A woman who worked as a senior service provider is facing charges she defrauded and stole thousands of dollars from a 79-year-old woman she was supposed to be helping in 2023.
On Monday, a Hamilton County grand jury indicted Brenda Cowden, 54, on 10 felony charges including telecommunications fraud, forgery, theft and identity fraud.
Cowden is accused of using her position to gain the trust of the 79-year-old woman – who lived alone with no family or close friends – and eventually access her bank accounts, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office.
Cowden was assigned as a caseworker to help the woman find a senior care facility when she could no longer safely live at home. It was during that time Cowden took advantage of the victim’s finances, prosecutors say.
In all, the victim had $13,400 stolen, prosecutors say, and Cowden had access to $1 million of the victim’s money before investigators at GE Credit Union froze those accounts. Sharonville police then conducted an investigation that led to her charges.
Cowden’s attorney information was not available late Monday afternoon.
A timeline of charges, according to the prosecutor’s office:
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In February 2023, while the victim was hospitalized, Cowden convinced her to sign a power of attorney document that gave Cowden control over the woman’s finances. It also gave her the right to be paid a fee for her services.
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Within days of obtaining power of attorney, Cowden accessed the elderly woman’s accounts and changed them to name herself the “Payable on Death” beneficiary.
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Over the next several months, large sums of money were moved from a PNC account to a GE Credit Union account.
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In October 2023, Cowden named herself as a joint account holder on that GE Credit Union account, giving her access to all the victim’s money. That violated the scope of the power of attorney agreement, prosecutors say.
If convicted on all charges, Cowden faces a maximum possible sentence of 61 years in prison. Her next court date was not available.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Charges filed in fraud case involving 79-year-old woman
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