SALINE CO.—Authorities in Saline County are calling on folks to be extra vigilant in the wake of criminal charges filed against a Harrisburg woman putting herself forward as a nurse.
The warning is that all kinds of scams can be perpetrated against the elderly…but encouragement comes in the form of public officials willing to listen if a person believes they are a victim of such exploitation.
Such was the case with Harrisburg resident Karen Phelps, a woman in her early 70s, when it came to the attention of authorities that her “caregiver,” Kim Ital, was allegedly taking advantage of Phelps and her bank accounts.
Ital, 45, now stands charged with five felonies, and possibly more to come, after authorities claimed to have discovered abuses with Phelps’ accounts dating back to earlier this year, when Ital came to be in the “employ,” of sorts, of Phelps.
In recent years, Ital has worked in either the medical field (as office manager, as an example) or sitting with the elderly. This has put her in a position to gain the trust of those she offers her caregiver services to.
Authorities now claim that while being the caregiver of Mrs. Phelps, she made a purchase of a car for herself, a truck for her husband, a trip to Hawaii for her family, posting of bond money for her son and payment of tuition for her daughter—all within a one-month period of time this year.
Resultant of this, Ital was charged with:
a Class 1 felony count of Unlawful Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person, in that between or about May 1 to May 28, 2013, she obtained control, by deception, over $25,675.50 in cash belonging to Phelps, with which she’s alleged to have made the vehicle purchases;
a Class 2 felony count of Theft over $10,000 under the above circumstance;
a Class 3 felony count of Aggravated Identity Theft under the circumstance of, on May 30, making a purchase through Phelps’ Chase credit card for the Blue Sky Tours trip to Hawaii for herself, her husband and her daughter, valued at $2,838.71;
a Class 2 felony count of Aggravated Identity Theft for using Phelps’ Kroger credit card to post bond for her son, Doug Denoon, after he messed up in one of his Saline County cases and needed bailed out of jail to the tune of $2,194, this on May 22, 2013; and
a Class 2 felony count of Aggravated Identity Theft for using the same credit card over at John A. Logan College to pay a $747 tuition bill for her daughter, this on May 21, 2013.
Authorities advised that the investigation is ongoing and, if the voluminous stack of reports turned in by Illinois State Police is any indication, will likely result in further charges.
In the meantime, authorities working the case want others in Saline County to know that they take exploitation of the elderly cases very seriously.
Sometimes it turns out that an elderly person’s finances are being exploited and the elderly person is afraid authorities won’t believe him or her, or fear that they’ll be embarrassed if they get up the courage to say something to someone in charge.
Saline officials want to assure residents that there’s nothing to fear, and if there is a suspicion of such activity, the best course of action is to contact authorities immediately. They stand ready to listen, and to take action if an investigation proves that such a thing is occurring. So to those of you reading here, please share this with everyone you can, to make sure the word gets out: Saline County takes the matter very seriously, and wants to put a stop to this kind of alleged activity, and, it’s hoped, to prevent it.
And be sure to pick up a copy of the next issue of Disclosure (October 2013, on stands Oct. 1 & 2), as this story has much, MUCH more to it than what we’re telling here, including some very bizarre details of Ital’s former employment and behavior there…you don’t want to miss it, so if you want it at your fingertips, get yourself an online membership to read the entire paper right here on your computer, by clicking this link.