CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas woman was arrested in prison and charged with stealing at least $30,000 from an elderly couple, authorities said.
K’zsa Hodge, 26, of Estate Altona, was arrested on elder financial abuse and exploitation charges including embezzlement, forgery, grand larceny, possession of forged instruments and obtaining money by false pretense, V.I. Attorney General Denise George said.
Ms. Hodge was arrested at the Bureau of Corrections based on a warrant signed by Superior Court Magistrate Judge Paula Norkaitis on June 3, 2022, according to AG George.
K’zsa Hodge is currently an inmate at the Bureau of Corrections serving a two-year sentence year for a prior forgery case. She has served six months and is up for parole consideration.
According to an affidavit of probable cause in support of the arrest warrant, dated June 3, 2022, on or about January 28, 2022, VIDOJ investigators received a complaint from a senior citizen in relation to allegations of a theft and forgery of his by his wife’s caretaker, Kzsa Hodge.
Hodge was hired to take care of his wife who was suffering from a hip injury. The complainant and his wife are each senior citizens ages 76 and 84 respectively. The complainant was able to identify 31 of his checks made payable to K’zsa Hodge, which he had not authorized or issued. The total amount of the checks fraudulently drawn on the accounts of the complainant totaled $30,100.00.
Superior Court Magistrate Judge Norkaitis found probable cause and set bail at $30,000 on the arrest warrant.
Hodge is scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at 10:00 am.
Attorney General George reminds the public that any person charged with a crime in the Virgin Islands is considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction