LEESBURG – Officers responded to a home in Leesburg in reference to a theft Tuesday night according to a report.
Upon arrival, officers met with 88-year-old Dorothy Duncan who advised them that she and her friend noticed some inconsistencies in her bank statements.
In the report, Duncan stated that during a conversation with her friend, her friend became suspicious of a man that Duncan allowed to live with her stating that she believed he was stealing money from her bank account.
Duncan told officers that she allowed 48-year-old Gregory Poehler, his girlfriend, and children to live with her back in 2013 for a short while in exchange for him giving her rides to and from places such as the bank and doctor appointments. Duncan also told officers that during that time she also paid Poehler $200 a week and he had free room and board.
Duncan stated that during the time Poehler and his family lived with her, items such as money and jewelry ended up missing. When Duncan discovered that Poehler’s daughter was behind the missing items, she demanded Poehler and his family to move out.
After moving out of Duncan’s home, Duncan continued to pay Poehler every week and Poehler continued to help her around the home.
After the conversation between Duncan and her friend, they drove to the bank and looked into the banking history where Duncan stated that she discovered payments to an auto insurance policy for Poehler’s vehicle, several checks that were written to various places, and a subscription to the NFL Football Season Package from Direct TV, all of which Duncan stated she did not authorize.
Duncan also reported that she discovered that Poehler was attempting to transfer the title of her vehicle to himself and that the bank records showed there were several debit cards issued in Duncan’s name that she did not authorize.
While officers were talking to Duncan and her friend, Poehler arrived at the home stating that he was checking up on Duncan at which time she confronted him about the unauthorized transactions and the title of the vehicle.
Poehler asked to speak to the officers in private where he admitted that he had used her account on some occasions but he intended to repay everything he had “borrowed”. He also told officers that Duncan had agreed to pay for the insurance on his vehicle even though she denied that she did.
According to the report, it is undetermined how much of the money was stolen and how much Duncan approved, however, Duncan and her friend estimated the total amount stolen exceeded $20,000.
Poehler was arrested and charged with exploitation of an elderly adult over the age of 65.
When officers searched Poehler during the arrest, they discovered a credit card in Poehler’s wallet that was issued to Duncan.
Poehler was booked in the Lake County Jail just after midnight Wednesday morning. He was released the same day after posting a $5,000 bond.
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