A Cass County woman is headed to trial on a felony charge she exploited her grandmother by driving the 70-year-old woman, who has Alzheimer's, to the bank and having her withdraw thousands of dollars.
Angela L. Oien, 23, of Horace, N.D., wrote out at least six withdrawal slips over the course of a month last fall and had her grandmother sign them, police said. The grandmother lost more than $3,000 but couldn't recall for an investigator the transactions or even the bank she used, court records say.
Another family member who was responsible for the grandmother's finances asked police to investigate after noticing the withdrawals.
She told an officer she suspected Oien had used some of the money for household purchases, according to a police report.
A bank official had also told the family member that tellers at the bank were beginning to worry about all the transactions. He said they couldn't do anything about it, though, because the account holder was signing for them.
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Oien told police she knew her grandmother had Alzheimer's and that it was wrong to have her withdraw the money, according to the investigator's report. She told the officer she had no idea how much she owed her grandmother, the report said.
Prosecutors charged her with exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Oien appeared in Cass County District Court Wednesday to have a July 13 trial date set. The case could be resolved by then.
Oien's attorney, Richard Edinger, declined to comment. A call to a cell phone number Oien listed in court records did not work.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Forster at (701) 241-5538
