Police: House Dem Shows Early Dementia Signs

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the longtime nonvoting representative for D.C. in the U.S. House, was scammed in her home by people who said they were part of a cleaning crew, her office told News4. The suspects charged almost $4,400 to her credit card for work they did not perform, police said.

An internal police report obtained by News4 details how suspects were able to enter Norton’s home on Thursday and access her credit card before someone, whom her office called a house manager and friend, was able to put a stop to it.

A D.C. police report described Norton, 88, as having the "early stages of dementia," and said Norton has a caretaker with power of attorney. Norton's office pushed back against that claim.

Norton let the workers into the home to perform HVAC services. But, despite no service taking place, the workers charged $4,362 for duct and fireplace cleaning, the report says.

At the time the group arrived, the report says, the "caretaker/power of attorney was not at residence." That report does not name the caretaker or power of attorney but says that individual called police.

That individual saw the HVAC workers on a security camera and advised Norton to tell them to leave, the report says. That person then went to Norton's home and realized the credit card had been charged.

They then flagged down a D.C. police officer, and U.S. Capitol Police also went to Norton's home to investigate.

Norton's credit card and driver's license number "could potentially be compromised," the report says.

No arrests were made on Thursday, but police are treating the crime as felony fraud.

No items were stolen from Norton's home, the public incident report said. There is an open investigation into the fraud claim involving Norton's credit card, D.C. police confirmed.

The public police incident report also says the "caretaker" called the credit card company to have the charges and card cancelled after Thursday's crime.

In the section of the field commander's report with information about the "complainant," or the victim of the crime, the report states that Norton has "early stages of dementia."

"Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) 88 years old, Black Woman, suffers early stages of dementia," the report says.