A Hagerstown man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court to a felony theft charge for the financial exploitation of an elderly woman and now must pay her back, a judge ordered.
Anthony Eugene Barnhart, 48, had been taking thousands of dollars from a 93-year-old woman in exchange for maintaining her lawn, but the victim's property had not been properly maintained, an adult protective services worker told police.
The woman's property was less than half an acre.
At one point, Barnhart was receiving checks from the woman on a weekly or daily basis, according to court records.
The woman was paying Barnhart more per month than she received from Social Security, which was her primary source of income, according to records.
Barnhart told police he had done major landscaping for the woman, but could not explain what the landscaping had entailed, an investigator wrote in charging documents.
