Nurse charged with forging elderly patient’s checks

(ABC 6 News) – A nurse faces eight charges of check forgery and financial exploitation in Fillmore County Court Monday, Sept. 19.

Pamela Denise Poppenhagen of Saint Charles is accused of four counts of check forgery and four charges of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

According to court documents, on June 27, Home Federal Bank contacted the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office about a possible forged check that Poppenhagen had attempted to cash, which she said was from an elderly adult in her care.

The bank held the check. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office received a report from the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center concerning the check and another $400 Poppenhagen borrowed from the same elderly adult.

According to the MAARC report, Poppenhagen is a nurse who cared for the alleged victim in his home.

The Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office reported that the check was written out to Poppenhagen in the amount of $300 for “medication.”

The signature was the name of the elderly victim; however, the investigating officer reported that it did not seem to match other checks written by the account holder.

On June 28, court records say, the sheriff’s office contacted the alleged victim, who said Poppenhagen had cared for him for about a year.

The eldery man said he received a call from his bank, and had not written a check to Poppenhagen for $300 — instead, he had a credit card on file with his pharmacy to pay for medication.

The alleged victim said he was also missing another check from his account, and that he kept his medication and checks in the same location, so Poppenhagen would have access to both.

When the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office asked him about the “borrowed” $400 detailed in the MAARC report, the elderly man said Poppenhagen had asked him for the money so she could pay for a granddaughter’s cancer treatment in early June, but promised to pay him back in one week.

Poppenhagen had not paid him back, the man told the deputy.
On June 29, Poppenhagen admitted to borrowing $400 from the alleged victim, and said she had gotten the check from the man.

She told the sheriff’s office that she did not write the check out to herself.
On June 29, 2022, Sweeney contacted Poppenhagen by phone. Poppenhagen stated that she provided
home health care for HJN and admitted to borrowing the $400 from HJN because she needed the money
to care for a peron. Sweeney then asked Poppenhagen about the $300 check written to her from HJN that
she attempted to cash at Home Federal Bank. Poppenhagen stated that the check was for medication.
Poppenhagen stated that she got the check from HJN and the check was written out to her.

One Pam Poppenhagen is listed online as the Director of Home Health for Spring Valley Living.

ABC 6 News reached out to Spring Valley Living and was told they could not comment.