NBC 4 Washington reported late last week that District of Columbia Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton was the victim of a financial scam at her home.

In a surprising development, the news station also revealed that Norton is allegedly battling with the early stages of dementia.  

Police report: Fake HVAC cleaning crew charged $4,400 despite doing no work

According to the Daily Caller, that detail was included as part of an internal Metropolitan Police Department document which NBC4 Washington managed to obtain.

It explained how individuals who represented themselves as being members of an HVAC cleaning crew arrived at Norton's Washington, D.C. home on Thursday afternoon and offered to carry out duct and fireplace cleaning services.

Police report indicates @EleanorNorton “suffers early stages of dementia” after Norton fell victim to $4,000 fraud. @nbcwashington https://t.co/1HOOHBFg6x

— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) October 24, 2025

The suspects then proceeded to fraudulently charge nearly $4,400 to the Democratic lawmaker's credit card despite not performing any actual work.

The police report noted that Norton has a "caretaker/power of attorney" who was not president at her home when the fraudsters arrived.

Woman identified as caretaker also serves as campaign committee treasurer

The Daily Caller explained that Norton's caretaker was identified in a separate document as being Jaqueline Pelt, who contacted law enforcement upon seeing an unidentified person on security footage and learning that the delegate's credit card had been charged.

The website also cited Federal Election Commission (FEC) records which list Pelt as being the treasurer of Citizens for Eleanor Holmes Norton, a committee which is supporting the 88-year-old's 2026 reelection campaign. Norton first took office as Washington D.C.'s nonvoting delegate 36 years ago.

However, Norton's office provided a statement to NBC 4 Washington denying that Pelt is a caretaker as well as disputing the police report's dementia claim.

"Congresswoman Norton doesn’t have a caretaker. A longtime employee and friend serves as the house manager, residing at a separate address," it asserted.

Norton's office pushes back on dementia claim

The statement described the purported house manager as being someone who "oversees all maintenance services" while adding that Norton "initially assumed her staff had arranged the visit and provided her credit card for payment."

It further maintained that "[t]he medical diagnosis included in the police report was based on an assumption the reporting officer was unqualified to make."

However, NBC 4 Washington noted that a spokesperson for Norton refused to comment on whether or not the alleged dementia diagnosis is accurate.