When Amazon packages started showing up at the Volusia County, Florida, home of a 72-year-old woman with dementia, no internet and no smartphone, her relatives knew something was wrong.
"I called Amazon and told them, 'Hey, she did not order this,'" said the woman's sister-in-law, who spoke to WFTV but did not want to be identified.
One phone call led to another. Pretty soon, the woman realized there was a much bigger problem than some misdelivered packages.
She said when she called Regions Bank on her sister-in-law’s behalf, the bank told her $10,000 had just been transferred into a SunTrust account.
"I said, 'What?!'" the woman told WFTV.
Volusia County deputies believe 42-year-old Karen Splain stole the woman’s identity and went on a shopping spree, buying a laptop from Montgomery Ward, shopping at Walmart and Hotels.com and even using Pay to send money to a jail inmate.
Records show Splain has a history of similar crimes. She was arrested in 2017 and 2018 for unlawful possession of a personal ID. WFTV reported last year that Holly Hill police caught her going through mailboxes. Police said Splain had checks and journals with people's Social Security numbers, dates of birth and account numbers.
Splain was released from jail in August after serving five months. She’s now back at the Volusia County Jail on an $80,000 bond.
Meanwhile, the relative of the 72-year-old woman who was allegedly scammed said there may be other victims, because they started receiving documents in other people’s names.
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