ROCHESTER — A Mazeppa woman has been accused of withdrawing more than $178,000 from a vulnerable adult’s bank account, according to new charges filed Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Daphne Jo Castillo, 58, is charged with 10 counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count of issuing a bad check, all felonies. Her first appearance is scheduled for January 16, 2025, in Olmsted County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office was assigned to an adult protective case for possible financial exploitation on June 7. An investigator looked into an abuse report for a woman who had an outstanding balance of nearly $30,000 due to a memory care facility in northwest Rochester where she lived. A check written in the amount of $10,500 was returned for insufficient funds.

An investigator noticed “several suspicious transactions,” including cash withdrawals, on the woman’s bank statements, the complaint said. In July, Castillo told law enforcement that she has been the woman’s attorney since 2014, when the woman was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Castillo said he purchased items for the woman’s benefit from the woman’s account. Because he had trouble using the woman’s card, Castillo began withdrawing cash for purchases.

“She did not keep receipts and was unable to verify how the money she withdrew was used,” the complaint states.

Castillo said he did not know how much money he took out of the woman’s account, but admitted he used some of the money for a truck Castillo purchased, the complaint said.

Following Castillo’s interview with law enforcement, an Olmsted County adult welfare social worker found that Castillo began withdrawing funds from the woman’s account as early as 2019. Castillo withdrew more than $16,400 from July to December 2019, $28,000 in 2020, $15,100 to $20,251. 2022, $61,700 in 2023 and $44,600 from January to June 2024.

In all, the complaint alleges, Castillo withdrew $178,643.16 from the woman’s account over five years.