Horizon West woman charged with grand theft, theft from a senior citizen

Orange County Sheriff's Office deputies on Monday, June 2, arrested a Horizon West woman for stealing $187,000 from her uncle's retirement account.

According to Sheriff's Office reports, Heather Allen, 32, faces two felony charges: grand theft from a person older than 65 and first-degree grand theft of more than $100,000.

Deputies said Heather Allen stole $187,000 from her uncle, Robert Allen, by accessing his Disney 401(k) retirement account through Fidelity Investments and rerouting a check to their shared home on Hopkinton Court in The Preserve at Lakes of Windermere community. The check was issued Sept. 26, 2023, and deposited shortly thereafter. However, Robert Allen told investigators he was not aware of the transaction until he received a notification from Fidelity Nov. 5, 2023.

According to court documents, when Robert Allen confronted Heather Allen, she admitted to taking the funds. She told him she used the money to pay bills and was working on returning it. She said her Chase account had been closed, so she needed to open a TD Bank account. In subsequent text messages and phone calls, she promised Robert Allen a replacement check would be sent via FedEx, but it never arrived.

According to supporting documents, Robert Allen said Heather Allen told him a judge had ruled in her favor in a separate case involving her ex-husband, and she would be able to repay him with that.

Robert Allen told investigators Heather Allen had lived with him for two years and had access to his mail and computer. He believed she used his laptop to log into his Fidelity account, impersonate him and request the check. He reported the theft after Heather Allen failed to repay him and began giving conflicting stories about when and how she would return it.

Since the theft, Heather Allen moved to a different address in Hamlin.

Deputies booked Heather Allen, 32, into the Orange County Jail. According to court records, the bond in the current case has been set at $10,000 for the charge of theft from a person 65 years or older and $25,000 for the charge of first-degree grand theft, totaling $35,000.

Heather Allen had a hearing at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, and has an in-jail arraignment hearing scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Monday, June 9.