POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) – A home health aide has been arrested for allegedly stealing $141,594 from her blind, elderly client, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Carrie Hutchinson, a certified private nurse, is accused of stealing money from the 77-year-old victim who employed her for four years.

Detectives said in July that the man became suspicious about the state of his finances and asked a friend of his, who is a retired financial executive, to look into his accounts. Numerous fraudulent transactions were found and here are some examples:

• An order of “Pop On Veneers” that was sent to Hutchinson in July 2024 totaling $780 and charged to the victim’s American Express card.
• A December 2023 United Airlines ticket for a friend of Hutchinson’s to fly to Florida and visit her, charged to the victim’s American Express card.
• A $1,588 payment on the victim’s Bank of America card to Allegiant Airlines in August 2023 for Hutchinson and four friends to fly to Bangor, Maine.
• 270 orders on the victim’s Amazon account between April 2021 and July 2024 totaling $4,774.

Four years’ worth of theft from the victim included ATM withdrawals and payments for cruises, photography classes, VRBO rentals, pet supplies, animal hospital fees and her personal credit cards.

Hutchinson was employed by the victim as a home health aide to care for his wife; in January 2020, the victim’s wife died, and the victim retained her as a personal assistant – as such, she had access to his accounts to pay his bills, do his shopping, and take care of his finances. Her salary was $5,800 per month until 2024, when she received a raise and was paid $6,000 per month.

In July 2024, when she returned from a cruise, he confronted her about the theft and terminated her relationship. At that time, she told him that she had “borrowed” money from him to pay for her cruise, but that she was going to pay him back, and now that she was no longer employed, she would no longer be able to do so.

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