Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, the nonvoting delegate for Washington, D.C., in Congress, allegedly was scammed out of thousands of dollars by people posing as a cleaning crew at her residence.
The suspects entered Norton's home on Thursday and accessed her credit card before someone put a stop to it, according to an internal police report.
According to police, the suspects charged nearly $4,400 to her credit card.
The police report states Norton, 88, has "the early stages of dementia" and that she has a caretaker with power of attorney.
Norton has represented Washington, D.C., since 1991.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, people claiming to be HVAC workers arrived at her home, and Norton let them in to perform HVAC services, according to the report.
The workers charged $4,362 for duct and fireplace cleaning, though they performed no work, the report stated.
Norton's caretaker, who was not at home, saw the purported HVAC workers on a security camera and told Norton to tell them to leave, according to the report.
After realizing Norton's credit card was charged, the caretaker flagged down police.
"The Congresswoman employs a house manager who oversees all maintenance services, so she initially assumed her staff had arranged the visit and provided her credit card for payment," Norton's office said in a statement.
Norton's office pushed back on police claims that she had a caretaker and dementia.
"Congresswoman Norton doesn't have a caretaker," her office said.
"A longtime employee and friend serves as the house manager, residing at a separate address.
"The medical diagnosis included in the police report was based on an assumption the reporting officer was unqualified to make," the statement continued.
Norton has said she plans to run for reelection next year. Two Washington, D.C., Council members have said they planned to challenge her.
No arrests have been made, but police reportedly are treating the alleged crime as felony fraud.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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