Whatcom woman allegedly bilks $13,000 from elderly victim she was helping care for
A Whatcom County woman is suspected of making more than $13,000 in fraudulent purchases and casino withdrawals using the debit card of an elderly woman with mobility issues she was supposed to helping in exchange for a place to live.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booked Melissa Marie Cunningham, 43, into Whatcom County Jail June 1 on suspicion of first-degree theft. Jail records show Cunningham was released June 2 on $1,500 bail.
The 79-year-old victim notified deputies that she suspected Cunningham had stolen her debit card on May 9 after finding she had insufficient funds in her account to pay her bills, Whatcom County Superior Court documents show.
The victim reported that beginning in May of 2021 she allowed Cunningham to begin living with her in exchange for Cunningham taking care of the victim, who has mobility issues and needed help buying groceries and cleaning the house, documents state. To allow Cunningham to buy groceries, the victim gave Cunningham her debit card and pin number.
On April 9, the victim realized her debit card was missing, but later found it May 6 on Cunningham’s bed and thought nothing of it, according to documents.
But on May 9, the victim reported finding insufficient funds in her account to pay her bills and thought she was missing approximately $3,000, documents state. The victim told deputies that Cunningham was the only person who had access to her card and knew the pin number.
A friend of the victim’s gave deputies a withdrawal receipt from the Northwood Casino for $302.57 made on April 27, which was during the period the victim thought she had lost the debit card, according to documents.
With the help of her friend, the victim printed out bank statements dating back to November of 2021 and highlighted the transactions she was responsible for and the ones she had authorized Cunningham to make.
By doing so, they found unauthorized transactions totaling $13,482.05 were made, documents state, including 66 transactions at the Northwood Casino between Jan. 3 and May 2 totaling $6,804.98.
Deputies found two transactions made April 27 at the Super Duper in Sumas — one for $20 in gas and the other an ATM withdrawal for $200, documents state, and video footage from the business showed Cunningham arriving at the gas station with her husband. Cunningham’s husband was reportedly shown using the victim’s debit card to withdraw $200 in cash and pump $20 in gas.
On June 1, deputies arrested Cunningham, according to documents, and after initially saying she believed she had been authorized to use the victim’s debit card to buy what she needed, she later changed to say 25% of the purchases had not been authorized by the victim.
