When senior citizens are duped of their life savings, statistics show more often than not, trusted family members are responsible.

Clark County detectives say that’s exactly what happened to 97-year-old Kathryn Hargett of Vancouver.

“I was just numb, I was in disbelief,” said Hargett.

What makes Kathryn's case so disturbing is that a loved member of her own family is the one accused of stealing more than $20,000 from her bank account.

Her niece, 70-year-old Jacqueline Luper, now faces 10 criminal counts of theft in Clark County Superior Court.

Hargett thought it was strange when her bank statements stopped arriving in the mail. Her longtime friend Jackie Knudsen convinced her to go to the bank in person. Her financial planner was shocked to see her.

“Jacqueline had convinced him that Kathryn was incontinent and could not walk,” said Knudsen.

It turns out Kathryn walks, fends off telemarketers, pays her bills and cleans her home all by herself. While Kathryn was taking care of her home over the past year, court records allege her niece made more than "150 ATM and debit card withdrawals from Kathryn's account."

Luper also signed up as payee on her aunts social security account. Records also allege Luper received more than $3,800 from her aunt’s Social Security account over a five-month period last year.

We caught up with Luper near Molallay, where she lives on some rural property near Molalla, and asked her what she had to say about those 150 ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases.

“Sometimes I took some money out to get her cash and she was with me at the time I did that at the bank,”said Luper.

And the times she wasn’t there?

“Right, right and sometimes I would be using the wrong card thinking I was using my own card,” said Luper .

As Hargett sat in her living room surrounded by a lifetime of cherished belongings she said, “It's hard to know what to do or what to think. To have this happen right in amongst your own family, it makes you mad enough to criticize them, but I don't want to do that.”

Luper told us her mistake is being blown out of proportion.

“My Aunt still gets her Social Security checks, I made sure I got my name off that account. It's not like she's doing without. She can buy her groceries, she can do anything. She’s got an attorney through the influence of these people around her, said Luper.

Newschannel 8 asked her, “So does that make it ok to take money out of her account?” Luper responded loudly, “ I'm not saying it's ok to take money from her account!”

Luper said she loves her aunt, but can't afford to pay her back or go to court because of complications with diabetes.

Hargett said, “You don't realize you've been duped, but I have been. I wonder if she's proud of that, I don't know?”

Family members on both sides are struggling with emotional pain over the situation.

Kathryn is thankful her bank account is now secure and friends are helping her take legal steps to get her money back.

Luper made her first appearance in court on May 13. She’s due back in court at the end of July.