A picture of youth and promise. That’s how Elizabeth Collins wants to remember her mother, Jane.
She held onto a framed photograph of her mom, wearing a ballerina leotard during her teen years, while discussing her heartbreak with NBC 5 Responds.
Elizabeth Collins holds a 1950’s photo of her late mother, Jane.
In November 2025, at the age of 84, Jane’s final days were marked by deception. She learned her trusted caregiver, a woman named Maria Sikorski, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her.
“She did not want to believe it happened,” Collins told NBC Chicago.
According to Collins, one of her mother’s banks tipped her off to the fraud in 2024– when she was notified of unusual activity on her mother’s investment account. When Collins reviewed her mother’s checkbook, what she found was staggering.
“I determined she had stolen approximately $245,000,” she said.
According to Collins and court records, the caregiver devised a scheme using Jane’s credit cards to make fraudulent charges. Then, she used Jane’s bank accounts to pay off the balances. When Jane’s daughter realized what happened, she contacted the banks and asked all of the phone payments be reversed.
Court records show Sikorski pleaded guilty to stealing the money from Jane. According to the court order, Sikorski was responsible for paying back the money to the banks involved. But soon, Collins’ mother started receiving bills from Bank of America. They wanted her to pay back the stolen $141,000. Eventually, her account was sent to collections.
Jane died in November 2025—the dispute still unresolved. Days later, Collins received a fraud denial letter from Bank of America.
“Their rationale for denying the claim the last time was the statements were received by my mother, they were sent to the address, my mother’s address. And that payments had been made on the account,” said Collins.
Her estate attorney recommend she contact NBC 5 Chicago for help.
NBC 5 Responds got in touch with Bank of America and a representative contacted Collins to advance her complaint. Finally, she got a sign of hope.
“I am so thankful to NBC because I actually received a call from… the executive branch of Bank of America and he provided me with the name of the client advocate who will be reviewing the case,” she said.
Bank of America acknowledged NBC Chicago’s inquiries, saying it’s “still communicating with Ms. Collins”. We also reached out to Sikorski. Her daughter told us she has no comment.
As of publication, Collins is still waiting for the bank to process her fraud report. She has this advice for anyone with aging parents:
“I would recommend that people actually get on their parents’ accounts. Had I had access to my mother’s accounts, I would have been able to see all this,” she said.
