A female caregiver has been sentenced for stealing nearly half a million dollars in valuables from an elderly couple in Kansas amid the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on fraud, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has announced.
In 2022, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) was notified that more than $400,000 in collectible coins and firearms had been stolen from the farmhouse of a couple in their eighties by a woman who claimed to be their informal caregiver.
After DCSO received a tip in 2024 that a woman had sold gold and silver coins for $100,000 to a jewelry store in nearby Clay County, a search warrant was served on a vehicle owned by Amanda Rutherford, a 46-year-old resident of Junction City, Kansas.
Inside the car, investigators discovered newly purchased merchandise, the remainder of the bundled currency, and other coins belonging to the victims.
Rutherford, who also sold stolen coins to at least three other pawn shops, claimed the couple had given her permission with the agreement they would split the proceeds.
The victims denied that claim.
Rutherford was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release and $165,381.59 in restitution for one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods.
“Caretakers are in a position of public trust. It’s unconscionable to steal from a vulnerable elderly couple who had no idea they were being taken advantage of, then selling their prized possessions. I’m proud of our agents for catching this thief before she could steal even more,” said HSI Kansas City acting Special Agent in Charge Rick Sabatini.
The Department of Justice announced launched the National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7, 2026.
“The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President JD Vance to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse within federal benefit programs,” HSI stated.
