Couple accused of stealing over $400k from elderly woman

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman who was entrusted to help an elderly woman pay her bills is accused of stealing $419,000 from her bank account over a two-year period.

The victim’s son said Lee Anne Harris assumed power of attorney for his mother in 2019. He claims between April 2021 and December 2022, Lee Anne and her husband Henry took the money without his mother’s knowledge. He said his mother was in her late 80s at the time.

Police say the victim’s son did not realize money was missing from her account until he began looking into his mother’s finances and noticed that $675,000 had been spent over the two years.

Lee Anne Harris, 60, and Henry Harris, 41, were arrested and booked in the Shelby County Jail Wednesday for theft of property greater than $250,000, identity theft, financial exploitation of an elderly person, and forgery greater than $250,000.

Investigators said bank records showed Lee Anne and Henry used the victim’s debit card and PIN to make $93,489 worth of ATM withdrawals and wrote checks in the victim’s name totaling $84,710.

The victim’s son said he and his mother also discovered the pair used $240,784 of her money to make purchases at several places, including Amazon, Uber Eats, Lowe’s, and Home Depot.

The victim’s son said there was never an agreement to pay either one of them for assisting his mother.

The pair is accused of stealing just under $419,000 from the victim.

Lee Anne and Henry Harris are being held on $50,000 bonds. They are scheduled to appear back in court on August 15.

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