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Couple Charged with Stealing from Woman in their Care

EYNON — A couple in Lackawanna County is facing charges for stealing from a woman in their care. Police charged Kristen Munley-Wheatley and Corey Wheatley...

EYNON -- A couple in Lackawanna County is facing charges for stealing from a woman in their care.

Police charged Kristen Munley-Wheatley and Corey Wheatley from Eynon with theft, fraud, and forgery.

They are accused of stealing at least $64,000 from an elderly woman in the last year of her life.

The victim's family says it's possible the couple drained a third of their mom's estate.

Kristen Munley-Wheatley and her husband Corey Wheatley turned themselves in earlier this week. They face dozens of charges including identity theft and forgery.

The couple faces charges only for what prosecutors can prove. The victim's family says they think the couple stole close to $200,000.

When Mary Nichols' health began to decline in 2015, her partner of more than 20 years hired someone to help take care of Mary. They looked to a woman who had been cleaning their apartment on Diamond Avenue in Scranton. She had become a friend.

Kristen Munley-Wheatley of Eynon took care of Mary Nichols' affairs even after Mary's boyfriend passed away in March of 2015. She was paid $600 a week under the table, but according to court papers, Munley-Wheatley paid herself a lot more than that.

The Lackawanna County district attorney's office says that working with her husband Corey, Munley-Wheatley took $68,000 from Mary Nichols over the course of a year and a half. They forged checks and made charges to Nichols' credit cards.

We spoke with Nichols' family in Massachusetts by phone. They told us Nichols' estate is actually missing about $200,000, money she wanted to be passed on to her grandchildren.

Kristen Munley-Wheatley and her husband Corey Wheatley are expected back in court before the end of the year. Both are out on bail.

Mary Nichols' family says, unfortunately, they don't expect to get any of the missing money back.

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