Nursing home employees arrested in large-scale fraud scheme involving the elderly: Sheriff

by Skyler Shepard

The sheriff's office said there were multiple texts between (from left to right) Angella Jackson, Lashantia Brown and two other people — 20-year-old Janorris Johnson and 33-year-old Kanisha Altidor. All four of them were benefitting from the fraudulent charges. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Four nursing home employees were arrested after detectives said a large-scale fraud scheme that involved 14 elderly victims and at three different Assisted Living Facility (ALF) locations.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said the investigation began on June 30, 2022, after receiving a report of fraudulent use of a credit card from a victim living in an ALF. 

As the investigation continued, detectives said they were able to identify two suspects, 43-year-old Angella Jackson and her daughter, 28-year-old Lashantia Brown. The two were employees at three different ALFs over a period of several months.  

As the investigation continued, detectives said they were able to identify two suspects, 43-year-old Angella Jackson (left) and her daughter, 28-year-old Lashantia Brown (right). The two were employees at three different ALFs over a period of several months. (Pinellas County Sheriff;s Office)

Detectives said the mother-daughter duo would take photos of the victims’ debit cards and credit cards and then share the information through text with each other. Photos of a driver’s license belonging to two elderly victims were in Brown’s phone.

Another discovery revealed two others involved in the scheme.

The sheriff's office said there were multiple texts between Brown, Jackson and two other people — 33-year-old Kanisha Altidor and 20-year-old Janorris Johnson. All four of them were benefitting from the fraudulent charges. 

The sheriff's office said there were multiple texts between Jackson, Brown and two other people — 33-year-old Kanisha Altidor (right) and 20-year-old Janorris Johnson (left). All four of them were benefitting from the fraudulent charges. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

Detectives said the group made multiple fraudulent purchases at Adventure Island, T-Mobile, an online shoe retailer and created a Spectrum (Charter Communications) account for a residence with the stolen information. The total loss was approximately $14,000 after Jackson stole stole $4,000 in cash from an elderly victim.

On Thursday, Feb. 23, were taken into custody and transported to the Pinellas County Jail. Charges include fraudulent use of a credit card, exploitation of the elderly, scheme to defraud, grand theft and more.

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Nursing home employees arrested in large-scale fraud scheme involving the elderly: Sheriff