When it comes to theft, age knows no boundaries. As a counselor for both in class and online stop theft classes, I can assure you my students come in all sizes, shapes and ages. My youngest student was nine and the oldest 86.

It seems unfathomable to many that silver-haired people steal too. But they do – I assure you. From postage stamps and produce to shirts and shoes, seniors do steal. While many steal out of need, the fact remains most steal because they have a problem. Take the following story for example.

A 66-year-old Indianapolis woman was sentenced today to nine months of home detention and three years’ probation on her guilty plea to theft of government funds from the Social Security Administration retirement program.

Patricia Maxwell received and retained $122,514 in retirement benefits intended for her grandmother, Dorothy V. Ludlow, because Maxwell never notified the administration of her grandmother’s death on July 23, 1998. The retirement funds were being deposited in a joint bank account of Maxwell and Ludlow.

In addition to the other slap on her geriatric wrists the judge ordered Maxwell to repay to the US Government the sum which she stole. It just goes to show, you’re never too old to run afoul with the law.