Police: Caretaker Arrested For Check Fraud in Bloomfield Hills

Two Pontiac women face felony charges after police said they tried to fraudulently cash a check in Bloomfield Hills Monday that belonged to an elderly woman one of them worked for.

Beverly Rena Carter, 54, and Latoyia Latrece Puckett, 23, were both arraigned at the Oakland County Jail Monday on charges of uttering and publishing, said Lt. Terry McDonnell of the . The charges are punishable by up to 14 years in prison upon conviction. Carter is also charged with one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one-year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Not guilty pleas were entered on their behalves by Judge Diane D'Agostini and attorneys will be appointed, records indicate. Oakland County Jail records show Carter was released later that night after posting 10 percent of her $3,000 bond. Puckett was also released that night after posting 10 percent of her $5,000 bond.

McDonnell said Carter worked in the home of the victim, an 80-year-old woman from Royal Oak, and stole checks during her shift. She wrote one to Puckett, who on tried to cash the check at a bank in the 39000 block of Woodward Avenue at about 10:20 a.m. Monday. Bank employees were suspicious of the check and called police while both women were in the lobby.

Officers arrived and learned a third person waiting in a vehicle in the parking lot was also involved, police reports said. The two women in the bank claimed to be the women's caregiver, but the officers called the alleged victim and verified they were not. The woman outside, later identified as Carter, was determined to be the caregiver. The alleged victim said she did not authorize Carter or anyone else to use her checks.

They await preliminary hearings in next week.