When news broke that Christine Beasley had been arrested for stealing nearly $180,000 from her employer, Platinum Roofing, many in Brevard County were shocked. But records and documents obtained by The Space Coast Rocket reveal this is not the first time Beasley has been accused of exploiting those who trusted her most.
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In fact, nearly a decade earlier, Beasley was the focus of a detailed police investigation into the financial exploitation of a bedridden 78-year-old woman, Julia Ferrell. The case provides a chilling backdrop that suggests Beasley’s alleged theft from Platinum Roofing may have been part of a long-running pattern of betrayal and exploitation.
2015: Caregiver Turned Exploiter
On November 12, 2015, Titusville Police responded to 4060 Arlington Avenue in Mims to investigate a report of elder exploitation. According to the incident report, family members had grown suspicious after discovering large sums of money missing from Ferrell’s accounts.
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Beasley had moved into Ferrell’s home earlier that year, in January 2015, under the arrangement that she would provide private home care in exchange for room and board. The family described Ferrell as “bedridden, suffering from dementia, and nearing the end of her life.”
Ferrell reportedly trusted Beasley completely, often telling concerned relatives: “Christine loves me, she thinks of me as a second mother, I can trust her.”
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But when a hospice nurse conducted a financial evaluation, the numbers painted a much darker picture.
Financial Red Flags
Investigators and Ferrell’s family uncovered alarming activity across multiple accounts. Financial records provided to us show:
State Farm Life Insurance Policy: A $45,000 account, set up after the death of Ferrell’s husband, had been drained. By December 2015, over $37,899 was missing, and the account was closed with a zero balance
Bank of America Credit Card: Unauthorized charges totaling $9,271.76 were reported.
Discover Credit Card: Fraudulent charges amounted to $3,966.32.
SunTrust Bank Accounts: Two separate accounts showed near-daily ATM withdrawals and spending at restaurants, department stores, and gas stations. Losses were estimated at $10,000 per account, totaling over $20,000 in just one year.
Utility and Cable Bills: Over $3,000 in charges were discovered, including $380 for cable equipment marked stolen.
ATM Withdrawals & Cash Spending: One financial summary prepared by Ferrell’s son, Ben, identified $29,900 in cash withdrawals across the two SunTrust accounts during 2015 alone
Jewelry Theft: Family members reported an additional loss of $5,000 in jewelry.
In total, more than $120,000 in assets and income were unaccounted for by early 2016.
“She Took Advantage of My Mother’s Decline”
Family members testified that Beasley would ask Ferrell for money under the guise of personal needs. Examples included:
$100 “for her son’s tooth.”
$100 for a clinic visit.
$500 so her boyfriend could buy a lawnmower.
Ferrell, in her diminished state, reportedly gave Beasley whatever she asked for.
Ben Ferrell, Julia’s son and power of attorney, discovered the missing funds after accessing the accounts. He later summarized the devastation in great detail that showed the systematic draining of his mother’s finances.
“She took advantage of my mother’s decline,” Ferrell said. “She knew exactly how to manipulate her trust while positioning herself as indispensable.”
Ferrell also stated that Christine refused to move out of the home after his mother’s death. “I had to turn of the utilities to the house just to try and get her out of there.” He says that when deputies arrived to have Christine removed, they found evidence that she was drawing utilities from the neighboring house.
Why She Was Never Prosecuted
Although Titusville Police and the Department of Children and Families opened a formal investigation in 2015, the case never made it to court.
By early 2016, Julia Ferrell had passed away. Without her direct testimony, it would be difficult for prosecutors to move forward with charges. Beasley walked away without prosecution.
The Ferrell family, however, never forgot. “It was devastating to watch my mother’s final days clouded by financial theft,” Ben Ferrell told The Space Coast Rocket. “We always felt she got away with it.”
We reached out to Christine for comment, but she did not respond.
History Repeats Itself
Fast forward to 2023, and Beasley was now employed at Platinum Roofing, a well-respected company in Brevard County known for giving back to the community.
According to investigators, Beasley repeated the same behavior: manipulating payroll, issuing unauthorized checks to herself, and misusing a company credit card. Over the span of two years, she allegedly stole nearly $180,000 from the very employer who had paid her family’s medical bills and helped her with a home deposit.
The scheme unraveled when Beasley asked for a paycheck advance but later also paid herself for that same advance, triggering a review that exposed the fraud.
When viewed together, the 2015 elder exploitation case and the 2023–2024 business fraud case paint a disturbing picture of repeated financial betrayal:
In both cases, Beasley allegedly targeted those who trusted her most — first an elderly, bedridden woman, and later an employer who treated her like family.
In both cases, she allegedly systematically siphoned money over time, blending unauthorized withdrawals with personal justifications.
And in both cases, she was only exposed when victims or their advocates began asking hard questions.
This time, however, Beasley faces formal felony charges for her actions.
For Platinum Roofing’s owner Brandon, who has built his company’s reputation on integrity, the betrayal cuts deep. “We treated her like family,” he said. “To learn she was doing this to us the whole time — after all we did to help her — is heartbreaking.”
For the Ferrell family, Beasley’s arrest brings a bittersweet sense of validation. “We always knew what she did to our mother,” Ben Ferrell said. “We just wish justice had come sooner.”
