Heather Nelson (Brevard County Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida housekeeper, who was formerly responsible for maintaining peace in the home of her elderly employer, was taken into custody recently following a violent incident on Christmas Eve, as reported by law enforcement authorities in Florida.
Heather Nelson, aged 29, has been charged with several serious crimes, such as aggravated battery, theft, forgery, fraud, using counterfeit currency, and grand theft, as outlined in official statements and legal documents in Brevard County. She is also facing a misdemeanor charge for fraud.
The incident allegedly stemmed from the victim’s inability to provide her cleaner with a requested $500 Christmas bonus.
Following the denial of a bonus, the accused reportedly absconded with an even larger sum of money, resulting in the elderly 83-year-old victim sustaining injuries including a swollen wrist, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
“She actually took the check by force, [she] took some Christmas cards that had money in them, took some debit and credit cards, left the residence, forged some signatures and attempted to take quite a bit of money from this woman,” sheriff’s office’s public information officer Tod Goodyear told Orlando-based Fox affiliate WOFL.
But Nelson’s alleged transgressions did not end with the purloining of the checkbook, the sheriff’s office alleges.
Investigators say the defendant went on to use the stolen lucre to pay her outstanding rent, drafting a check in the amount of $1,400 — significantly exceeding the amount of the would-be bonus.
“Based on what she was using the monies for, she was in financial trouble,” Goodyear went on to tell the TV station. “Maybe she just saw this as the only way possibly out of it, but to take advantage of our elderly seniors is not what you do.”
Nelson was apprehended nearly two weeks after the initial incident, a delay attributed to the time required to trace her alleged financial malfeasance. Deputies followed the money trail after the allegedly forged check cleared and credit card transactions posted, which led to Nelson’s arrest on Jan. 7, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office castigated the defendant in a multiple-paragraph press release with multiple Dr. Suess references upon her arrest.
From that missive, at length:
When the victim announced that she didn’t have enough money to give her a bonus, Nelson responded by physically wrenching the victim’s checkbook from her hand, stealing a check from the checkbook, and then, I guess in an effort to ruin other people’s Christmas as well, stole Christmas cards that were set to be mailed out also containing checks!! Damn Grinch, you went too far!! I guess committing battery and almost breaking the wrist of the elderly victim wasn’t bad enough so you decide to steal all her money and take Christmas gifts that were meant for others away as well!! What’s next … kick her dog?
“Now while the original Grinch story may have ended with everyone in ‘Whoville’ being happy and sharing their Christmas with the Grinch, this one ends with Agent Sherrill not being happy at all about what happened and going to get a warrant,” the press release goes on.
Authorities say the housekeeper was a longtime and trusted employee.
“The elderly are scammed, they are taken advantage of by other people a lot of times because they have some diminished capacity, or they’re very trusting,” Goodyear told WFOL. “They grew up in a time when people trusted each other.”
Originally arrested and held on $30,000 bond, Brevard County Jail records show Nelson was released on Jan. 9.
