A Norristown man was charged this month with stealing nearly a quarter-million dollars in cash from a family member during a Super Bowl party in Worcester Township.
Prajeethkumar Devathala, 40, of an apartment on the 2000 block West Main Street, Norristown, faces a charge of second-degree felony theft by Pennsylvania State Police in Skippack for the Feb. 11 incident at a home on the 1300 block of Dell Road, according to charging documents.
Police were called to the Worcester home on the afternoon of Feb. 21 for a report of a theft.
Upon arrival, police met with the male victim, who reported he thought Devathala had stolen $226,000 in cash from him on Feb. 11, police said.
The victim, who owns several gas stations, had invited Devathala and his friend over to his home to watch the Super Bowl, police said. He told police that his cash was kept in a bag behind a passcode-locked door, according to the complaint. He had a security video system installed in his home, with a camera directly facing the entrance to the room containing the secured door, per the complaint.
The victim had been unwell, police said, and was not of good health, and asked Devathala to help him with his business and to take him to medical appointments.
According to the affidavit, the victim was the only one that knew the passcode, but recalled an interaction with Devathala where he believed he was trying to watch him type in the passcode one day.
The victim told police he had given Devathala passwords and passcodes to various accounts of his so that he could take care of affairs while he was in the hospital, police said.
One of those passcodes, per the complaint, was for the security camera system.
Devathala is free on $100,000 unsecured bail, set by Magisterial District Judge Christopher J. Cerski at the June 13 arraignment, per court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Adam T. Katzman on Aug. 28 at 10:30 a.m.
Devathala is represented by attorney William Alfred Weiss, Esq.
