East Hempfield Township man allegedly steals nearly $250,000 from mother while acting as power of attorney
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LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WPMT) — An East Hempfield Township man is facing charges after he allegedly stole nearly $250,000 from his mother while serving as her power of attorney.
Jeffrey Weit, 57, is facing felony theft charges for his role in the incident.
Police say that Weit made 237 transactions from his mother’s account since 2013, while she was in Luther Acres, a Lititz area assisted-living community.
Authorities determined that these transactions were for Weit’s personal use, including business expenses.
Police say that Weit continued to make withdrawals from his mother’s account, even after her death in February 2019, and knew he was not to be using his mother’s money for personal expenses.
In total, officials say that Weit used $248,855 for his own personal expenditures.
Authorities say they became aware of the thefts when the family reported that Weit’s mother’s balance owed to Luther Acres. It was found that there were 73 late or non-payments to Luther Acres since Weit’s mother have moved there in 2013.
Police say at one point, in 2018, there was an outstanding balance of over $200,000 owed to Luther Acres.
“Lititz Borough police put a tremendous amount of investigative effort into tracking this cycle of thefts by a power of attorney relative,” District Attorney Heather Adams said this week. “Financial exploitation of elderly residents will not be tolerated in Lancaster County.”
Weit was arraigned on the felonies, and bail was set at $200,000 unsecured.
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