Caretaker accused of embezzling $160K from Bloomfield Twp. woman charged

A Pontiac woman accused of embezzling $160,000 from the Bloomfield Township woman she was hired to care for has been charged, officials said.

Marivelis Serrano, 48, was arraigned Tuesday in 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills on multiple charges, township police said.

Serrano was charged with embezzlement of $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony, 12 counts of uttering and publishing, each a 14-year felony, and five counts of identity theft, each with a five-year penalty.

A judge set her bond at $50,000 and scheduled her next court hearing for Tuesday, according to court records.

Serrano's attorney, Brandon Kizy, said he had no comment Wednesday.

Police said investigators in January received a complaint about the alleged financial exploitation of an 85-year-old resident.

Detectives found a suspect stole more than $160,000 from the victim and transferred the money to another bank account. After the transfer, thousands of dollars were spent on online gambling, investigators said.

Officials said they developed Serrano as the suspect and investigated further. Serrano was the victim's caretaker and was hired to perform housecleaning and transportation services and help with other day-to-day tasks.

Authorities found Serrano had also used the victim's debit card without her permission to buy thousands of dollars in goods, including $6,200 in merchandise from Amazon and another $3,600 from Instacart.

Detectives presented their findings to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, which authorized multiple charges against Serrano and issued an arrest warrant.

Police said Serrano turned herself in to authorities at the 48th District Court on Tuesday.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

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