ST. LOUIS – The daughter of a Wildwood couple found living in a mansion overrun by cats has been arrested and is facing federal charges of elder financial fraud.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Elizabeth M. Fischer used her recently deceased mother’s financial accounts for her own benefit, then assumed control over money that was to be used for the care of her elderly father.
Fischer appeared in federal court Tuesday and was charged with three counts of access device fraud and two counts of identity theft.
FOX 2 News first reported on the matter in September 2024 after family members told us their parents’ home had been the subject of welfare checks in the past and was ordered vacated due to a cat infestation. Approximately 180 cats were found living in the 5,700-square-foot home on Country Trails Court, which reeked of the smell of cat urine.
The family members told FOX 2 they suspected their sister, Elizabeth Fischer, had moved in to her parents’ home years ago and was controlling their lives and finances, and keeping the rest of the family at arm’s length.
On July 17, 2024, Fischer’s mother was admitted to the hospital with what prosecutors called an “altered mental state.” She was intubated on July 20 and died on Aug. 22. She was 79. Fischer then assumed care of her elderly father.
However, at a September hearing, federal prosecutors said the Probate Division of St. Louis County Circuit Court appointed an emergency guardian or conservator for Fischer’s father to handle all personal and financial matters. The court’s formal order came down on Sept. 17, 2024.
Following the court’s ruling, prosecutors allege Fischer took her father to a jewelry store in St Louis County to have his wedding ring, class ring, and a 14-karat gold watch appraised. Fischer and her father sold the jewelry and received a check for $7,800 made payable to the father. Prosecutors said Fischer and her father cashed the check at a nearby branch of the jewelry store’s bank and that Fischer took the funds for her own use.
The federal indictment further alleges Fischer spent the summer of 2024 using both parents’ bank account information to withdraw money or make personal purchases without their knowledge or consent.
At the time of her arrest, Fischer was driving a vehicle bearing an Oklahoma plate but registered to a Montana-based LLC, prosecutors said, alleging that she’s a flight risk and should be kept in custody until trial.
This is a developing story and will be updated on-air and online as more information becomes available.