Police say a woman hired to care for a bedridden Albuquerque man stole nearly $6,000 from him.
Albuquerque police said 27-year-old Gloria Flores faces fraud charges after investigators established she used the man’s credit card to make unauthorized purchases amounting to $5,883. Authorities said the charges included payments to GEICO, Discount Tire and Albertsons.
The alleged theft only emerged after the victim’s landlord went through the mail and noticed Flores was no longer working at the man’s apartment, the victim’s daughter, Sally Linhart, said. “She’d been using the credit card and the statements had been coming in the mail, so she was intercepting those,” Linhart said.
Linhart lives in Oklahoma, which is about eight hours away. She claimed Flores later admitted in text messages that she had taken the money.
“I’m going to give you this opportunity. Just admit what you’ve done, pay us back, and it’ll be a lesson learned for you,” Linhart said she told Flores. But Flores refused, she said.
Linhart said her father had fallen victim to fraud in the past. About three or four years ago, another caregiver stole money from him but agreed to repay the amount over the course of a year. “I contacted the girl, and I said, ‘I know what you’ve done,’ and she said, ‘Please do not call the police. Please do not press charges. I will pay you back,’” Linhart said. “And she did.”
Officials with New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services said elder abuse can take many forms. New cases of fraud continue to victimize the elderly, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation saying elder fraud scams cost the state $55 million in 2025.