Dalton Woman Accused of Taking Almost $300,000 from Mother with Dementia

Debra Goodhart. (OTCDF)

Dalton, MN – A Dalton woman was arrested this weekend for stealing almost $300,000 from her mother with dementia.

Otter Tail County prosecutors say 59-year-old Debra Goodhart withdrew over $256,000 from her mother’s bank account between January and December 2025. Goodhart was her mother’s primary caregiver and controlled her finances. Court documents say she would write checks to herself and cash them at a bank instead of making direct withdrawals.

Goodhart initially told investigators that she and her mother would often go to casinos, spending between $4,000 and $5,000 per visit. When investigators spoke with Goodhart’s mother, she said she didn’t remember any trips that Goodhart described, and that she would never have approved her daughter to take $40,000 out of her account per month.

Court documents also indicate that Goodhart was being scammed online. In February 2025, she reported to the Sheriff’s Office that she had possibly been scammed out of $10,000. Deputies investigated and found that she had been scammed. However, prosecutors say that despite officials telling her it was a scam, Goodhart continued to send money to the individual, pulling money from her mother’s bank account and buying Apple Pay gift cards to send. The scammer had reportedly promised Goodhart a new pickup truck and $300,000,000.

Prosecutors say that while under investigation between January 12, 2026 and February 6, 2026, Goodhart withdrew an additional $36,507 for a total of $295,082. She also tried to withdraw an additional $25,000 on February 6, at which point deputies returned to Goodhart’s residence and placed her under arrest.

Goodhart made her first court appearance Monday morning and has been charged with financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and theft.