Dalton, MN woman accused of taking almost $300,000 from mother with dementia

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (KBRF/KFGO) – A Dalton, Minnesota woman has been arrested for stealing nearly $300,000 from her mother with dementia. Otter Tail County prosecutors say Debra Goodhart, 59, withdrew over $256,000 from her mother’s bank account last year.

Goodhart has been charged with financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and theft.

Goodhart was her mother’s primary caregiver and controlled her finances. Court documents say she would write checks to herself and cash them at a bank instead of making direct withdrawals.

Goodhart initially told investigators that she and her mother would often go to casinos and spend between $4,000 and $5,000. When investigators spoke with Goodhart’s mother, she said she didn’t remember any trips that Goodhart described, and she would never approve her daughter taking $40,000 out of her account every month.

Court documents say Goodhart was also being scammed online. In February of last year, she reported to the Sheriff’s Office that she had possibly been scammed out of $10,000. Deputies found that she had been scammed, but prosecutors say that Goodhart continued to send money to the scammer after she was told it was a scam. Goodhart pulled money from her mother’s bank account and bought gift cards to send the scammer. The scammer had reportedly promised Goodhart a new pickup truck and $300,000,000.

Prosecutors say that while under investigation between January 12 and last Friday, Goodhart withdrew an additional $36,507 for a total of $295,082. She also tried to withdraw an additional $25,000 last week, which caused deputies to return to Goodhart’s residence and arrest her.