Two women are in jail charged with exploitation of the infirmed for stealing $400,000 from the bank account of a 96 year old, said Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator.

Jennifer Smith, 39, of Shreveport, and Alice “Alye” Haralson, 39, of Stonewall, were both arrested on Wednesday on warrants obtained by Caddo Sheriff’s Detective Robert Presley.

In December 2014, Presley began investigating the Powers of Attorney for the 96-year-old victim, who lives in a nursing home. He discovered the victim’s money had been spent on trips to Mexico, Las Vegas, a waterpark/hotel, an amusement park, and a Carnival Cruise.   Thousands of dollars were spent on furniture when the victim no longer had a house, and thousands were spent at pet stores and for animal hospital visits when she had no pets.  Hundreds more were spent at clothing stores, restaurants and beauty salons while the nursing home had no record of the victim leaving its facility other than for medical purposes. 

Smith is the victim’s granddaughter and was Power of Attorney for her estate between April 2012 and August 2013. She is accused of misappropriating over $200,000.  Haralson was a personal sitter for the victim and her Power of Attorney between August 2013 and July 2014. She also misappropriated over $200,000.  The case was turned over to the Caddo-Shreveport Financial Crimes Task Force after a family attorney noticed suspicious activity.

Both women are being held on $150,000 bond at Caddo Correctional Center.  The investigation is continuing, and the loss amount is expected to increase.