Elgin caregiver charged with stealing from couple

A former Elgin caregiver was ordered held on a $20,000 I-bond this week on charges she took blank checks from a couple she was caring for and used them to deposit more than $500.

Gretchen King, 19, is charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person and forgery. If convicted, King, who was arrested by Schaumbug police, faces up to seven years in prison. Probation is also an option.

Between April 1 and May 31, King was working as a caregiver for a husband and wife who are older than 60 with "serious health conditions," said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis.

According to Kalliantasis, King took blank checks from two accounts belonging to the couple. He said she made out one check for $80 and another for $500 and deposited them into a bank account. An Elgin bank's surveillance video subsequently showed King in the drive-through lane, Kalliantasis said, but he provided no additional details.

Cook County Judge Ellen Mandeltort ordered King, who currently resides in Oklahoma, have no contact with the couple. She next appears in court Nov. 6.