A 98-year-old resident of The Villages was shocked to learn that her bank account had been drained of $104,372 by her granddaughter.
Jessica Leigh Lewis, 35, was arrested this past week on a felony warrant charging her with theft from a person over the age of 65. Lewis was released from a Florida prison and moved in with her grandmother on the Historic Side of The Villages. In addition to a previous grand theft conviction, Lewis served time on multiple drug charges.
The elderly woman went to Sun Trust Bank to cash her Social Security check but was told there were not sufficient funds in her account, according to an affidavit of probable cause from the Lady Lake Police Department. The Villager discovered Lewis had been making withdrawals from the account using an ATM card she had given to Lewis. The withdrawals ranged from $221.81 to $30,557.
The grandmother ordered Lewis to leave her home. Among the items Lewis’ left behind were letters from the bank which Lewis had intercepted and not shown to her grandmother.
Lewis had linked her PayPal account to her grandmother’s bank acount.
Lewis also used money from the bank account to pay for phone calls to her boyfriend, 40-year-old Jermaine Harvard of Eustis, who has been held since August at the Marion County Jail on a federal drug charge. Lewis also put money in Harvard’s commissary account at the jail.
Lewis was booked at the Lake County Jail on $15,000 bond.
