A Lakeland woman and her boyfriend stole her adopted grandmother's debit card and used it to make hundreds of dollars in purchases, deputies said.
Micaela Meada, 18, and Teofilo Deaza, 21, are facing charges of fraudulent use of credit/debit card three or more times, scheming to defraud, possession of stolen credit card, grand theft from person over 65 and criminal use of personal identification.
According to detectives, Meada took her 96-year-old grandmother's Wells Fargo debit card and used it to make purchases and withdrawals at a food store and a Wells Fargo ATM. In all, detectives said the pair spent $343.54 of the victim's money without her permission.
Wells Fargo noticed the suspicious activity and contacted the victim, and the card was deactivated, detectives said. Detectives said they looked at surveillance photos taken from the ATM and identified both Meada and Deaza making the withdrawals.
Detectives said that over the course of the investigation, they learned that the woman rarely used her ATM card, and kept her PIN written down in her purse along with the card because she had trouble remembering it.
“Wells Fargo did a great job acting quickly in this case," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "It is a pretty low down thing to steal from an elderly person—but especially from a 96-year-old woman who is your adoptive grandmother and who opened her home out of trust and willingness to help. Our detectives did a great job working with the bank to bring a successful conclusion to this case.”
Meada was adopted by the victim's daughter, who has since passed away. Detectives said Meada has stayed with the victim, on and off, since turning 18.