Couple bilked woman suffering from dementia of $1,500 in Parker County, sheriff says
A 55-year-old Azle man who had provided transportation to a Parker County woman suffering from dementia was in custody Monday and accused of scamming the elderly victim of about $1,500.
Parker County authorities believe a 58-year-old woman was an accomplice in the scam.
Investigators said the suspects were able to take only $1,500 because of vigilant bank employees who questioned the 78-year-old woman when she made so many recent withdrawals, and they convinced her to withdraw a small amount.
Parker County authorities identified one of the suspects as Philip Dewayne Mack, who was an employee of a local transportation company.
The other suspect was identified as Sandra Rockwell Heine, of Weatherford.
Investigators believe the woman had been scammed for months, but authorities began an investigation when they were alerted by the woman’s home health agency that she was missing.
Investigators were at the woman’s Parker County home when they saw the suspect later identified as Mack driving her back home.
“When our investigators arrived at her home to look into the case, they found the missing woman returning home, being driven by a male individual,” said Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier in a Monday news release. “As investigators looked further into the circumstances, they discovered the man and a woman had been exploiting the victim for four months.”
Mack later told investigators that he frequently drove the woman to the bank to make withdrawals, and friends of hers had told him to stay away from her.
Bank employees told investigators Heine and Mack had been escorting the woman for withdrawals, and the frequency and withdrawal amounts had increased.
Authorities said that Mack had even attempted to get his name placed on the woman’s account, but he was unsuccessful.
Sheriff’s investigators determined that the suspects had been taking the woman to other branch locations for additional withdrawals on the same dates.
During the investigation, criminal trespass warnings were placed on the suspects for the woman’s Parker County home.
Investigators said an emergency protective order was obtained on behalf of the victim.
“The victim has been placed in a proper care facility where she will receive the protection and assistance she needs,” Authier said. “She also has a state-appointed guardian to oversee her affairs.”
Mack was arrested Thursday in Jack County on a Parker County warrant for exploitation of the elderly/disabled.
Heine also faces a charge of exploitation of the elderly/disabled, and she was in the Parker County Jail in Weatherford on Monday.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 1:08 PM.
