Jury finds caregiver guilty of felony elder abuse, fraud

By LEWIS DELAVAN / Staff writer

A Garland County woman was sentenced Monday,  Dec. 4 to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $125,000 in restitution to her victim after she pleaded guilty in August for Abuse of Adults Exploitation, a Class B felony, and Medicaid Fraud, a Class A misdemeanor.

Charlene Root Davila, 56, a caregiver and tax preparer, will serve five years in prison, with 10 years of the sentence suspended, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement. The attorney general's office prosecuted the case in Garland County Circuit Court.

Root Davila lived in a trailer park at 5600 Albert Pike Road, and was also a neighbor of the victim.

“Cases like these don’t often result in prison time for the perpetrators, which underscores just how brazen and cruel this crime was.

“Davila made a calculated effort to secure access to her victim’s funds after the victim’s husband passed away. The victim has no local family and was left with little support network following her husband’s death.

“Davila, a local tax preparer and neighbor of the victim’s, forged documents to get power of attorney on the victim’s bank accounts and took approximately $150,000 within just a few days of gaining access to the accounts.

“She also attempted to obtain guardianship over the victim so that the victim’s home could be sold with the proceeds going to Davila. The court noted in its ruling how ‘disturbing’ this case was and how Davila took advantage of the victim’s vulnerabilities.  

“I am grateful to Senior Assistant Attorney General Sharon Strong, who prosecuted this case in cooperation with Special Prosecuting Attorney Emily White. I also appreciate the great work done by Special Agent Dane Pederson of my office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, who worked in cooperation with the Hot Springs Police Department to investigate this case.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Davila was in Garland County jail, awaiting transfer to the state prison system.

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Jury finds caregiver guilty of felony elder abuse, fraud