A 68-year-old Germansville woman had nearly $80,000 stolen from her over a 3½-year period in a theft by deception incident that is being investigated by state police at the Bethlehem barracks.

Police said the thefts occurred during an online relationship the woman has with the thief between March 1, 2021, and Sept. 5 of this year.

They said that someone purporting to be Connie Wilson deceived the woman and engaged in the online relationship.

They said during the relationship, the woman sent her monthly Social Security checks in the amount of $1,900 to the person via Cash App.

The woman said she would deposit her checks in the Cash App and then convert the money to Bitcoin and then send the Bitcoin to various QR codes provided by the unknown actor.

Police said it is estimated the victim sent the person about $79,800 over the course of their relationship.