A former admissions director at a Massachusetts nursing home has pleaded guilty in connection with an embezzlement scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars from an elderly resident. Christina Polcari, 54, of Belmont, pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to Larceny over $1,200 from a Person over 60 years old (1 count), Forgery (5 counts), and Embezzlement by Fiduciary (1 count) and was sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to pay $76,000 in restitution to the victim, and a $5,000 fine. The court ordered the following conditions of probation: stay away from and no contact with the victim, witnesses, and the nursing home facility and staff; refrain from non-familial fiduciary duties and power of attorney duties; refrain from any licensed social work; refrain from employment in which direct compensation is derived from MassHealth or Medicaid; refrain from non-familial fiduciary work with disabled individuals or those over 60 years old.
From August 2018 until May 2019, Polcari engaged in a scheme in which she misappropriated over $230,000 of an elderly resident’s funds and spent the money on personal expenses such as repairs to her home, restaurants, cash withdrawals and vacations for herself and her family. Polcari used a forged signature for various promissory notes, letters, and checks in an effort to perpetuate the scheme and in an attempt to cover up the theft. Polcari left her position at the facility in May 2019, when nursing home officials became aware of her misappropriation. Prior to leaving, Polcari repaid a portion of this money to the victim.
