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POSTED: Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Former caretaker accused of stealing from Haggen matriarch

A former in-home caregiver has been accused of stealing more than $7,000 from Haggen grocery store matriarch Dorothy Haggen before she died at age 99 in October 2008.

A Bellingham police detective arrested Ana E. Jimenez, 24, of Bellingham Thursday, Oct. 22, and booked her into Whatcom County Jail after she turned herself in at the police station, Sgt. Tim Lintz said.

Jimenez has yet to be charged, though prosecutors said they intend to charge her with first-degree theft. She was released without having to post bail after making her first appearance in Whatcom County Superior Court Thursday.

Jimenez would go shopping for Haggen, who helped her late husband launch the grocery store chain in 1933, at stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco, and purchase small items - usually costing $30 to $100 - with Haggen's money, Lintz said.

After she purchased the items, Jimenez would return them for cash, Lintz said. Jimenez, who started caring for Haggen in October 2005, was able to get $7,680 from the scheme, he said.

The thefts, which lasted for eight months in 2008, were reported to police in September 2008, Lintz said.

Jimenez confessed to the thefts when a detective interviewed her, Lintz said.

Jimenez's attorney, Jeffrey Lustick, said she was cooperative when a Haggen Inc. security officer confronted her about the thefts and provided details about how the scheme worked.

Lustick said he tried to pursue a civil resolution for the case, meaning Jimenez would repay the money as well as other damages and no criminal charges would be filed, with Haggen Inc. throughout the last year.

"We tried very much to talk to Haggen about settling this without criminal prosecution," Lustick said.

Lintz wasn't sure why it took so long for detectives to arrest Jimenez and send the case to the Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office.

Dorothy Haggen's son Rick Haggen said the thefts were from his mother's personal bank account, but he declined to comment beyond that.