A Greensburg woman hired to take care of an elderly Derry Township woman is accused of buying herself gift cards totaling almost $2,200 by using a woman’s credit card at two area supermarkets, state police at Greensburg said.
The suspect, Mary Ellen Poscich, 45, allegedly defrauded the woman out of $2,198 by using her Discover credit card seven times between Dec. 3 and Feb. 22 to buy gift cards at the Shop ‘n Save supermarket on Lincoln Road in Latrobe and twice at the Giant Eagle supermarket at Mountain Laurel Plaza along Route 30 in Unity, according to court documents.
Police said Poscich told them she was “having a rough time with medical expenses” since she was diagnosed with diabetes in November.
Authorities were notified when the woman questioned the supermarket charges on her credit card bill. State police said they obtained video surveillance of Poscich allegedly purchasing the gift cards.
Poscich was arraigned Thursday before Derry Township District Judge Mark Bilik on two counts of theft and single counts of receiving stolen property and access device fraud. She was released on her own recognizance, pending a preliminary hearing before Bilik on March 27.
