Berks County detectives have accused a Muhlenberg Township woman of stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly woman after taking possession of the victim’s personal checks and credit card.
Tracy L. Hoffman, 58, of the 3200 block of Garfield Road was taken into custody Wednesday by members of the county detectives office.
She remained free to await a hearing following arraignment before District Judge Dean R. Patton.
Hoffman faces charges of financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person, identity theft, forgery, access device fraud and related counts.
According to investigators:
In mid-November, detectives with the district attorney’s office began an investigation into allegations of financial exploitation of an older person. It was reported that money was diverted from an elderly victim without her knowledge.
The investigation revealed that between 2022 and 2023, Hoffman fraudulently obtained and issued numerous personal checks drawn from a bank account belonging to the victim. The checks totaled over $9,000.
Additionally, it was determined that Hoffman had taken a credit card belonging to the victim without consent. Hoffman used the credit card to make purchases totaling more than $12,000 at various retail businesses.
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Berks woman accused of financially exploiting senior
