The office first learned about the case at the Older & Disabled Persons Unit Luncheon hosted by State's Attorney Bates

Baltimore, Md. (March 26, 2025) - Today, Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates announced that a jury convicted defendant Karen McAlister of committing a theft scheme of over $25,000 and less than $100,000 from her grandmother. The defendant was sentenced to eight years, suspending all but 18 months, with five years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay restitution of $30,000. Assistant State's Attorney Ronald Neumann prosecuted this case.

"It is truly disheartening to see a grandchild exploit their family's matriarch, as this defendant has. I commend Ms. Vick's daughter for courageously reaching out to my office to deliver justice for her mother," said State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates. "May the prison sentence and restitution serve as a powerful lesson to this defendant, inspiring her to reject abusive actions in the future. I also want to thank my Economic Crimes and Older & Disabled Persons Units for their unwavering commitment to recovering the stolen money and ensuring accountability."

Ms. Pauline Vick was 95 years old, living alone, and showing signs of dementia when her granddaughter, Karen McAlister, obtained a Power of Attorney from her in October 2021. In November 2021, McAlister took the Power of Attorney to her grandmother's bank and added her name to her grandmother's accounts. Almost immediately, McAlister started withdrawing money from Ms. Vick's account to lease and furnish a luxury apartment. 

By April 2022, McAlister drained her grandmother’s account by converting certificates of deposits and retirement accounts and withdrawing cash at the maximum daily limit of $5,000. In just over one month, McAlister made three cash withdrawals of $5,000 and took a total of over $20,000 from Ms. Vick's bank accounts between March 5 and April 8. By August 2022, McAlister had overdrawn the accounts.

McAlister’s actions were first discovered in December 2022 when her aunt received a letter from the bank advising that one of the accounts had a negative balance. The defendant's aunt investigated and discovered what her niece had done. On September 26, 2023, the victim attended the first Older & Disabled Persons Unit (ODPU) luncheon hosted by the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. At the luncheon, the aunt approached State’s Attorney Bates and reported that her mother was a victim of older adult financial exploitation. The State's Attorney immediately introduced her to an Assistant State’s Attorney and an investigator assigned to the Economic Crimes Unit of his office.

During the course of the investigation, the State’s Attorney’s Office obtained bank surveillance photos of a person, who was later identified as Karen McAlister, making the cash withdrawals from the bank. Ms. Vick subsequently passed away on November 1, 2023; her estate will receive the restitution.