HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A Hollywood woman is facing an elderly exploitation charge after investigators with the city’s police department said she “depleted” the bank account of a longtime family friend she was caring for.
Authorities said the senior gave Kimberly Dawn Bukowski, 56, his debit card to “purchase groceries and his medications only.” Instead, investigators said she took more than $38,000 from him ― with at least $10,000 spent at the casino.
Bukowski turned herself in at the Broward Main Jail on Thursday, online records show.
According to a report from the Hollywood Police Department, the victim’s daughter, who has power of attorney over her father, contacted police in October 2024.
Detectives wrote that when the woman “realized her father’s medication(s) were no longer being paid for, she began to check all of his bank accounts and discovered it had all been depleted.”
Investigators said the man’s Bank of America account had “several unauthorized ATM withdrawals at the bank, Zelle payments to and from” Bukowski, described as “a family friend of 50 years,” and “numerous ATM withdrawals at the Seminole Classic Casino” in Hollywood.
According to police, the victim’s daughter told detectives that her father “does not know how to operate his cellphone” to use Zelle or online transfers and “cannot drive to any location, nor does he go to the casino.”
Authorities said bank surveillance video showed some of the withdrawals. Detectives additionally said that the man’s “TD Bank account had several unauthorized checks made out to Kimberly Bukowski, with forged signatures.”
The HPD report states that Bukowski told investigators the man voluntarily allowed her to use his money, citing a notarized letter she claimed gave her permission to spend money as she pleased.
“He would say, ‘Go out and do whatever you want,’” Bukowski told detectives, according to the report.
HPD Detective Maria Periu wrote, “I questioned the victim regarding the notarized letter and he stated he does recall going with Kimberly Bukowski to get a paper notarized; however, he does not know what he was signing for. He had full trust in her, so he signed the paper.”
After her arrest Thursday, Bukowski was being held in the Broward Main Jail on a $10,000 bond, records show.
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