Henderson police accuse caretaker of $449K theft
A woman is accused of stealing nearly $450,000 after the death of a man she was caring for.
Heather Chastain, 40, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant and charged with a felony count of exploiting an older person, according to court records.
Police were alerted in April 2020 that a man believed Chastain had been stealing from his deceased parents, according to an arrest warrant from the Henderson Police Department released Wednesday. The man told police that his mother died in March 2019, leaving $650,000 for the caretaking of her husband, Michael Fullerton.
The Fullertons were living with Chastain, who continued to care for Michael Fullerton after his wife died, police said.
Records show Chastain was added to Fullerton’s bank account in May 2019. By the time Fullerton was hospitalized for deteriorating health in February 2020, more than $100,000 was missing.
Investigators spoke to Fullerton’s son, who made the initial report, and his sister, who both told police that none of the $449,200 taken out was used for Fullerton’s care.
Bank documents showed Chastain withdrew money 38 times from the account between July 2019 and March 2020, according to the police report. One transaction of $300,000 was made the day Fullerton was released into hospice care and another worth $115,000 was made the day he died.
Chastain declined to speak to police, according to the arrest report.
She is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court again Monday.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
