Man bilked senior, police allege

An Abita Springs-area man is accused of stealing more than $110,000 from his 65-year-old girlfriend this year, possibly to buy drugs, authorities said.

The investigation is ongoing, but St. Tammany Parish deputies said they believe Mark Hatcher, 52, might have looted his girlfriend's accounts for similar amounts in the past, Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said.

St. Tammany Parish deputies began investigating Hatcher after receiving a tip from the state's Elderly Protective Services department earlier this year, Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said Friday. After examining financial records, investigators determined that Hatcher had been taking money from accounts owned by his companion, who lived with him in a home on St. Mary Street, Bonnett said.

Investigators are still examining financial records but believe Hatcher may have taken as much as $100,000 from the accounts during 2008, Bonnett said. It is possible similar amounts were taken at other points during the couple's five-year relationship, he said.

However, Hatcher was apparently not content with the amounts taken from his girlfriend. On Oct. 11, deputies arrested him in connection with a burglary and suspect he had sold the goods taken in the break-in to buy drugs, Bonnett said.

After his release on the burglary charge, deputies obtained a new arrest warrant for Hatcher and booked him into the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington with exploitation of the infirm.

The state law against exploitation of the infirm covers cases in which a caregiver uses the assets of an aged or handicapped person for "profit or advantage by means of fraudulent conduct, practices or representation." It carries a sentence of up to 10 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

The case is still being investigated and other charges are possible, Bonnett said.

Hatcher is being held on $50,000 bond.

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Jeff Adelson can be reached at jadelson@timespicayune.com or 985.645.2852.