Thursday, August 10, 2023

Investigation uncovers financial exploitation of vulnerable adults by Hawley home care provider

By Gretchen Hjelmstad


HAWLEY, Minn. (Valley News Live) - The Minnesota Department of Health is investigating a home care provider in Hawley, Minnesota, for alleged maltreatment and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

According to the investigative reports, the Health Department substantiated two complaints against Comforting Angels Homecare, which is located at 202 Highway 10 in Hawley.

In both cases, the owner of Comforting Angels is accused of withdrawing money from client’s bank accounts for personal use. The first investigation involved more than $135,000 missing over 16 months and the second included more than $246,000 over nine months.

Each investigation included review of bank statements, billing statements, and interviews with administrative staff, nursing staff, and unlicensed staff at Comforting Angels. The investigator also contacted law enforcement. Detailed information from the Health Department Rapid Response Investigative Report can be found below.

Maltreatment Claim 1

Officials determined that someone affiliated with Comforting Angels withdrew $135,543.26 from a client’s bank accounts over a 16-month period. Investigators say, the suspect made as many as five withdrawals per month and did not provide the client with billing statements or a reason for the withdrawals.

The Health Department investigator says the client received comprehensive home care services from Comforting Angels in their home. However, the home care agency did not have documentation of the client’s diagnoses, the client didn’t have a service plan, and no assessments were completed on the client.

In total, the client’s bank statements identified approximately 35 withdrawals over that 16-month period. The transactions ranged from $259.14 to $13,000, according to the investigative report. The client’s bank statements also included a $1,800 deposit made at a bank in Arizona and $1,800 that was withdrawn on the same day.

The client was charged anywhere from $27,000 to $30,000 per month for 24-hour care, but the investigation found that bank statements included various other expenses including $998.11 in unidentified expenses one month, $540 for incontinent products another month, $75 for one month’s worth of wipes and gloves, $188.06 for groceries, and $341.07 for a motel.

The Department of Health investigation found that the statements the owner of Comforting Angels sent the investigator did not match the statements they provided to the client’s power of attorney. The amounts listed on either set of statements also did not line up with the withdrawals, and the dates of the withdrawals did not line up with the billing cycle dates.

During an interview, the client’s family member said she recently became the client’s power of attorney as she was made aware of concerns regarding the finances. The family member said she obtained copies of the client’s bank statements and noticed $100,000 had been taken from one account and almost $50,000 was missing from a savings account.

The family member said after several requests, Comforting Angels finally sent her a stack of invoices covering the 16 months the client received services. The invoices totaled about $341,000, which they said, “seemed shocking, considering the poor care she was getting.”

Full Article & Source:
Investigation uncovers financial exploitation of vulnerable adults by Hawley home care provider

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