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.
Full Article & Source:
Woman accused of gambling away mom’s money
