Copyright Hartford Courant
A Massachusetts woman faces charges for allegedly racking up thousands of dollars of unauthorized charges while living with an elderly man in Mansfield. Lisa Perreault, 66, of Boston, Massachusetts was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of first-degree larceny and one count of illegal use of a credit card, according to Connecticut State Police. Troopers allege she accrued about $78,000 in charges against the man with whom she was living. According to the warrant affidavit, Perreault moved in with the man in 2018 after his family moved closer to the shoreline. The family thought it would be a good idea for the elderly man to have someone in the home with him, so they arranged for her to pay rent and live as a roommate, the warrant affidavit said. State police began investigating in December 2024 after family members of the man said they learned that Perreault was allegedly spending much more of the man’s money than he had authorized and that she had convinced him to change his will so that she would be left his home and about $100,000, the warrant affidavit said. According to the warrant affidavit — which was heavily redacted before it was publicly released — someone with ties to the family became suspicious in October 2024 that Perreault had “siphoned off” some of the man’s funds. When family members looked at the man’s checkbook they allegedly found that she had written about $130,000 worth of checks in about 15 months that were made out to two major credit cards, the warrant affidavit said. While looking through a number of the statements, family members alleged that they found numerous Amazon purchases, gas charges and other items that were bought, the warrant affidavit said. Upon learning of the allegations, the family asked Perreault to move out of the man’s home. According to the warrant affidavit, she had allegedly amassed so many things that it took her multiple days to move out of the house. The family allegedly found that Perreault used a credit card to open an Amazon account, several Apple accounts and other accounts, the warrant affidavit said. The man had given her a credit card that she was allegedly instructed to use to buy groceries for the home, but family members told police they allegedly found that she had spent about $60,000 on things that were not food during their initial look into the man’s finances, the warrant affidavit said. Family members also told police there appeared to be a “progression of activities,” as Perreault was allegedly “gradually increasing purchases,” the warrant affidavit said. They alleged to police she was found to have bought an “ungodly amount of clothes and shoes,” state police wrote. She also allegedly made purchases to help pay for her education to obtain a nursing license as well as purchases for a gym membership, dental services, health insurance and cell phone charges, state police wrote. In the latter part of December 2024, a state trooper went to the elderly man’s home as Perreault was moving her things out. When asked about the purchases, she allegedly told police they were all “acceptable to him,” the warrant affidavit said. Perreault allegedly told a trooper she didn’t “do anything that” the man “didn’t allow me to do,” the warrant affidavit said. According to state police, Perreault declined to speak further with the trooper. During the investigation, state police said family members told them they had found that Perreault had allegedly been evicted from her home in Tolland in 2017 and that her mortgage company was allegedly “going after her,” the warrant affidavit said. She allegedly left for Arizona and later returned to the state. Family members also alleged that they had found a handwritten “to-do” list that included tasks like having “stocks/bonds” and “investments” transferred “into my name” in the “will,” according to the warrant affidavit. The list also allegedly alluded to a sum of $250,000 “in lieu” of the house and a Subaru Forester, state police wrote. State police investigators said they were able to find about $78,000 in alleged charges that Perrault had accrued against the man. Perrault was taken into custody in Mansfield and released after posting a $75,000 bond, state police said. She is set to face a judge on Nov. 18.
