An employee at a Pennsylvania nursing home has been detained on charges of nursing home financial abuse after stealing thousands of dollars from the home’s elderly residents.
Patricia Greenwood, a former employee of the Julia Ribaudo Extended Care Facility in Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, was charged with three felony counts of theft after it was discovered that she had been stealing checks that were meant for the care center and its elderly residents.
The theft began in June 2011 and continued consistently until November 2015, when Greenwood was fired from her position in the business office of the facility.
In June 2011, after ownership of the facility transferred from Brighten Health Group, LLC to Saber Healthcare, LLC, Greenwood began stealing checks and depositing them into a bank account associated with the facility’s previous owner. She would then return to the bank several days later and withdraw the sum in cash.
Bank records indicated that between June 2011 and November 2015, Greenwood deposited and withdrew a total of $73,501.
The theft was revealed during an audit conducted by the new owners of the facility, Saber Healthcare, LLC.
Elder Financial Abuse: A Common Problem
Statistics show that U.S. citizens over the age of 50 control 70 percent of the nation’s wealth, and approximately 20 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have been victims of financial fraud.
This estimate is considered conservative, however, as data specific to elder financial abuse is somewhat unrepresentative of the actual problem.
For example, many elderly victims are reluctant to report theft because they fear it will reflect poorly on their ability to care for themselves in an independent setting.
In other cases, the victim may not even be aware that financial abuse has taken place, because their caretaker, who had been given access to their banking information in the interest of assisting them, was able to conceal the theft.
The most common perpetrators in elder financial abuse cases are family members, paid caretakers, and scam artists who target senior citizens because they are more likely to have significant assets.
Elder financial abuse can result in devastating losses for someone you love, and they are entitled to justice and compensation.
Contact the experienced elder abuse attorneys at Schmidt Kramer at the number below to receive professional, ethical, and compassionate legal counsel for your elderly loved one.
Call (717) 888-8888 today.