She was supposed to be caring for a dying woman. Police say she was stealing from her instead.

A woman is accused of defrauding and stealing thousands of dollars and more from a dying elderly woman in her care, Durham authorities said Thursday.

Betsy Lauren Robertson, a 35-year-old health aide from Burlington, was charged with eight counts of obtaining property by false pretense, exploitation of a disabled or elderly person and identity theft after the elderly woman’s family discovered items were missing from a home.

The family of Karen Rogers learned about the missing items, including jewelry and checks from her bank account, after Rogers died in May, according to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.

Thousands of dollars were missing from Rogers’ checking account during the time she was under the Robertson’s care.

Missing checks also led them to discover that money was missing from Rogers’ account.

Sheriff’s Office investigators found that Robertson allegedly used Rogers’ financial information to access her bank account and make several transactions.

Investigators said Robertson applied for multiple credit accounts using the dead woman’s information.

Robertson was also recently charged by Durham police with felony larceny from a healthcare client, authorities said.

Robertson posted a $5,000 bond.

This story was originally published August 24, 2023 at 4:55 PM.

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra

The News & Observer

(919) 297-8162

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra is a breaking news reporter for The News & Observer and previously covered business and real estate for the paper. His background includes reporting for WLRN Public Media in Miami and as a freelance journalist in Raleigh and Charlotte covering Latino communities. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University, a native Spanish speaker and was born in Mexico. You can follow his work on Twitter at @aaronsguerra.