A Tongan woman helped herself to over US $100,000 belonging to a 98-year-old widow who she was supposed to help in San Carlos.
The alleged thefts began in 2015, after a local church recommended that the woman hire 50-year-old Nina Guttenbeil of Redwood City, The Mercury news reported.
Guttenbeil took $107,158 from the woman through ATM withdrawals, the report said.
Prosecutors have charged Guttenbeil with felony theft from an elder by a caretaker, and felony identity theft.
Guttenbeil pleaded not guilty to the charges when she was arraigned Tuesday in Redwood City. She is in custody on a $50,000 bond.
The woman’s daughters discovered the thefts after they began looking into their mother’s finances earlier this year, authorities said. According to the district attorney’s office, Guttenbeil admitted to the thefts when the women confronted her.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steven Wagstaffe said Guttenbeil has not given a statement to law enforcement, and said investigators are still trying to determine why she stole from the woman.
“We don’t know at this point where the money went,” Wagstaffe said.
