CLEARFIELD – A Gallitzin woman accused of taking more than $177,000 from an elderly couple’s account waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court at the Clearfield County Jail.
Crystal Ann Hagen, 52, 608 Grant St., Gallitzin, is charged with 11 felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception in addition to 44 misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception. She is free on $25,000, unsecured bail.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, a trooper spoke with a Protective Services Care Manager from the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging that said the victims were being neglected and living in filth at their Chest Township home. Hagen and her husband, Gerald had power of attorney and were to be taking care of the elderly couple. The couple was moved to a personal care home in Ebensburg.
The care manager explained that when she looked into what was going on with the couple during the last year, she discovered Hagen had written out numerous checks totaling $177,489.39 from the couple’s account.
When she asked her about this, Hagen told the manager that the female victim allowed her to write checks out for specific items. When the manager spoke with Gerald Hagen, he said his wife was taking care of all the financial information for the couple when this occurred. He said he and Crystal Hagen had power of attorney for the victims beginning in January of 2014.
The trooper spoke with an administrator at the care home and asked to interview the couple. This administrator advised them that the male victim’s memory is impaired and he can only make day-to-day decisions. His long-term memory is gone to the point that he doesn’t know what year it is. The female victim’s condition was even worse, the administrator reported.
In an interview with police, Hagen explained that the female victim asked them to be power of attorney. She stated that the woman gave her the money. She claimed that she wrote out the checks and the female victim signed them.
When asked if anything she purchased was for the couple, she replied no. She stated that the woman told her not to tell anyone including her husband that she gave her the money. She said that the male victim gave her money to remodel the bathroom. She also admitted she bought a camp with the money the female victim gave her. Hagen stated that she “was not hiding anything.”
When a trooper spoke with Gerald Hagen on the phone to ask him to meet with him at the station, he said he would contact him to set up a time. The next day a representative from Terry Despoy’s office notified the trooper that he was now representing Gerald Hagen.