DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines woman has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly woman who was in her care.

According to court documents, from March to June in 2024, 63-year-old Patricia Jean Stanley stole over $5,900 of the victim’s IPERS retirement money while she was her caretaker and power of attorney. Stanley was charged with Financial Exploitation of Older individual – First offense and Dependent Adult Abuse in connection to this case.

This isn’t the first time that Stanley has been accused of stealing money from the victim. In 2023 Stanley was accused of spending over $100 of the same victim’s money for her own personal gain sometime between July 2021 and August 2021, court documents state. At the time the victim was living at a nursing home and not under the care of Stanley.

In the 2023 case, Stanley was originally charged with Dependent Adult Abuse but pled guilty to Second-Degree Theft, court records state. Stanley was given a suspended sentence and was ordered to be placed on probation for two years. Stanley is now facing a probation violation due to the new charges.

Stanley was arrested on Thursday and booked into the Polk County Jail on a $30,000 cash/surety bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for November 25. A no-contact order barring Stanley from contacting the victim has been filed.

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