Albuquerque caregiver accused of stealing from bedridden older man
Police say Gloria Flores stole $5,883 from a bedridden older man she was hired to care for, charging his card at GEICO, Discount Tire and Albertsons.
A bedridden older man trusted for care in Albuquerque was instead left with $5,883 in alleged credit-card theft, police said. Investigators say Gloria Flores, 27, used the man’s card for charges at GEICO, Discount Tire and Albertsons, then faces fraud charges in a case that puts a harsh spotlight on the risks inside home-care arrangements.
The theft came to light after the victim’s daughter, Sally Linhart, learned about the charges when the man’s landlord checked his mail after Flores stopped working in the apartment. Linhart, who lives eight hours away in Oklahoma, said Flores had been intercepting the credit-card statements, cutting off the family’s view of what was happening until the bills began to surface.
Linhart said Flores admitted taking the money in text messages but would not agree to pay it back. She also said the family had been through a similar theft from her father about three or four years ago, and that earlier loss was repaid over about 12 months. For families trying to protect older relatives who rely on paid help, the case underscores how much power a caregiver can have over mail, billing and day-to-day finances when a person is bedridden or isolated.
The allegations land during Elder Abuse Awareness Month, as state officials say New Mexico Adult Protective Services has received about 18,000 allegations of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation so far in 2026. That figure points to a statewide system under strain, with thousands of reports coming in even before many cases are fully resolved or traced back to patterns of financial abuse.
The FBI has said New Mexico lost $55 million to elder fraud scams in 2025, a reminder that exploitation of older adults is not limited to one household or one suspect. In Bernalillo County, where many families coordinate care from a distance and lean on informal arrangements, the case shows how quickly a trusted setup can become a channel for fraud when mail, cards and account statements are not tightly protected.
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