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Scott Twp. Woman Accused Of Stealing Nearly $50,000 From Her Mother

SCOTT TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - A Scott Township woman has been charged after being accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her own mother.

Gloria Wertz has been charged with theft by deception, receiving stolen property and access device fraud.

According to the criminal complaint, Wertz was helping to care for her 80-year-old mother, Martha Kimble. Kimble's brother raised concerns about her, saying she wasn't getting enough food to eat. The complaint says often times, neighbors and other organizations would have to bring food to Kimble.

The Allegheny County Department of Aging investigated the food issues. Then, in March, the District Attorney's Office began its own investigation.

Kimble's home was refinanced four times over the period from August 2011 to November 2013. Kimble told detectives that she had no clue why it was refinanced, but she remembered signing papers with her daughter at the bank.

Along with financial questions, the police were also called to Kimble's home on Sampson Avenue in Crafton several times for domestic disputes. An investigation in January by senior services showed negligence and emotional abuse by Wertz to her mother.

Police found 64 checks from Kimble written out to "cash" or "Gloria Wertz." The checks were worth more than $17,000. All of them were endorsed by Wertz.

Wertz admitted to cashing the checks that were written payable to "cash" and to "Gloria Wertz." She stated sometimes she used the cash from the checks to pay her mother's bills from her and her husband's Dollar Bank account. When asked why, Wertz couldn't explain why she didn't just use her mother's PNC Bank account to pay the bills.

The criminal complaint went on to say Wertz racked up more than $6,000 on Kimble's Sears credit card. She is also accused of using nearly $1,300 to pay some of her personal bills to places like Verizon, Columbia Gas and DirecTV.

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