Former Fox News contributor Cathy Areu has been arrested on charges related to her treatment and alleged kidnapping of her mother. According to The Wrap, Areu faces felony charges related to the alleged crimes, including the kidnapping and theft of $224,000.
Areu appeared on Fox News in 2018, making unpaid appearances as a guest on Tucker Carlson’s primetime show and others. Areu has not appeared on Fox News since 2018 and is not affiliated with the network presently.The network took down her profile from the site after news of her arrest made headlines on Friday.
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According to the AP, the deleted profile called Areu a “former contributing editor for the Washington Post Magazine, conducted political interviews from 2001 to 2012.” She would go on to found the magazine Catalina in 2001, seeking to “break stereotypes and show a positive side of the U.S. Hispanic community.” Areu also hosted a podcast called Liberal Sherpa.
Before her arrest, Areu made waves with a lawsuit against Fox News in 2020. The suit by the former Fox News contributor alleged sexual harassment at the workplace, including Carlson and Sean Hannity in the filing. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2021.
According to The Wrap, Areu is accused of forcing her 88-year-old mother into a nursing home against her will. The AP adds that investigators have been looking into Areu since 2019 after receiving reports she was “exploiting her mother.” “Every incident of alleged elder exploitation or abuse touches our heart and never fails to shock us. It seems particularly harder to understand when the alleged perpetrator of the exploitation is a daughter, or a son or another blood relative,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement to the press.
At the time of the investigation’s start, paperwork was filed to turn Areu’s mother’s house over to her, while later using a revoked power of attorney to forcefully place her in the nursing home.
“In the first case, they say Areu tricked her mother into believing she was being taken to have ice cream with her granddaughters, but was instead taken to a home,” the AP writes. “When the mother tried to call a friend for help, Areu allegedly told the staff not to let her use the phone or see visitors.”
Authorities and officials found Areu’s mother competent to make her own decisions, releasing her from the first attempt. Areu allegedly attempted a second admission after dragging her mother from her home. Competency was later confirmed again. The investigation into the allegations is ongoing according to authorities, though details about Areu’s arrest have not been released.
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