Authorities in Michigan say that a manager of a nursing home spent several years siphoning off residents’ funds, making herself wealthier to the tune of nearly half a million dollars in the process — and she wasn’t caught until after she’d already been fired.
According to the Detroit News, from 2010 through 2013, the business office manager of a nursing home in Rochester Hills, MI, embezzled a total of more than $460,000 from the home’s residents.
Police say that when residents would overpay for room and board, the suspect would take that extra money and put it into a trust fund account, from which she would then withdraw cash for her personal use. She also allegedly directed unwitting subordinate employees to withdraw cash from this account and then give her the money.
The scheme wasn’t discovered until after the manager was fired in April 2013 for allegedly failing to follow standard financial reporting procedures.
A subsequent review of the home’s accounts turned up several red flags, which were then reported to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, before ultimately landing on the desk of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
The former office manager was arrested last week and charged with two counts of Embezzlement From a Vulnerable Adult, which could earn her up to 20 years in prison.
AG Schuette says he will contact all 136 victims of the scam to inform them of the crime and tell them what is being done to make them whole again.
“Families deserve to know their loved ones in nursing homes are being cared for, not being exploited for personal financial gain,” Schuette said in a statement.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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