Woman says thieves preyed on her mom while she was in the hospital with COVID-19

Family says thieves stolen from mother in hospital with COVID-19

A Cobb County family says thieves stole thousands of dollars from a mothers' account as she battled the coronavirus in the hospital.

COBB COUNTY, Ga - A woman said thieves preyed on her mother while she was in the hospital battling COVID-19.

Sherul Brown was in the hospital for 26 days. When she was admitted in mid-July she had her phone, new iPad and glasses. She left with only her phone and a lot less cash in her account.

Mershele Brown and several members of her family had COVID-19. Her 73-year-old mother, Sherul Brown, had underlying health conditions and suffered the most.

"It's scarey. COVID is real! She could hardly breathe. I brought her here on oxygen," said Brown.

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When she checked admitted her mother to Wellstar Cobb Hospital, her mom had her glasses and new iPad. Brown said both turned up missing, and that's not all.

"Mom kept saying, 'I need you to transfer money from my Cash App to my account so you can pay my bills.' When I got her phone, transactions automatically popped up," said Brown.

Brown said someone had wiped out her mom's account on August 11, just a few days before she left the hospital. One transaction was for $2,900.  Another transaction that same day was for $2,000. Both sent to a person that neither Mershele nor Sherul know. But that person did send a reply with a 'thanks' and an emoji.

"The emoji was a smiley face with a green tongue hanging out and dollar signs in the eyes," said Brown.

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Brown filed a police report and contacted security. Both are investigating.

"It shouldn't be too hard to investigate, because no one can go in the room unless they sign in," said Brown.

During the pandemic, Sherul was not allowed to have any visitors.

Brown is angry about her mom's glasses, iPad and money, but she's trying to focus on the fact that her mom is winning the battle against COVID-19.

"Praise God, she made it thorugh, she's in rehab now and she's going to make it home like next week," said Brown.

FOX 5 has requested a statement from Wellstar but has not received a reply.