Woman Allegedly Steals & Pawns Elderly Woman's Wedding Ring
A woman in Reno, NV reportedly stole and pawned an 89-year-old hospice patient’s wedding ring, according to a story on mynews4.com. Michelle Smith was caring for the 89-year-old woman when she allegedly removed a solitaire ring and a wedding band from her finger and replaced them with fake jewelry.
After the elderly woman passed away on September 1st, Smith pawned the rings for $500. On December 1st, police were able to find Smith and she was charged with elder exploitation, burglary, obtaining money under false pretenses, grand larceny, and possession of stolen property.
Elders suffering from some form of mental disability such as Alzheimer’s disease are often the victims of financial exploitation or blatant theft. Unfortunately these are the people that are unable to prevent any sort of attack against them. While the 89-year-old victim may be getting justice for being victimized by the perpetrator, in many cases, the victims of elder financial abuse or exploitation do not see any form of justice. Many people lose hundreds or thousands of dollars in finances because either the crime goes unreported or the thieves are never brought to justice. The sad part of this is the woman did not survive to see Smith brought to justice because she passed away just before Smith was brought into custody.
