A caretaker for a ninety-one-year-old Oconto Falls woman is facing felony theft charges after family members reported valuable jewelry missing from the home. 54-year-old Svitlana Yelenchuk of Pulaski is accused of stealing multiple items, including a Rolex watch, a large diamond ring with matching earrings, a silver diamond ring, a basket-style pendant, and a diamond bracelet.  According to the criminal complaint, investigators say Yelenchuk sold several of the items at a Green Bay-area pawn shop between July and December. The woman’s family estimates the missing jewelry is worth well over one-hundred-thousand dollars and told authorities they feared additional items stored in the basement may also be missing.  The woman’s daughter told investigators she became suspicious after noticing Yelenchuk’s vehicle backed up to the garage during recent visits.

Yelenchuk told authorities the jewelry was given to her by the woman, claiming the Rolex was gifted shortly after she began working as a caretaker and the bracelet several months later. She told investigators the woman felt she was not being paid enough.  Family members say the woman was experiencing significant cognitive decline at the time and required a caretaker because she often did not remember people or her surroundings. If convicted, Yelenchuk faces up to fourteen years in prison and a twenty-five-thousand-dollar fine. She is currently being held on a ten-thousand-dollar cash bond. An adjourned initial appearance is scheduled for January fifteenth in Oconto County Circuit Court.