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Investigators said the victim, 79, was persuaded to hand over his debit card, which was then allegedly used for unauthorized withdrawals by Myria Sharon Freeman and Jennifer Lynn Patterson, of Chester
A Delaware County woman is facing multiple felony charges after police said she conspired with a nurse’s aide to steal money from a 79-year-old resident of a Montgomery Township nursing home late last year.
Myria Sharon Freeman, 23, of the 1100 block of Highland Avenue in Chester, was charged by Montgomery Township Police with felony counts of forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, identity theft, and conspiracy to commit identity theft, two counts of misdemeanor access device fraud, and misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, theft, conspiracy to commit theft, and financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person, according to charging documents.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the victim told investigators that on Nov. 29, 2024, Jennifer Lynn Patterson, 38, of the 1400 block of Congress Street, Chester, a nurse’s aide at the Montgomeryville Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, approached him in his room asking for money. Patterson claimed she had three children and needed $100 to get her cellphone reactivated, police said.
The victim, who said he normally never lends out his bank cards, agreed to help Patterson and gave her his Citizens Bank debit card and PIN, instructing her to withdraw $100 and return the card, according to the affidavit.
Patterson allegedly made the $100 withdrawal but never returned with the card, police said. The victim later contacted Citizens Bank and learned that in addition to the agreed-upon withdrawal, two more transactions — one for $400 and another for $100 — had been made without his permission, police said.
Detectives said surveillance video confirmed Patterson completed the first withdrawal at a Wawa store in Middletown Township, Delaware County. The subsequent transactions, investigators said, were carried out by Freeman at Wawa in Radnor Township, using the victim’s debit card.
Video allegedly showed Freeman driving up in her red Volkswagen Jetta and conducting the ATM withdrawals while looking at her phone.
Police said the total loss from the unauthorized transactions was $500 beyond what the victim had consented to. Citizens Bank canceled the card and opened a fraud investigation.
Patterson, who allegedly initiated the scheme, is listed as a co-defendant in the case. A summons was issued to Freeman on Sept. 3, according to court records. No bail or arraignment information is available.
A preliminary hearing for Freeman is scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy in Montgomery County on Dec. 2.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
