A South Florida elementary school teacher was arrested after authorities say she stole thousands of dollars from an 85-year-old woman.
Catherine Champon, 59, was arrested Wednesday on charges of grand theft and exploitation of the elderly, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office report.
Champon was ordered held on $11,000 during her appearance in bond court Thursday. She later bonded out of jail.
According to the report, Champon, a teacher at Village Elementary School in Sunrise, befriended the elderly woman and started taking her places. One of the places Champon took the woman was the bank, where she was able to get an ATM card and PIN number for the older woman's account, the report said.
Between June and July of this past year, Champon withdrew $6,440 from the account without permission and made thousands of dollars worth of purchases, the report said.
Champon made a $3,000 down payment on a car, bought wedding dresses valued at over $300, paid a suspended driver's license fee of $411.25, made a car insurance payment of $499 and made other purchases, the report said.
The victim's nephew discovered the transactions and reported them to the police. When Champon was arrested, she admitted that some of the transactions were done with permission but some were not, the report said.
