A Village of Lynnhaven woman has been arrested after she allegedly raided her mother’s pre-paid funeral account of more than $10,000.
Amanda Lynn Jefferson, 48, is facing felony charges after she allegedly impersonated her sister and obtained $10,658.93 from the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home in New York. Jefferson’s sister had paid for the funeral plan and was the only one allowed to access the funds.
Jefferson was arrested by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday morning at her home in The Villages.
The fraud occurred between December 2012 and February 2013. She allegedly sent documentation to the funeral home claiming to be her sister and notarizing it herself, according to the arrest report.
Their mother died in September 2014.
Jefferson had apparently exhausted the fraudulently obtained funds and was forced to ask a friend to pay for her mother’s final arrangements, according to the arrest report. In an interview with law enforcement, Jefferson’s friend told investigators she had paid for the arrangements by placing nearly $6,000 on a credit card, none of which has been repaid by Jefferson.
She is facing four felony charges. She was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center where bond was set at $23,000.
