West Fork Woman Accused Of Abuse, Theft

A West Fork woman, who was the former in-home caregiver for a woman in Prairie Grove, faces a felony charges of abuse of adults/exploits with property, theft of property of more than $5,000 and fraudulent use of a credit card, according to an incident report from Prairie Grove Police Department.

Amy Allen, 32, of 12849 Mineral Springs Road, West Fork, was arrested Thursday by Washington County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant issued by the Washington County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

According to the incident report, police began investigating Allen after a complaint was made by the Prairie Grove woman and her son on Aug. 8. The son accused Allen of using his mother’s credit card without her permission numerous times from January to July.

The victim stated that she did not know Allen had her credit card and that she had not authorizedAllen to use the credit card. The victim said Allen, who at the time worked as a personal care assistant for Visiting Angels, was hired to help her by making grocery purchases, withdrawing cash and paying bills. The woman told police she did not give permission for Allen to make her own cash withdrawals or purchases.

The victim’s son told police that Allen manipulated his mother, cut her off from her family, helped to close old bank accounts and opened a new account. He also said he noticed a decline in his mother’s health after Allen began caring for her.

In the incident report, Capt. Jeff O’Brien said his investigation showed many errors with the checking account, including inaccurate balance reporting and a failure to log certain transactions in the check register. From January to July, bank records showed total accrued charges of about $9,500 with an Arvest Bank credit card. Bank records also showed that a total of 36 checks were not entered into the victim’s bank register.

Allen, during an interview with O’Brien, tearfully admitted to using the victim’s credit card to steal money for herself but denied taking any money using checks, according to the incident report. Allen also denied handling any medication for the victim and denied administering any medication in an attempt to manipulate her, the report states.

The incident report includes a statement from the victim’s new caregiver, who expressed concern her client was being overmedicated and said she found evidence of money manipulation and gross errors within the checkbook.

Allen was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Nov. 24 with bond set at $5,000. She is scheduled to appear in Washington County Circuit Court on Dec. 12. According to the investigation, Allen was fired by Visiting Angels on Aug. 2 for violating company policies.

Allen’s 16-year-old son was charged earlier in the same investigation by Prairie Grove Police with felony fraudulent use of a credit or debit card and misdemeanor theft of property. He is accused of using the victim’s credit card to make withdrawals. During the interview, Allen stated that she was unaware her son was using the credit card to steal money.

Allen