A Rochester woman accused of spending more than $17,000 of another woman's money was sentenced Monday to 10 years probation.
Theresa Anne Kuhn, 49, pleaded guilty Oct. 10 to felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult; in exchange, an identical count of financial exploitation and one count of felony financial transaction card fraud were dismissed.
In addition to the probation, Olmsted County District Court Judge Debra Jacobson ordered Kuhn to pay restitution and undergo a mental health screening, among other conditions.
Investigators were assigned to the case after a social worker alerted Rochester police to the transactions allegedly made by Kuhn, who had power of attorney for the 76-year-old woman.
The older woman spent about six weeks during 2012 in a senior care services facility, where she was diagnosed with dementia, according to the criminal complaint. During that period, the complaint says, Kuhn made cash withdrawals of $11,289 on the woman's bank accounts, as well as credit card charges of $6,039.
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When police spoke to Kuhn, she allegedly admitted that none of the money or charges went to benefit the victim. The report says she admitted to gambling and shopping sprees with the cash. The credit card charges allegedly were for clothing and liquor and to pay her taxes.
