A Deltona woman faces dozens of felony charges and is accused of stealing money, wallets and bank cards from unsuspecting victims as old as 93, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

Deltona woman accused of stealing money, wallets, bank cards

The "unsuspecting" victims were as old as 93, deputies said

Volusia County detectives said there could be more victims

Sonia Gautier, 60, was initially arrested Wednesday on charges of burglary, theft of a credit card, illegal use of a credit card and seven counts of dealing in stolen property. Then on Thursday, Volusia County detectives filed an additional 44 felony charges against Gautier.

Gautier has been linked to four thefts in Deltona and is believed to be responsible for victimizing at least two other people in cases being investigated by the Orange City Police Department.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office detectives think there are more victims based on Gautier's financial transactions.

In Deltona, the victims include an 80-year-old woman who was approached by a stranger in her front yard who struck up a conversation about houses for sale in the area, a 93-year-old man who was distracted by a woman claiming to be a health care worker and a 69-year-old woman who was having a garage sale, according to news release.

Darlyn Wummer held a garage sale two weeks before Christmas in Deltona. Wummer said she let Gautier into her home when Gautier asked to see her furniture.

Wummer's wallet, which was left on the dresser, disappeared. Then, hundreds of dollars were withdrawn from her various bank accounts, Wummer said.

"We penny-pinch to see what we're buying for groceries, and to have someone just walk in and take it away," she said. "And I feel bad for the other people who are probably worse off than we are that she took advantage of."

The thefts began in September, with the most recent one taking place earlier in January, deputies said.

"The victims are trustworthy and allowed the suspect to enter their homes out of good nature, and the suspect took advantage of that by being deceptive," detectives wrote in a charging affidavit.

According to the investigation, Gautier would go to Wal-Mart immediately after the thefts and load money onto pre-paid cards. She would typically make small food purchases with the stolen bank cards for items such as bananas, plantains of turnips and load $200 at a time onto gift cards during the same transactions, a news release states.

Detectives said they moved in on Gautier on Wednesday when they learned she was selling her furniture and getting ready to move.

During questioning, Gautier couldn't explain how money from stolen credit cards had been transferred to her gift cards. Detectives said they had video surveillance of her using the stolen cards.

Gautier was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on Wednesday on $65,000 bond for the charges with one of the Deltona cases.

After the additional 44 charges were filed, Gautier's combined bond is at $335,000 on 54 charges. The new charges include money laundering, obtaining property by fraud, two counts of burglary, two counts of theft from a person 65 years of age or older, three counts of theft, three counts of illegal use of a credit card and 32 counts of dealing in stolen property.

Anyone who believes they were victimized by Gautier is asked to call the Volusia County Sheriff's Office at 386-860-7030.