An East Hempfield Township man is charged with stealing nearly $250,000 from his mother while serving as power of attorney when she was in a Lititz assisted-living community.
Jeffrey S. Weit made 237 transactions from his mother’s account, since 2013, which police determined were for Weit’s personal use, including business expenses.
Weit, 57, continued making withdrawals from his mother’s account even after her death in February 2019.
Lititz Borough police Detective Jevon Miller charged Weit with two counts of felony theft, with approval from Assistant District Attorney Mari Andracchio. Advocate Allen Leed, of the DA’s Office’s Elder Abuse Unit, assisted in the investigation.
Weit surrendered Wednesday morning at District Judge Edward Tobin’s office. District Judge Tobin arraigned Weit on the felonies and set bail at $200,000 unsecured.
Weit is presumed innocent.
Police became aware of the thefts when family reported the mother’s balance owed to Luther Acres was overdue.
Police determined Weit knew he was not to be using his mother’s money for personal expenses.
“Lititz Borough police put a tremendous amount of investigative effort into tracking this cycle of thefts by a power of attorney relative,” District Attorney Heather Adams said this week. “Financial exploitation of elderly residents will not be tolerated in Lancaster County.”
(Earlier this month in Lancaster County, a woman was charged with stealing about $100,000 from her father while she was power of attorney and he was staying at an Elizabethtown care home.)
In the Lititz case, Detective Miller sifted through numerous bank records and uncovered 237 transactions – personal checks Weit wrote to himself, e-payments and withdrawals – that went toward Weit’s personal use and not his mother’s care at Luther Acres.
In all, police found Weit used $248,855 for personal expenditures.
Weit also neglected to make regular payments to Luther Acres for his mother’s care. Police found 73 late or non-payments to Luther Acres since she moved there in 2013. At one point, in 2018, there was an outstanding balance over $200,000 owed to Luther Acres.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright
