(WSVN) - A South Florida woman convicted in a rental home scam has wound up behind bars again. Police have now linked her to a crime involving a retiree from Kentucky. 7’s Kevin Ozebek investigates.
Hearing an elderly loved one has become a victim of a crime can make anyone angry. When 7News first met Shannon King last year, she was furious. She says thousands of dollars were stolen from her 77-year-old father.
Shannon King: “It’s terrible.”
Shannon’s father, James Malone, was spending his retirement years in Pompano Beach.
Last summer, she says, he befriended a woman named Britnee, and he kept talking about how he needed to help her.
Shannon King: “He was saying we had to go help somebody and give them money.”
In June of 2020, Shannon’s father suffered a debilitating stroke. She flew down to take care of him.
But when she checked his bank account, she came across some strange transactions.
Shannon King: “He started to write a lot of checks for ‘cash.'”
Some of those checks were written while her father was in the hospital. Due to COVID restrictions, Shannon was the only one allowed to visit him.
She asked him about the checks, and about a brand-new American Express card. It was issued to “Britnee Theiss” under his account.
Shannon King: “He said he has given her no authority and no permission to do anything with any of his belongings.”
Shannon went to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. She also went online to learn more about Britnee Theiss … and found our 7 Investigates story about her.
Craig Stevens: “[Police] say a woman rented a vacation home to trick other people into thinking it was her family home, and she would rent it to unsuspecting victims.”
7News first reported on Britnee Laren Theiss in January of 2020. She was convicted of grand theft and organized fraud in Fort Lauderdale.
Detective Jesse Gossman, Fort Lauderdale Police (in body camera video): “Is your name Britnee?”
Bodycam video captures her arrest a few months later.
Once Shannon told BSO about our story, they reached out to Fort Lauderdale Police. They said Theiss was on probation for her previous case.
That made it easy for BSO detectives to track her down.
Detective Pedro Cordero, Broward Sheriff’s Office: “I contacted her probation officer, so I just showed up early at the office, and when the suspect arrived and sat down in the office, I came in behind and identified myself and then took her into custody.”
Britnee Laren Theiss is charged with uttering a forged instrument, criminal use of personal ID info and financial exploitation of the elderly.
The complaint affidavit says she “forged the victim’s signature on three separate checks on three separate dates without the victim’s permission or consent.”
The total amount: $6,000.
Kevin Ozebek: “So, do you believe that she was taking advantage of your father?”
Shannon King: “Absolutely.”
We called Theiss after she bonded out, but she hung up the phone.
We also stopped by her listed address, but there was no answer.
Shannon King: “It was like, wreaking havoc on his life. I had to go into all the credit bureaus and freeze his credit.”
Shannon moved her father back to Kentucky after he was released from the hospital. She hopes her story will help other families keep a watchful eye over their loved ones.
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