Prineville caregiver arrested on charges she stole $1,000s from senior

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Prineville woman has been arrested on theft, identity theft and other charges, accused of stealing several thousand dollars from a senior she was employed as a caregiver for, police said Monday.

Prineville police began an elder abuse investigation on April 23 at a modified living area for senior citizens, Detective Sgt. Shane Wilson said.

The investigation was led by Officer Jonathan Adkins, who spent several weeks reviewing bank records of an elderly woman being cared for by Shawna Mohning, 50, of Prineville, Wilson said.

The investigation found that Mohning fraudulently stole several thousand dollars of the victim’s money for her own personal use, including applying for loans using the woman’s personal information, the sergeant said.

Mohning was interviewed and arrested Friday on charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment, computer crime, ID theft, first- and second-degree theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and negotiating a bad check.

Mohning was booked into the Crook County Jail and held initially on $100,000 bail. Additional charges are pending, Wilson said.

Prineville Police thanked state Adult Protective Services and the Crook County District Attorney’s Office for their help in the investigation.

Anyone with information that could relate to the case is asked to contact Officer Adkins or Detective Sergeant Wilson at 541-447-4168 or by email at jadkins@prinevillepd.org or swilson@prinevillepd.org.

Court records show Mohning was arraigned by video on Monday on initial charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment, computer crime, first- and second-degree theft and negotiating a bad check. Circuit Judge Daina Vitolins set her bail at $25,000 pending arraignment Friday on an expected formal indictment.