A former Bucks County caregiver - who stole thousands from elderly clients - has been accused of faking her cancer diagnosis to delay theft trail.
Officials said Shannon Lynn Eberhart, 48 of Bensalem was sentenced on Wednesday for stealing thousands of dollars in money and heirloom jewelry from the families of two elderly women she cared for and then submitting fake medical documents claiming to have stage four esophageal cancer so that she could delay her trial.
Officials said Eberhart was initially charged in late February 2023 after an investigation by the Newtown Township Police Department revealed that she stole jewelry and cash while working as a caretaker.
The investigation also found that Eberhart made unauthorized withdrawals from one of the victim's bank accounts.
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Just before Eberhart's court hearing in December of 2023, officials said the Bucks County District Attorney's office received a letter from a Montgomery County hospital that claimed Eberhart had stage four cancer and needed her trial to be delayed.
Officials said Bucks County detectives contacted the two doctors named in the letter and both said they never wrote the letter and never treated Eberhart.
Representatives of the hospital also confirmed that the letter was fake and contained several inaccuracies, including the official name of the hospital and its logo. Officials added that the hospital also confirmed the two doctors named in the letter never even worked there.
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The investigation by Bucks County Detectives found that the letter was written using a computer, as it contained a digitally created logo and headers, footers, and margins, according to officials.
Eberhart was even the one who emailed the fake letter to her attorney, who in turn submitted the letter to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, officials said.
Officials said both families involved in this case were deeply impacted by Eberhart's actions.
On Wednesday, officials said Eberhart pleaded guilty to the charges of unlawful use of a computer and two counts of identity theft related to the submission of fraudulent documentation. In March, she pleaded guilty to two counts of financial exploitation of an older adult or care dependent person, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property and one count of identity theft and access device fraud.
Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman called Eberhart's actions “despicable and unfathomable” and sentenced her to one to two years in prison, followed by eleven years probation.
“You are nothing but a con artist who deceived the people who cared for you,” Gilman said to Eberhart. “You betrayed every cancer patient, you betrayed the court system, you betrayed your attorney,”
Officials said in addition to her jail and probation sentence, Gilman ordered Eberhart to pay $32,835 in restitution to the victims involved, undergo mental health and drug and alcohol treatment and never work as a caregiver again.
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