Cary woman charged with financial exploitation

A home caretaker stole a credit card from the elderly woman for whom she was working and used it to make more than $1,500 in purchases, authorities said.

Alina M. Nunes, 25, of the 200 block of Second Street in Cary, was arrested Friday on a felony charge of unlawful financial exploitation of an elderly person.

Nunes was employed by Arlington Heights-based Northwest Care and had been assigned to care for the 90-year-old Fox River Grove woman, police said.

Authorities said she used the card April 20 to buy merchandise and food totaling $284.84 at a Walmart store, and she used her own name when signing a receipt.

She also was captured on store surveillance cameras making the purchase, police said.

Another charge on the card indicates a purchase was made April 18 for a $150 towing fee. Police say Nunes’ fiance was arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license.

Bond was set at $40,000, and Nunes was unable to post the 10 percent required to be released. She remains in McHenry County Jail.