Prajeethkumar Devathala, 40, of Norristown, faces felony theft offenses.
A Norristown man accused of stealing more than $200,000 in cash from a family member during a Super Bowl party in Worcester Township had all charges held for Montgomery County Court following a preliminary hearing last week.
Prajeethkumar Devathala, 40, of an apartment on the 2000 block West Main Street, faces felony charges of second-degree theft and conspiracy to commit 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.
Devathala is free on $100,000 unsecured bail, per court documents, and will be formally arraigned in county court Nov. 20.
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 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 represented by attorney William Alfred Weiss, Esq.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
