West Englewood woman charged with exploiting elderly

West Englewood woman charged with exploiting elderly


Booking photo of Kim Brownlee (Police photo / April 22, 2012)

2:46 p.m. CDT, April 22, 2012

Bail was set at $70,000 Saturday for a West Englewood neighborhood woman who is accused of financially exploiting an 83-year-old woman while she was supposed to be cleaning the victim's home, authorities said.

Kim Brownlee was booked into Cook County Jail Saturday after a judge set her bail at $70,000, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office.

Brownlee was employed by Help at Home, Inc. and was assigned to clean an 83-year-old woman's home in the 6700 block of South Keating Avenue in the West Lawn neighborhood. In the home, Brownlee got access to the victim's checkbook and made out eleven checks to herself, signed the victim's name, and cashed the checks, totaling $1,400, from Nov. 1, 2011 to Dec. 27, 2011, police said.

Brownlee, 36, of the 5600 block of South Marshfield Avenue, was charged with one count of financial exploitation of the elderly, police said. She was arrested at her home at 9:40 a.m. Friday and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on April 27, according to the sheriff's office.

A Help at Home, Inc., representative was not available Sunday afternoon.
rsobol@tribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-west-englewood-elderly-exploitation-kim-brownlee,0,2999856.story