Crime & Safety

Police: Woman Stole Credit Card From Nursing Home Patient to Rack Up Charges

Palos Hills police reports, Oct. 25.

Police say that a 44-year-old woman stole a credit card from a nursing home patient's purse and proceeded to rack up hundreds of dollars of charges. 

On Oct. 15 police began an investigation after a patient at a Palos Hills nursing home facility reported that items were taken from her purse. One of the items reported missing was a credit card that was not yet activated, police said. 

The card was used to ring up a total of $483 in charged in various locations in Palos Hills, Evergreen Park and Chicago, police said. 

Detectives tracked the charges to Michelle Howard, 44, of Chicago. She was charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person, which is a class three felony. 

She appeared in court on Oct. 25 where bod was set at $50,000. 
 
In a statement, Palos Hills Police Chief Paul Madigan weighed in on the case. 

“Crimes against elderly people are and unfortunate circumstance of society today and I am glad that solid investigative work lead to the offender being charged with a felony and held accountable for her actions,“ he said. 

Police report information is provided by Palos Hills police. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.


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