotherton are encouraged to contact the Amador County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Bureau at 209-223-6511.
Two deputies in Clay County, Florida, are receiving accolades for providing a meal and some gasoline and cash to a 71-year-old motorist who was stranded in their jurisdiction while waiting for a lifeline. “People should look for opportunities to help, if you can, even if it’s just buying a sandwich and a couple bucks in the gas tank. Because it meant a lot to her,” one of the officers, Deputy Mark Maertz, told “Jesse Weber Live” on Wednesday.
A Hollywood woman is facing two felonies more than a year after her mother discovered tens of thousands of dollars were siphoned from her retirement fund, a probable cause affidavit said.
Toborshia Carter, 48, faces one count of financial exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult and one count of grand theft of the second-degree, court records show. She was booked into the Broward Main Jail on Thursday.
Carter’s mother reported to Hollywood Police in March 2025 that she had never received statements related to her Fidelity Investments retirement account and contacted the company about “fixing the security measures” on the account “that she did not set up,” the affidavit said.
After the woman received her statements and reviewed them, she alleged that daughter had been transferring money from the Fidelity Investments account to a Wells Fargo account registered to Carter’s son, according to the affidavit. She also found some transfers and withdrawals to other accounts that the woman told police were unauthorized.
Financial records of multiple bank accounts reviewed by Hollywood Police during the investigation showed Carter was a secondary owner of an account in which the woman received Social Security Administration benefits, the affidavit said. Carter’s name was also on the bank account that was solely funded by the Fidelity Investments transfers.
Toborshia Carter, 48, of Hollywood, was booked into the Main Jail on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (Broward Sheriff's Office/Courtesy)
The bank records showed Carter’s personal account received more than $26,000 in transfers from the separate account that was only funded by the retirement investment payments between October 2024 and April 2025, the affidavit said. Money also was transferred to Carter’s personal account from the bank account in which Carter’s mother received Social Security payments.
Carter in a sworn statement to police in June 2025 said that any transfers from the account funded by the Fidelity Investments deposits were authorized by her mother and that any money moved around was used for bills and the household because she and her children lived with Carter’s mother, according to the affidavit.
She also told police she did transfer money to her personal Wells Fargo account “but she would explain to her mother that she was short on funds,” and her mother would authorize the transfers, the affidavit said. Carter told police she asked her mother for money almost every month. Carter’s mother “vehemently” disputed her daughter’s statements that she authorized any transactions from the retirement fund.
In total, the financial loss for Carter’s mother totaled more than $170,000, according to the affidavit, with $80,600 coming from the retirement fund.
Karla Granda Pozada, 47, and Maureen Wade, 60, were arrested and accused of exploiting their elderly clients.
By Kim Wynne
Two Broward County women are behind bars, charged in two separate cases in which they were caregivers for elderly victims and used their bank accounts and debit cards to send themselves money or make fraudulent purchases, investigators said. NBC6’s Kim Wynne reports
Two Broward County women are behind bars, charged in two separate cases in which they were caregivers for elderly victims and used their bank accounts and debit cards to send themselves money or make fraudulent purchases, investigators said.
Karla Granda Pozada, 47, and Maureen Wade, 60, were arrested and accused of exploiting their elderly clients.
Pozada appeared in bond court Thursday, where she was charged for using her 99-year-old client’s debit card without permission.
It happened at the victim’s home in Sunrise, investigators said. From June to October, the suspect used her client’s debit card to buy things from Apple and Amazon for herself.
Officials said she bought an iPhone 17, jewelry, and made car insurance payments — all totaling nearly $4,000.
She’s charged with grand theft, fraudulent use of another person’s ID without consent, and elderly exploitation.
In a separate case out of Coral Springs, Wade faces similar charges of exploiting her 97-year-old client.
Investigators said Wade made eight transfers totaling more than $200,000 from the victim’s retirement account to a money-market account.
Police said they found 94 checks totaling more than $300,000 deposited into the victim’s account, then found hundreds of withdrawals totaling more than $200,000.
Wade has been charged with elderly exploitation, grand theft and fraudulent use of another person’s ID without consent.
Prakashkumar Prajapati defrauded eight victims in five states
PORTLAND, Maine: An Indian national was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Portland for conspiring to commit wire fraud.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Prakashkumar Prajapati, 47, to nine years in prison and ordered him to pay $1,897,386 in restitution. Prajapati pleaded guilty on January 15, 2026.
According to court records Prajapati conspired with others in a multi-state scheme to defraud at least eight victims in five states, including Maine. As part of the scheme, victims received telephone calls from individuals posing as government officials. These imposters instructed victims to withdraw cash and purchase gold to turn over to the government for safekeeping. The callers then arranged for victims to meet fake government agents to hand over the cash and gold. As part of the conspiracy, Prajapati directed his co-defendant Bharat Awasarmol to collect gold and cash from victims. Awasarmol was intercepted when FBI agents caught him accepting a package from a victim in Maine. The Maine victim had been instructed by an individual posing as an employee of the Federal Trade Commission to meet Awasarmol and provide him with gold bars.
As part of the conspiracy, Prajapati and his coconspirators collected cash and gold from seven additional victims in New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, all of whom had been deceived by individuals posing as government officials. As part of the conspiracy, Prajapati caused $1,897,386 in losses to the victims.
Awasarmol pleaded guilty on December 9, 2025, and faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the wire fraud conspiracy charge and up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on a false statement charge. Awasarmol is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2027.
The FBI investigated the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice is committed to aggressively combating elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation and fraud. Between July of 2025 and July of 2026, the Department pursued nearly 350 criminal and civil enforcement actions against 712 defendants either charged with stealing, or alleged to have stolen, over $4.8 billion from over 700,000 victims. The Department also returned millions of dollars to older victims and helped to prevent tens of millions of dollars in losses from older Americans. But enforcement alone is not enough. Preventing fraud and abuse in the first place is always the best outcome. For more information on elder fraud and abuse, visit the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative website at justice.gov/elderjustice. If you or someone you know has been the victim of elder fraud, please call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11.
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Contact
Nicholas Scott, Assistant United States Attorney (Tel.: 207-780-3257)
