A cleaning lady has been accused of stealing almost $2,000 from her 92-year-old client.
A cleaning lady has been accused of stealing almost $2,000 from her 92-year-old client. Hannah Casterline, 33, of St. Johnsbury, pleaded not guilty in Caledonia Superior Court on Monday to felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult and two misdemeanor charges of credit card fraud. According to court documents, the 92-year-old alleged victim told police in October of 2022 that she suspected Casterline had stolen her debit card and used it to steal almost $2000 from her Union Bank account. “I am familiar with Casterline through multiple police involvements to include her arrest for embezzlement,” wrote St. Johnsbury Police Detective Sgt. Lester Cleary in his report. Casterline was hired to clean the alleged victim’s residence from July to September 2022. “The victim told me that the former building manager had recommended Casterline to clean her apartment,” wrote Det. Cleary. “The victim explained that she had Casterline there for a short time cleaning for her, but stated she felt as though Casterline had been charging her for more hours than she actually was cleaning.” The victim told police that she usually kept her card with her shopping list in the apartment and that the PIN for the card was written down and kept with it. But then the card went missing, and she assumed for a while she had misplaced it within the residence. Casterline is now accused of making multiple withdrawals and purchases using the alleged victim’s bank card from September to October 2022, including ATMs, the Sunoco gas station, Price Chopper, Lyndonville Bagel Depot, Maplefields and Fordham’s Mobil. Casterline faces a possible sentence of up to 12 years in prison and $12,000 in fines.