Editor’s note: Virginia R. McLachlan was found not guilty of all charges in May 2025.

A Leechburg woman with power of attorney for her elderly relative is accused of keeping the money after selling her relative’s home and then abandoning her at a nursing home with the $25 left over from $80,000 in savings and investments she had.

Virginia R. McLachlan, 72, of the 200 block of Floral Avenue was charged Tuesday with felony counts of theft, failing to make required deposits and receiving stolen property.

She was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond. She was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing Dec. 12 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.

County detectives began investigating McLachlan in June after other family members contacted the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging with concerns about the proceeds from the sale of a home, according to a criminal complaint.

Investigators said McLachlan was granted power of attorney for her relative’s affairs in November 2019 but ended the relationship in January.

Police said financial records from the company that handled the sale of the house showed it was sold by McLachlan on July 15, 2022, for $28,002 and the money was transferred by wire into her bank account, the complaint said.

The owner of the house told investigators she never gave McLachlan permission to sell the property.

The woman also told police she had $40,000 in a checking account and another $40,000 in an investment account when she granted McLachlan power of attorney.

The woman told investigators she had agreed to pay McLachlan’s daughter $800 a month for the help she provided and that McLachlan was to be reimbursed for expenses as a result of the care she provided.

Investigators received a list of nearly two dozen checks totaling about $19,000 that McLachlan is accused of writing out to herself.

The list includes two checks totaling $1,350 for a mattress and box spring that McLachlan never bought, the complaint said.

McLachlan also is accused of withdrawing $5,000 from the investment account for a stairlift at her relative’s home, but family members told police it was never installed.

Investigators said McLachlan’s relative was left with only $25.32 when she provided her with a letter in January stating she was removing herself from power of attorney.

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