Metro

A Tyrone woman is facing more than 1,000 felonies after a monthslong police investigation revealed she allegedly stole nearly $8,000 from a person in her care to support her gambling addiction.

Dottie Kay Brenneman, 38, was arraigned Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Kevin Stoltz on 513 felony counts of identity theft, 512 felony counts of accessing a device issued to another, two felony counts of forgery and single felony counts of theft, criminal use of a communication facility and financial exploitation of a care dependent person. She was remanded to the Blair County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.

The property manager of a senior living facility contacted Tyrone police on July 1 to report that one of their tenants, who is severely visually impaired, had money stolen from his bank account by his in-home care aide, identified as Brenneman. She had been employed as the victim’s caregiver through a home care agency since November 2024, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The victim gave officers a copy of his checking account statement and account summary, which showed the account was opened March 4 with Brenneman’s assistance. The victim said Brenneman had full access to his personal and financial information as a part of her employment, the police report states.

Later that evening, the victim reported to police that Brenneman’s family member had come to his residence and said Brenneman had intended to return $400 to him. In an interview, the family member said that Brenneman was “freaking out” and said “somehow they found out.” They also said the withdrawals were related to Brenneman’s gambling problem, the report states.

When questioned by police, Brenneman said she didn’t use online gambling services and denied the allegations against her. A further examination of the victim’s accounts showed a total of about $7,713 stolen from the victim, including more than 500 transactions through Draft Kings and BetMGM, the report states.

Brenneman is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in front of Stoltz on Feb. 17.