Aggravated identity theft.

And because you wired the stolen funds to the dealership, it’s textbook wire fraud.” A gasp went through the aunts and uncles.

My mother’s oldest friend, Joan, took three steps back from her as if from a leper.

And then Doreen, finally grasping the size of it, looked at the Jeep, looked at our mother, and abandoned thirty years of golden-child loyalty in a single breath.

“I didn’t know!” she shrieked, throwing her hands up for the relatives to see.

“Mom told me she cashed out her own funds!