LAKE HAVASU CITY — A Lake Havasu City woman allegedly stole about $10,000 from a man she befriended before he provided her control over his personal affairs. A police report said that the 85-year-old victim was hurt in a fall last November and was living hotel to hotel when Francine Hernandez, 43, helped him find a place to live.
The report said that the victim provided Hernandez power of attorney authority because he didn’t know anyone. He became suspicious when Hernandez declined to show him bank account paperwork, later discovering discrepancies and expenditures from Tik Tok and Amazon that did not authorize.
Police began investigating February 24 when a caretaker reported the suspected embezzlement.
The report said that Hernandez told police failure to switch to her card had her “accidentally” ring up $500 in purchases from Amazon from the victim’s account. She also told police that the man asked her to save some money for him.
“She then admitted to having approximately $7,000 in cash locked in a safe,” the report said.
Hernandez was arrested during an April 3 traffic stop. She has been indicted for fraud and theft from a vulnerable adult.
