A Tennessee woman said she felt duped after learning the caretaker she hired to care for her elderly cousin had complete access to the senior's bank account.

The caretaker, Gaynette Holder, is on trial in Magistrates' Court for allegedly stealing around $32,000 from then 96-year-old George Welsh after gaining his power of attorney in 2005.

Esther James, from Memphis, Tennessee, hired Holder to care for Mr. Welch in January 2005 after noticing he was suffering some short-term memory problems.

He was later diagnosed with the early stages of dementia.

When she returned to Bermuda in December that same year, she learnt that Holder had gained power of attorney over Mr. Welch and had moved him to a downstairs apartment, while she and her family lived in his former apartment rent free.

Mrs. James told the court she found new furniture in Mr. Welch's old apartment taken over by Holder's family.

"The upgrades were only to the upper apartment, where he was not living," she said. "[Holder] and her family were living in the apartment with all of the upgraded furniture."

According to credit card statements, cash advances to the total of $16,250 were made on Mr. Welch's Visa gold card between August 10 and November 23, with all but one of the transactions made in Bermuda.

According to a statement Holder made to Police which was read in court, the caregiver set Mr. Welch's pin number and left a copy of the code for him in his wallet.

"He never used his Visa for cash advances in Bermuda," said Mrs. James. "Only on vacations."

Under cross-examination by lawyer Mark Daniels, Mrs. James admitted talking with Holder's husband, Clyde Holder, about making improvements to the house.

However she insisted she told him to inform her before work started.

"He was to give me notice, and he would have been paid for any work done," she said. "The house was structurally intact, but of course with wear and tear, it could use some upgrades."

She acknowledged work had been done on the home, but said she could not say how much. And she insisted that she never gave permission.

While many cheques were made to hardware stores and workers, she said: "I have no knowledge that these cheques were used specifically and exclusively to upgrade the home."

She also said that she could not say if Mr. Welch had given his permission to purchase meals, furniture, jewellery or a trip to New York Holder is accused of using Mr. Welch's money to her benefit.

While Mrs. James admitted that Mr. Welch had paid for her to travel in the past, she insisted that Mr. Welch had initiated all of the trips.

"One was to visit the grave of his grandmother, another was to donate money to a hospital in St. Vincent, and another was a cruise to Alaska. These were not trips that I initiated.

"He also paid for trips to Bermuda. Early in my career, I was not able to afford the lifestyle I can afford today."

Mr. Daniels suggested to Mrs. James that over the course of several months, Holder and Mr. Welch had become close.

"She cared and looked out for Mr. Welch when there was no one else," said Mr. Daniels.

"She was paid too," responded Mrs. James. "I don't know if they were friends or not."

While Holder has admitted making purchases with Mr. Welch's account, she insists that all purchases were made with Mr. Welch's verbal permission.

Magistrate Graveney Bannister adjourned the trial to continue today.