2 charged with scamming elderly woman

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- A Southeast Missouri prosecutor has charged two people with scamming an elderly woman out of more than $300,000.

The Daily Journal in Park Hills, Missouri, reported 54-year-old Cynthia Pennington and 47-year-old Randy Pennington of Farmington face one count each of financial exploitation of an elderly person.

Both are free on $100,000 bond, with arraignment scheduled Sept. 25. They do not have listed phone numbers and did not have attorneys as of Sunday.

The woman owned several properties including homes and condominiums. Investigators said she hired Cynthia Pennington for office work in 2006 and Randy Pennington sometime later to handle maintenance.

The charges allege the defendants ran up nearly $50,000 on credit cards opened in the woman's name and wrote hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of checks on her account for personal expenses.

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Information from: Daily Journal, http://dailyjournalonline.com