People with disabilities sometimes seek the care of others to help out around the house, run errands and assist with other everyday tasks. Some of these tasks require the caregiver to engage in financial transactions on behalf of another person.

After caring for a woman with a disability in Pittsburgh, a woman who was working as an in-home care worker has surrendered to authorities on charges of credit card fraud. The worker was instructed to use the card to buy things for the woman who she cared for, such as groceries and medication.

Now the woman who used the in-home care worker is accusing her of credit card fraud. She told authorities the worker used her debit card to withdraw money at a casino, and spent money at The Waterfront just outside of Pittsburgh. The woman said the unauthorized spending went unnoticed for a long time because she stopped receiving bank statements in the mail.

In-home care can be a sensitive matter. Being in the privacy of another person's home and helping them with mainly personal matters can sometimes cause controversial issues to arise. With such sensitive matters it is important to understand what rights you have if you are accused of wrongdoing.

Before you talk with authorities, it might be a good idea to speak with a criminal defense attorney so you understand what you should and should not say. Sometimes authorities use tactics to get you to tell them things they wouldn't normally get unless you told them. This can lead to more charges against you or lead to evidence presented against you, when there would otherwise be none.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Worker accused of stealing $65,000 from MS patient surrenders," Sadie Gurman, Dec. 13, 2011