Police Searching for Suspect Charged with $10k Swindle of Elderly Woman

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Mound woman after prosecutors charged her earlier this month with swindling nearly $10,000 from an elderly family friend.

The manager of a local bank first reported Tonja Larson, 35, to police back in 2011 following a string of suspicious cash withdrawals made by Larson from an elderly customer's account. Sergeant Kenneth Beck of the Mound Police Department wrote in the criminal complaint filed against Larson this week that the withdrawrals took place over the course of 18 months and had recently evolved to include taking out cash advances against the customer's credit cards.

Police spoke with the elderly customer, who told them she had initially loaned Larson money to cover what she was told were bad checks written by Larson's ex-boyfriend. Larson's subsequent demands for cash were granted because the elderly woman was told she wouldn't get any of her money back if she didn't consent.

Larson additionally told the woman she had $25,000 in a bank account that she was unable to access until the bad checks were settled—a claim police found to be false during the course of their investigation.

Police additionally say Larson was given about $2,000 by the elderly woman's daughter, who suffers from a medical condition. In all, Larson withdrew or was given more than $11,000.

Poice have been unable to locate Larson, and she failed to show up for several scheduled meetings with Mound investigators.

Larson has been charged with aggrevated theft by swindle over $5,000 and faces up to 10 years in prision if she is convicted and given the maximum sentence.

Anyone with information on Larson's whereabouts is asked to contact the Mound Police Department.