Some people work all their lives and save every penny to have a few spending bucks after retirement. Whether they worked all their lives or not, the money saved is theirs. Now, imagine that someone you hire to help you after you have aged and can no longer help yourself, steals your money by writing checks to themselves and forging your signature.
That's what happened to Walter and Rita Bernstein, a Parkland couple. Walter Bernstein took care of the finances and when he lost his vision, the couple hired Rosemary Hawthorne, 59. They hired Hawthorne as a personal bookkeeper to write checks. According to Detective John Murray, between the time of June 8, 2006 and August 10, 2007, Hawthorne forged 42 checks that totaled $26,169.08.
Hawthorne has been charged with exploitation of the elderly and is held on a $500,000bond.
For more information on the story, go to, http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-1207elderlyrob,0,5604269.story
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