Ex-South Florida pastor accused of stealing over $18K from elderly church couple
MIAMI -- A former South Florida pastor has been arrested and is facing charges that she stole thousands of dollars from an elderly married couple she knew from church and who were both suffering from dementia, police said Thursday.
Yvonne Hampton-Barley, 63, of Miami Gardens, was booked into the Miami-Dade Correctional Center after she was charged with four felony criminal counts, including exploitation of the elderly, first- and third-degree grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, according to the arrest affidavit.
It was not immediately clear if bond has been set for Hampton Barley or if she was still in custody as of Thursday night.
According to investigators, the woman was a pastor at a church attended by the 81-year-old man and his 89-year-old wife, both of whom are suffering from some form of dementia.
The suspect knew the couple for at least 10 years, and befriended them during that time, police said in a written statement. Investigators did not immediately identify the church attended by the three.
Investigators said the woman took advantage of the couple in May 2018 when she added her name to the property deed for the home in the 500 block of Ives Dairy Road that they had owned for 21 years.
Police said the woman also obtained a power of attorney over the couple four years ago, giving her access to their pension account, life insurance policy and credit union account.
Police said the woman pretended to be a daughter of the couple before cashing out the life insurance for the elderly man.
According to investigators, Hampton-Barley was able to withdraw nearly $18,500 from their financial accounts.
Police said the scheme began to unravel when their niece discovered that the suspect had added her name to the home deed.
Hampton-Barley was arrested Dec. 14, according to the police report.
Miami-Dade police gave a warning on how you can protect people you love so this doesn't happen to them.
"If there are any changes to the banking accounts, if there are new accounts that are opened, credit cards that are received when no one has applied for a credit card, changed to a deed or home or any type of property. Those are all telltale signs there might be some sort of fraud taking place," said police spokesman Angel Rodriguez.
Police have not ruled out that there could be other victims. Anyone who has been in contact with Hampton-Barley and felt like they were taken advantage of is urge to contact them.
