Arizona woman accused of spending over $100K of elderly UT woman's money on gambling
by Pat Reavy ksl · KSL.comKANAB — An Arizona woman is accused of taking money from an elderly woman living at an assisted living facility in southern Utah and spending it on online gambling games and at Walmart.
Melody Ann Martinez, 67, of Page, Arizona, was charged in 6th District Court on Tuesday with two counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and unlawful dealing of property by a fiduciary, second-degree felonies.
The victim was a 94-year-old woman living in an assisted living facility in Kanab, according to charging documents. Martinez was a "close friend" who had power of attorney for the victim over her finances, the charges state.
Between 2019 and 2025, Martinez, "used (the victim's) finances for her own benefit. Specifically, (Martinez) made numerous personal transactions using (the victim's) bank account, including purchases at Walmart and purchases spent on online gambling," according to charging documents.
Prosecutors say Martinez "spent approximately $103,425 on online gambling through the Google Play Store." The investigation revealed that these purchases were registered to the elderly victim, even though she "had no electronic devices which could be used to access the Google Play Store to make these purchases," according to the charges.
Martinez is also accused of spending nearly $15,500 of the victim's money at Walmart.
The care facility where the victim lived provided for all her needs, prosecutors state, and she "did not go shopping" at the store where her money was allegedly spent, the charges state. "The shopping all occurred near (Martinez's) residence which was over a one hour drive from (the victim's) residence."
Between the gambling and Walmart purchases, Martinez "in total…diverted approximately $118,921 for her own benefit," the charges state. "(The victim's) bank accounts were substantially depleted during this time, leaving her with minimal funds to cover her expenses."
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Pat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops-and-courts beat.