GILLETTE, Wyo. — A Gillette woman accused of exploiting her vulnerable grandfather entered District Court this week with the defendant waiving her preliminary hearing in Circuit Court, Campbell County court records say.
Sasha Deen, 35, is charged with felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult, eight counts of felony forgery, two counts of misdemeanor impersonation through electronic means and misdemeanor theft with intent to deprive, court records state.
The charges against Deen stem from a 2024 case, with prosecutors alleging she exploited her 77-year-old grandfather, forged his signature on multiple checks and altered them, and used her husband’s information to open online banking accounts without his permission, charging documents state.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case, Deen’s grandfather discovered his signature had been forged on four of his checks in early April and found 14 of his checks missing from his residence.
Around the time the checks went missing, in mid-March, Deen had been helping her grandfather fill out checks that he would endorse to pay his bills. Her grandfather ended the arrangement when he learned he was two months behind on his water bill and that Deen altered a fifth check and cashed it for herself, the affidavit states.
The five checks totaled $515. Four of them were cashed using a mobile banking service, Ingo Money. One of the checks was made out to Deen’s husband, a 44-year-old man, and allegedly had his signature on it, per court documents.
When questioned by a sheriff’s office investigator, Deen initially denied knowledge of the checks and blamed her husband, claiming he pulled a check out of his pocket at the hotel they worked at and cashed it, the affidavit states. She also claimed her husband was working with another individual who wanted to move out of state and seemed to have suddenly come into money.
Search warrants executed during the investigation refuted Deen’s claims and revealed she used multiple online banking accounts to cash the checks herself. While some accounts were under her husband’s name, they were tied to her personal email accounts, her aliases and her cellular device, according to the affidavit.
Her husband denied knowing anything about the checks. He said his signature was forged and denied permitting Deen to open banking accounts using his information, per the affidavit.
In a second interview, Deen allegedly admitted to taking the checks when confronted with the information learned by the investigator. She claimed to have worked with an accomplice to use the checks to gamble at a horse racing establishment, the affidavit states.
Court documents say the investigator tracked down the alleged accomplice, who also denied knowing anything about the stolen checks. None of the stolen money was deposited to the individual’s account, and Deen admitted to lying because she was angry over having to babysit the individual’s children.
Deen’s banking records showed the money stolen from her grandfather was used to pay Snapchat, CashApp, Luckyland, Google BitStrong PTE, another website, an incarcerated individual’s phone account and a fueling station, and was withdrawn at several ATMs in Gillette, the affidavit states.
According to Wyoming State Statute, each felony count filed against Deen is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both. Misdemeanor impersonation through electronic means is punishable by up to a year in prison, a $1,000 fine or both. Misdemeanor theft with intent to deprive is punishable by up to six months in prison, a $750 fine or both.
