Harmony Woman Charged with 18 Felonies for Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult

by Zech Sindt 

A Harmony woman is facing 18 felony charges for allegedly misappropriating more than $100,000 from her elderly mother over a 16-month span, in what authorities are calling a significant case of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

Kisa Lyn O’Connor, 45, of Harmony, has been charged in Fillmore County District Court with 18 counts of felony financial exploitation. The charges allege that from November 2023 through February 2025, O’Connor systematically diverted her mother’s financial assets for her personal use, despite being entrusted with fiduciary responsibilities.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim, identified as a vulnerable adult due to a diagnosis of dementia and a progressive cognitive disorder, moved into O’Connor’s residence in December 2023 after living independently in Pine Island. Around the time of the move, the victim’s home was sold for approximately $178,000 and her Pershing brokerage account was liquidated for $38,628.37. These proceeds were deposited into her Wells Fargo account, which was jointly held by O’Connor and the victim’s other daughter.

In the months that followed, a series of large withdrawals and questionable transactions raised red flags. On November 4, 2023, O’Connor allegedly wrote herself a check for $17,000, and a second $17,000 check was issued to the victim’s other daughter on the same day. In January 2024, an additional $22,000 was withdrawn, followed by a $75,000 withdrawal in March. A further $18,000 was removed in June.

The Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center (MAARC) began receiving reports in early 2024 concerning the welfare of the victim and O’Connor’s control over her financial accounts. The Fillmore County Sheriff’s Department initiated an investigation led by Captain Dan Dornink. The investigation revealed that O’Connor was transferring large sums into her own personal bank accounts, withdrawing cash, and making retail purchases, often without clear documentation or explanation.

Bank records and family testimony indicated that O’Connor was storing thousands of dollars in cash in a safe at her residence and used frequent deposits to supplement her income. Investigators also learned that O’Connor had removed her sister as co-power of attorney and sole executor of the will, assuming full control over the victim’s financial affairs.

The complaint says medical evaluations from Mayo Clinic in August and October 2023, and again in February 2024, confirmed the victim was suffering from cognitive impairment consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. Physicians concluded she lacked the capacity to make financial decisions or understand complex transactions during the timeframe in question.

O’Connor told investigators that she and her sister had reached an agreement to compensate her $2,000 per month for caring for their mother, retroactive to November 2023. She claimed a lump sum of $14,000 was withdrawn for seven months of caregiving, along with $4,000 for transportation and medical-related mileage. A handwritten agreement signed by both daughters and the victim was provided, dated July 9, 2024. However, law enforcement determined that significant withdrawals had occurred prior to this agreement and far exceeded what could be justified by the documented arrangement.

From October 2024 through February 2025 alone, investigators documented over $45,000 in additional withdrawals from the victim’s accounts. These included ATM withdrawals, transfers to O’Connor’s personal account, and large cash extractions. In one instance, O’Connor withdrew $24,000 from the victim’s F&M Community Bank account, but returned the funds only after being contacted by law enforcement.

The complaint further alleges that O’Connor used the victim’s funds for over $2,900 in Walmart purchases and more than $2,300 in Amazon purchases. These transactions were not authorized by the victim, and investigators concluded they were for the benefit of O’Connor or third parties.

Captain Dornink and Fillmore County Adult Protection social worker Stephanie Hoffman met with O’Connor on multiple occasions during the investigation. O’Connor maintained that the financial arrangements were agreed upon by the family. However, investigators noted that her explanations often changed, and no formal accounting of expenses was ever produced.

Each of the 18 felony charges is classified under Minnesota Statute 609.2335, relating to the financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and/or a $100,000 fine, while lesser charges carry penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and/or a $20,000 fine. The complaint states that the total value of misappropriated funds far exceeds the statutory felony thresholds of $5,000 and $35,000.

A summons has been issued for O’Connor to appear via Zoom in Fillmore County District Court on July 1.

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Harmony Woman Charged with 18 Felonies for Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult 

Jury acquits woman accused of stealing from a man with dementia

By Alex Bridges

WOODSTOCK — A jury acquitted a Shenandoah County woman Tuesday of charges of taking money from a man diagnosed with dementia.

Tracy Ann Phillips faced 21 charges of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Phillip’s two-day trial began Monday in Shenandoah County Circuit Court. Winchester attorney Charles I. Billman represented Phillips. Shenandoah County Assistant Commonwealth Attorney John G. Cadden prosecuted the case.

Jurors found Phillips not guilty on all counts on Tuesday night.

A grand jury handed up indictments on May 10 charging Phillips, 58, of Basye, on 19 felony counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult for $1,000 or more, and two misdemeanor counts of the same charge for less than $1,000.

Authorities accused Phillips of taking approximately $40,000 from her friend Harold Fossett over a two-year span ending in the summer of 2022. Phillips was suspended from her job as a teacher at North Fork Middle School when she was indicted. Shenandoah County Public Schools Superintendent Melody Sheppard did not respond to an email Wednesday asking about Phillips’ employment status.

At the trial, the prosecution needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Phillips took money from Fossett knowing that he has been diagnosed with dementia and that she permanently deprived him of the funds. Cadden said in his closing argument that Phillips knew of Fossett’s diagnosis and his declining health while she took money from Fossett almost every month.

Fossett and Phillips had an arrangement by which she would deposit checks from his pension into a joint bank account, evidence introduced at the trial showed. The prosecution accused Phillips of then transferring money into her separate account. Cadden showed jurors a series of checks signed by Fossett that were made out to and endorsed by Phillips for amounts ranging from $200 to $3,700. Most checks were written out for $1,000.

The Loudoun County Department of Social Service opened an adult protective service case in the summer of 2022 in response to concerns by Fossett’s family members who said that Phillips had been taking money from the man’s account. Fossett’s brother, Kenneth, told Phillips to stop taking money from the account, which she did. However, Cadden argued that Phillips did not return the money once she was notified she was the subject of the protective services investigation.

“So I don’t understand how it’s possible to know that you have this investigation going ... and you still don’t return the money,” Cadden said.

Billman argued that the prosecution, even by its own evidence, did not prove its case. Billman said that Fossett, in his own words, knew Phillips took money out of the joint account. Fossett testified at the trial, despite an effort by the commonwealth to declare him incompetent to do so.

“You saw Harold, right there, repeatedly saying ‘I gave her the money,’” Billman said. “When she opened a new account, Harold said right there, ‘I knew that. I was sitting right next to her ...

“Are we going to completely discount Harold in this, the victim?” Billman said. “He testified twice. Not once did he say, ‘you know what, I’ve been taken advantage of.’”

Fossett said in notes written prior to the trial that he and Phillips had the arrangement and to blame him, not her, for any problems related to his finances.

Moreover, Billman said, the prosecutor failed to prove Phillips knew Fossett had dementia because the diagnosis had not been made until September 2022, after the period in which the commonwealth claimed she exploited Fossett. Phillips stopped taking money from Fossett when members of his family told her to, Billman said.

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Jury acquits woman accused of stealing from a man with dementia