Woman accused of gambling away mom’s money

by Rachel Foor

A Claysburg woman is accused of gambling away nearly $100,000 after telling her brother that she couldn’t afford their care-dependent mother’s medical copays.

Rebecca Ann Fawks, 58, was arraigned Friday by Magisterial District Judge Tonya M. Osman on a single felony count of financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person and 34 felony counts of forgery – unauthorized act in writing. She remains free on $200,000 unsecured bail.

The victim’s son contacted state police at Bedford on Jan. 14 to report the alleged forgery/theft. He told the officer that he became his parents’ power of attorney in 2010, and in 2022, his parents received a $100,000 settlement after being involved in a serious car accident. His parents then sold their home and bought a house in Claysburg so his sister, Fawks, could live with and take care of them, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Fawks was to help care for the victim financially after their father passed away in April 2024 because the victim was declining cognitively. When the victim broke her pelvis in July 2024, she moved into a rehab center for care. Fawks then contacted the victim’s son in August 2024 and said she didn’t have the money to pay for the victim’s rehab copays because she gambled it all away, the police report states.

The victim’s son was able to obtain the victim’s bank transaction statements and copies of the checks written from the victim’s checking account dating back to January 2020. 

He told officers their mother would never withdraw that significant amount of money from an ATM or write that large of checks to Fawks. When he confronted Fawks, she admitted to using their mother’s debit card to withdraw money from ATMs and forging checks from their mother, according to the report.

The victim’s son provided the officer with copies of the bank documents, which showed that between June 2022 and December 2024, Fawks had stolen about $29,650 using 34 forged checks, about $64,443 through ATM withdrawals and about $1,091 in ATM withdrawal fees, totaling about $95,184, court documents show.

In an interview at the state police station on Jan. 31, the officer asked Fawks why she thought she was there, to which she said “blowing my mother’s money” and “I have a very bad gambling addiction.” She told the officer she started taking money out of the victim’s account in 2022. Fawks admitted to forging the victim’s signatures on checks and using the money for gambling at PA Skills machines. When asked how much money she thought she took between 2022 and 2024, Fawks said “probably $100,000” and that all of it was spent on gambling, according to the report.

Fawks is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in front of Osman on Feb. 19.

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Woman accused of gambling away mom’s money

‘You are nothing but a con artist’: Judge tears into caregiver who faked Stage 4 cancer to derail trial for stealing cash, jewelry from elderly patients

by Colin Kalmbacher

A Pennsylvania caregiver who stole from her elderly clients and then pretended to have cancer in order to avoid the consequences of her actions will now spend a year or two behind bars.

In March, Shannon Lynn Eberhart, 48, originally pleaded guilty to two counts each of financial exploitation of an older adult or care dependent person, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property, as well as one count each of identity theft and access device fraud, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

This week, the defendant pleaded guilty to a suite of different but related crimes over the ensuing cancer deception: one count of unlawful use of a computer and two counts of identity theft.

On Wednesday, a judge, speaking harshly, sentenced Eberhart to at least one year minus a day up two years minus a day in the county jail. That time will be followed by 11 consecutive years of probation.

“You are nothing but a con artist who deceived the people who cared for you,” Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman said when handing down the sentence. “You betrayed every cancer patient, you betrayed the court system, you betrayed your attorney.”

In February 2023, an investigation by the Newtown Township Police Department led to the initial theft charges in the case. Investigators determined Eberhart stole jewelry and cash from two victims she was meant to care for and made unauthorized withdrawals from a victim’s bank account, the district attorney’s office said in a press release.

The thefts began soon after Eberhart was employed, authorities said. Some losses were characterized as more emotional than financial.

“It was not about the monetary value,” Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber said. “These were pieces of heirloom jewelry handed down from generation to generation, now gone.”

As the legal process played out, Eberhart waived her preliminary hearing and her formal arraignment. Several pretrial hearings were scheduled and canceled. Then, one month before a hearing scheduled for December 2023, the DA’s office received what seemed like a medical document from Eberhart’s defense attorney — along with a request for a continuance, or pause, in her criminal case.

The document, which appeared to have been issued by a Montgomery County hospital, claimed the defendant was suffering from stage 4 esophageal cancer and needed further treatment.

That document was a forgery, an investigation determined.

“Bucks County detectives contacted the two doctors named in the letter and both said they never authored the letter and never treated Eberhart,” the DA’s office said Representatives of the hospital also confirmed that the letter was fake and contained several inaccuracies, including the official name of the hospital and its logo. The two doctors named in the letter also never worked at their hospital.”

The investigation also determined the document was created on a computer and contained a “digitally created logo and headers, footers, and margins,” according to the Bucks County press release.

Once the fake was uncovered, the process moved on.

“The Defendant compounded her crimes against the elderly by attempting to continue her manipulation in the Court system,” Furber said. “She failed, but not for lack of trying. This case should be a lesson to those who are in positions of trust for elderly or disabled individuals. That trust should be upheld at all costs.”

Eberhart’s victims remarked on that trust relationship.

“Shannon’s actions here are unforgivable,” one of the victims said during the sentencing hearing. “These pieces of jewelry tell stories of my family, past and present, and can never be replaced.”

A family member of another victim testified they once grieved with Eberhart — providing flowers and condolences when she told them her mother had died. As it turned out, however, the defendant’s mother is alive and well — she attended her daughter’s sentencing hearing.

The judge, before issuing the sentence, upbraided the defendant’s actions as “despicable and unfathomable.”

Eberhart was also ordered by the court to pay $32,835 in restitution to three victims, to undergo mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, and she is barred from ever again working as a caregiver.

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‘You are nothing but a con artist’: Judge tears into caregiver who faked Stage 4 cancer to derail trial for stealing cash, jewelry from elderly patients

Man allegedly stole $50,000 from elderly relatives in Dauphin County

Joshua Wood, 21, allegedly took over $50,000 over a period of time from his elderly, care-dependent relatives.

Author: Leah Hall 

DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — A man is facing theft charges after he allegedly stole over $50,000 from his relatives. 

According to the Derry Township Police Department, Joshua Wood, 21, from Cleona was arrested on Nov, 7 by State Police. He is accused of fraudulently taking money from his elderly relatives' bank accounts and using it for himself. 

He allegedly took over $50,000 over a period of time from his elderly, care-dependent relatives, who he was living with. 

Wood was taken to the Dauphin County Judicial Center. He is facing charges of financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person, forgery- alter writing, access device fraud and theft by deception. 

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Man allegedly stole $50,000 from elderly relatives in Dauphin County