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DeLand Police arrested a 35-year-old DeLand woman Friday after an investigation found she stole more than $100,000 from her aunt, the DeLand Police Department announced Monday.
Brandie Woodward was arrested and charged with exploitation of an elderly person of more than $100,000. She remains in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $5,000 bail as of Monday morning.
The investigation began in May 2018 after the Department of Children and Families contacted police to report Woodward had been stealing money from her aunt as her power of attorney.
A DeLand Police Department charging affidavit says the total amount transferred from the victim’s savings account to Woodward’s account was $165,019. The transfers of money — more than 150 of them — took place between December 2016 and April 2018.
Additionally, the charging affidavit says that Woodward made herself the beneficiary of the victim’s life-insurance policy.
Detectives attempted to interview Brandie Woodward on several occasions, but each time she would cancel the meeting, police said.
The Department of Children and Families has been conducting its own investigation into the matter, according to the charging affidavit.
“The DCF report indicates that [the victim] is of sound mind and is able to handle her own finances. [She] only appears to suffer from physical limitations associated with aging. [The victim] has since removed Brandie as her power of attorney,” part of the affidavit reads. “According to the DCF Report dated on 5/3/2018 … based on the preponderance of evidence that [the victim] is the victim of exploitation.”
