CHARLOTTE, Mich — Heather Renee Bodell has been convicted of embezzling more than $70,000 from a vulnerable senior citizen in the Charlotte area. Bodell now faces up to 15 years in prison following a five-day trial.
A bank alerted adult protective services after noticing suspicious withdrawals from the victim’s account.The money was taken through checks, selling the victim’s car, and taking coins.Experts say billions of dollars are stolen from seniors nationwide each year through various schemes.
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd detailed how the theft occurred.
WATCH: Kalamo Township woman convicted of embezzling from vulnerable Charlotte senior
Kalamo woman convicted of embezzling more than $70K from Charlotte senior
“It was taken through checks, it was taken through the selling of a car, it was taken through getting rid of coins,” Lloyd said.
The case came to light when financial institutions noticed unusual activity.
“It took a bank to actually realize that the dollars were being taken out so much from the victim’s account that they actually contacted adult protective services,” Lloyd said.
I reached out to Bodell’s lawyer, who replied that he was unable to comment at this time.
Rich Howard with AARP told me that billions of dollars are stolen from seniors every year across the nation through various schemes.
“Scams and fraud is only continuing to grow,” Howard said.
Howard emphasized that education is the best prevention method.
“What’s happening, how to best protect themselves, family members, friends and again, take a minute when something doesn’t quite seem right, it probably isn’t,” Howard said.
Lloyd stressed the importance of community vigilance in protecting vulnerable seniors.
“Pay attention to your neighbors, because if you start to see someone isolated, or you see a certain individual around all the time, question that, question what’s going on,” Lloyd said.
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