Police: Woman swindled $29K with lies about a brain tumor, her mother’s death
AMITY >> An Exeter Township woman accused of swindling a 70-year-old Berks County man out of more than $29,000 remains at large more than a year after she was declared a fugitive, the Berks County sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
Jessica L. LeFever, 37, was charged by Amity Township police on April 27, 2018, with theft by deception and receiving stolen property. The sheriff’s office warrants division could not locate her and she was declared a fugitive on July 17, 2018, according to court records.
According to the criminal complaint:
A 70-year-old Amity Township resident contacted police on Jan. 17, 2018, saying he was a possible victim of fraud. He told Officer Brian Devlin that someone reported to the Berks County Office of Aging that he was being scammed out of money from LeFever.
The male victim told Devlin he met with LeFever at a convenience store on the morning of Jan. 17, 2018, and gave her some money.
He said he met her more than a year before, when she was a server at a Douglassville-area diner. LeFever told the victim she had a brain tumor and needed money for medical bills and medications. He said he felt bad and wanted to help her.
Early in their friendship, the victim said LeFever told him her mother died and she needed $8,000 for a funeral, which he said he gave to LeFever. In addition, just prior to their Jan. 17 meeting he said LeFever told him that she was pregnant.
Devlin contacted LeFever the next day and she agreed to be interviewed. Devlin called the victim and told him to notify him if LeFever contacts him again. He told Devlin that LeFever had called him immediately after Devlin’s call.
LeFever gave Devlin fake names for a doctor, hospitals and medical offices she claimed to be visiting for her brain tumor. Devlin asked LeFever to waive her privacy rights under the HIPAA law and she became defensive. She later admitted the information she gave Devlin was all false and that she knew Devlin knew she was lying.
On March 15, the victim came to the police station and said LeFever had repeatedly come to his house asking for more money. He gave Devlin copies of check carbons containing all of the money he had given LeFever. It totaled $21,240 plus $8,000 for the phony funeral, for a total of $29,240.
In April, Devlin obtained search warrants from the medical practices LeFever
cited and none reported employing the doctor LeFever had named.
Devlin also determined that LeFever’s mother was not deceased.
Anyone with information on LeFever’s whereabouts is urged to contact the warrants division of the sheriff’s office at 610-478-6390.