A caregiver, who allegedly charged alcohol, fast food and gas to a credit card that belonged to a woman she was taking care of, was charged with personal identity theft, according to the Racine County District Attorney’s Office.
Katie Rode, 24, of Racine, was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with seven felony counts of personal identity theft – financial gain. If convicted on all counts, she faces up to 42 years in prison or fines up to $70,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Caledonia Police spoke to a man who filed a complaint against Rode on behalf of his mother Virginia Schultz, who has a disability and has poor eyesight. The man has power of attorney and pays his mother’s bills. He told police that he suspected that Rode used Schultz’s credit card to buy $365 in groceries, food and gas.
During an investigation, detectives obtained videos from Pick’n Save that showed Rode making the purchases in December.
Schultz told police that she gave Schultz her debit card and a grocery list on Nov. 15 to go to the store to buy groceries for her. However, there were other purchases made including hot wings, cheese curds, candy and alcohol.