Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Chartel T. Cara Parker, 35, has been charged with exploitation of an elderly person, identity theft, and fraud for allegedly obtaining a credit card in her aunt’s name and using it to pay for a “tummy tuck” and other personal expenses, leaving an unpaid debt of $7,200.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Detective began working on the case in October 2024 after receiving a report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that a relative with Power of Attorney for the 74-year-old victim received calls from debt collectors about the unpaid balance on the card. The relative told the detective that she believed the fraudulent credit card account was opened in 2019, but she first learned about it in 2022, when she received a credit alert for the victim. The relative gave the detective documentation supporting the victim’s diagnoses of dementia and Alzheimer’s and her sole responsibility to handle the victim’s financial affairs since 2018. She said Parker is the victim’s niece.

The credit card, which was issued in the name of the victim with Parker as a secondary cardholder, had six fraudulent transactions, all in 2020, including $1,800 to a business that provided care after a surgical procedure, almost $5,500 to a doctor in Miami for a “tummy tuck,” $160 to a plastic surgery practice in Atlanta, $550 to an eye doctor in Gainesville for an eye exam and glasses, and $600 to a “health and laser” practice in Gainesville. Only three payments were ever made, totaling $432. Failure to pay the card has damaged the victim’s credit score, and a debt collection company that purchased the debt from the credit card company has listed the debt solely in the victim’s name.

Parker has been charged with exploitation of an elderly person, identity theft with a victim over the age of 60, and fraudulent use of a credit card. A sworn complaint was filed in February 2025, and Judge James Colaw issued a warrant for Parker’s arrest in March, with bail set at $85,000. Parker was arrested on Monday. She has no criminal history, and Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $45,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.