At age 96, John Oatman needs a little help getting around these days -- so much that he welcomes home health care workers into his home.

But police accuse some of his helpers of helping themselves to Oatman’s money by using his credit and debit cards.

“I just felt like someone took advantage of me, you know,” Oatman said. “I’m trying to forget about it.”

Three women -- including two former health care workers -- now face theft charges in relation to Oatman.

Cynthia House, who worked for Girling Home Health, and her daughter, Myesha Harper, are accused of using Oatman's credit card to pay for a $75 fine on an expired inspection sticker, make payments on a cell phone, electric bill and student loan and make purchases at an area gas station.

The third woman, Latasha Hill, who also worked for Girling, is accused of spending thousands of dollars from Oatman’s debit card at an East Austin Shell Station and of financing a car in Oatman’s name without his knowledge.

“I’m happy that it's kind of come to an end,” Oatman said Monday at a press conference at the Austin Police Department. “I appreciate everything you people have done.”

Oatman will not be liable for the roughly $40,000 charged to his accounts.

“It's beyond me how someone could take advantage of someone who's 96 years old and on a fixed income,” says Det. Dewayne Friar of the Austin Police Department financial crimes unit.

Girling Home Health Care released this statement:

“Both employees were terminated immediately when we became aware of the allegations and also learned that they were not following company policies. We always conduct thorough background checks on all prospective employees and check references. We did so when both of these employees were hired and did not find any concerns."

Police say the situation is part of an alarming increase in the number of financial crimes reported against the elderly.

“We have a widespread problem in our community with elderly and handicapped workers being exploited by health care workers and caregivers,” Friar said. “The number of cases recently has gone from more than triple what we used to get. I don’t think there’s any more cases. I think more cases are actually being reported. We just want to make the public aware of the problem.”

Cindy Chumley, an adult protective specialist with adult protective services, says the lesson learned is not to stay away from home health workers.

APD

Cynthia House

APD

Myesha Harper

“Home health is something that’s a necessity,” she says. “They usually have really good people that come in. It’s only a very few that take advantage.

“It’s very frustrating because these are people that an elderly person depends on and trusts,” she said.

Police advice those who hire home health care workers to guard their credit cards and personal financial information.

“No one in your house as a health care worker or a caregiver needs to have any access to anyone’s finances,” Friar says. “That’s not their job and not their responsibility.”

As for Oatman, he says he’s forgiven those police say stole from him, but he says forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting the lesson he’s learned. He says he will lock up his wallet from now on.