Police charge couple for financial elder abuse: Report

Local news outlets reported that a woman was arrested and charged for exploitation of an elderly person, forgery and both theft and identify theft.

According to News Channel Three, the son of an elderly woman reported to authorities that a woman, who was entrusted to be responsible for paying the senior citizen’s bills, stole over $400,000 from the woman’s bank account over about a year’s time starting in 2021.

Lee Anne Harris and her husband, Henry Harris, were booked into the Shelby County Jail, reportedly.

The victim’s son, according to the article, discovered that the Harris’s spent over $200, 000 of the allegedly stolen funds to shop for merchandise and to dine out.

Meritan is part of the Memphis Coordinated Community Response team that intervenes to protect older adults where there is a suspicion of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as well as suspicions of neglect, abandonment or financial exploitation, regardless of the setting or situation.

To learn more, check out the Family Safety Center website.