Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that two women have been indicted in connection with allegations they abused their positions as nursing home employees to fraudulently access and steal from the bank accounts of residents in Brookline and Attleboro.
The first woman worked as a unit secretary at a nursing home in Brookline, and allegedly used her position to access an elderly resident’s checkbook and debit card. She then wrote a check for $2,000 to her husband and deposited it into his account, and later used the resident’s debit card to make over $3,000 in purchases from various businesses such as department stores, grocery stores, pet stores, coffee shops, and Lyft rides. This matter was referred for investigation by the Brookline Police Department and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
The second woman was working as a CNA at a nursing home in Attleboro. The AG’s Office alleges that in 2020 she used a nursing home resident’s debit card to withdraw $1,000 from his bank account without his permission. The resident, who was being cared for by the CNA, asked her to use his debit card to purchase snacks, and she took advantage of the resident’s trust and stole from him. This matter was referred for investigation by the Attleboro Police Department and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
These cases are part of AG Healey’s ongoing efforts to investigate nursing home employees who abuse their positions of trust to steal from vulnerable residents. In April 2022, a Worcester nursing assistant was arraigned on similar charges in connection with his unauthorized use of four nursing home residents’ debit cards and the theft of over $30,000 from their accounts.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
F602 in the State Operations Manual, Appendix PP, states that residents have the right to be free from abuse, neglect, and misappropriation of resident property. Misappropriation of resident property means the deliberate misplacement, exploitation, or wrongful, temporary, or permanent use of a resident’s belongings or money without the resident’s consent. Facilities must have systems in place to safeguard against any misappropriation of a resident’s funds. Examples of misappropriation of resident property include, but are not limited to:
- Identity theft;
- Theft of money from bank accounts;
- Unauthorized or coerced purchases on a resident’s credit card;
- Unauthorized or coerced purchases from resident’s funds;
- A resident who provides a gift to staff in order to receive ongoing care, based on staff’s persuasion; and
- A resident who provides monetary assistance to staff, after staff had made the resident believe that staff was in a financial crisis.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies on preventing, identifying, and reporting misappropriation of resident’s belongings or funds to ensure that they meet all requirements of federal and state regulations.
- Provide staff training on the CMS regulations for residents’ rights to be free from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and misappropriation of personal property; staff members’ responsibility to prevent these from occurring; and their personal liability if they commit any of these violations. Educate residents and family members on the importance of monitoring their monthly bank and credit card balances and immediately reporting any concerns to facility staff or through the hotline.
- Periodically audit resident fund accounts to ensure that no misappropriation has occurred. Interview residents to determine if they have concerns about the safety of their belongings or funds.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
