A Wisconsin woman has been sentenced to 18 months initial confinement followed by 18.5 years of extended supervision in relation to the theft of over $400,000 from a 70-year-old victim. The Wisconsin woman was also ordered to pay $302,960.54 in restitution related to the case.
The woman had provided in home care to the 70-year-old victim. On November 30, 2021, she pled guilty to two counts of theft greater than $10,000 from the elderly victim.
The criminal complaint states that between October 2017 and October 2019 the woman made 1,224 transactions with the elderly victim’s credit card. The credit card transactions totaled $313, 774, of which $140,000 was spent at casinos. The woman paid herself and her family over $80,000, even though her salary was $1,250 per month. Additionally, the woman paid over $20,000 of her credit card bills with the victim’s money.
Attorney General Kaul stated, “Elder fraud and exploitation is a growing problem, with an estimated $77.8 million lost annually in Wisconsin. It is also a vastly underreported crime. Anyone in Wisconsin can report suspected elder abuse at www.ReportElderAbuseWI.org or by calling 1-833-586-0107. Thank you to everyone at DOJ and the Oneida County DA’s office whose work ensured that the defendant is being held accountable.”
Compliance Perspective
Issue
It is the obligation of each nursing facility to protect residents from financial abuse and exploitation. Each facility must take the required precautions in keeping residents’ personal information as confidential as possible. Encourage residents not to give credit cards or banking information to staff. Remind staff that they should not use a resident’s banking information or credit card, even if the resident asks the staff to make purchases. If residents’ personal information is exposed in a data breach, it is the responsibility of the facility to report the breach as soon as it is discovered. Residents are more likely not to know that they have been a victim of identity theft; therefore, it is the facility’s responsibility to protect the resident from financial abuse and exploitation.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on protecting residents’ personal information and preventing financial abuse and exploitation. Update your policies if needed.
- Train all staff who have access to resident’s personal information on your policy and procedure for protecting resident’s personal information. Train all staff on your policy and procedures for preventing financial abuse and exploitation. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed document in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that staff who have access to residents’ personal information are aware of the proper procedures to follow to prevent exposure. Also, periodically audit staff understanding to ensure that they are aware of what constitutes financial abuse and exploitation, and what they would do if they suspected financial abuse or exploitation is occurring.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC VIEW: ABUSE OF RESIDENT PERSONAL FUNDS and RESIDENT FINANCIAL RIGHTS.
