26 Feb 2020

Tongan woman in US sentenced after $US107K theft from elderly client

11:56 am on 26 February 2020

A Tongan woman in the US has been sentenced to five years probation and 364 days in a county jail after siphoning $US107,000 out of the bank account of her elderly client.

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Photo: ikiryo/123RF

Nina Guttenbeil, 51, was also ordered to pay $US107,000 restitution to her victim.

The court was told the thefts she committed using the ATM card of the 98-year-old began in 2015, reports the San Mateo Daily Journal.

Guttenbeil was working for the elderly woman as a caretaker after the victim received a recommendation from a local church to hire her.

Prosecutors charged Guttenbeil with felony theft from an elder by a caretaker and felony identity theft.

The victim's daughters discovered the thefts after they began looking into their mother's finances last year.

According to the district attorney's office, Guttenbeil admitted to the thefts when the women confronted her.