Brevard paralegal accused of stealing from elderly female clients

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Brevard County woman is accused of stealing thousands from a 92-year-old woman with dementia and a retired teacher who lives in a nursing home.

Investigators said the Indialantic suspect used her old job there to get to the victims.

Jenine Black was the office manager for an attorney of Estate Planning and Elder Law Center of Brevard.

Investigators said she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her boss and the elderly clients.

The attorney who owns the office, Robin Petersen, first noticed money missing from his accounts.

"At the time, it was close to $200,000. Now we estimate it's over $200,000 taken from him personally," Sgt. Michael Casey of the Indialantic Police Department said.

Police said perhaps more outrageous is that the longtime office manager and paralegal is accused of targeting elderly clients.

The woman with dementia and the retired teached are each missing around $20,000, police said.

"She was actually taking it straight from their accounts and she was writing checks out of their accounts," Casey said.

Black dodged a request for an interview Wednesday.

Police say she's not talking to them, either, but she will have to answer to the charges, which include grand theft and exploitation of the elderly.

WFTV