An Amm Street woman was arraigned Monday in front of District
Judge Dom Cercone for allegedly defrauding her elderly mother out
of more than $200,000 over a span of nearly seven years.

Grace Mary Telese, 41, of 67 Amm St., Apt. 2, is charged with
identity theft, a first-degree felony; two counts of forgery,
second-degree felonies; theft by deception, theft by failure to
make required disposition of funds and theft by unlawful taking,
all third-degree felonies; theft by unlawful taking, a first-degree
misdemeanor; misapplication of entrusted property and securing
execution of documents by deception, second-degree
misdemeanors.

The charges, filed by the state attorney general’s office,
allege that Telese was acting with Power of Attorney over her
mother’s financial affairs after the death of her father. Her
mother, 73-year-old Maria Telese is an Italian immigrant who speaks
little English, has no concept as to the value of money and relied
completely on her daughter to manage her affairs, the affidavit of
probable cause said.

In September of 2004, the Office of Human Services Inc., Area
Agency on Aging, was contacted by an anonymous source concerning
Telese’s alleged misuse of her mother’s money, investments and
other assets.

A case manager began an investigation. She met with a longtime
neighbor and friend of Maria Telese and found that Maria Telese
“was without adequate food in her home and she did not have any
money left in her individual bank accounts to purchase groceries
and/or pay her utility bills,” according to the affidavit.

After discovering the financial peril, Maria Telese appointed
another adult daughter to handle her finances and the case manager
reported Grace Telese to the McKean County District Attorney’s
office for an elder abuse investigation.

The matter was turned over to the attorney general’s office on
May 27, 2005.

An accountant was retained by the Agency on Aging to determine
the extent of the financial misappropriation, the records read.

The investigation showed that Telese purchased or leased a 2004
Chevy Impala and a 2004 Chevy Trail Blazer in her mother’s name;
signed her mother’s name and the name of her ex-husband Paul Damon
to the registration of the Trail Blazer; obtained numerous credit
lines in her mother’s name and used them for her own benefit;
obtained a cellular phone in her mother’s name and used it for her
own benefit; repeatedly transferred funds from various accounts of
her mother and used them for herself; added herself to the
ownership of her mother’s house and took out a second mortgage on
the house without permission; and used more than $1,500 in funds
from her own minor daughter’s trust account for her personal
benefit, the affidavit read.

Grace Telese was arraigned and released on $2,000 cash bail. A
preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 18 in front of Cercone.