Louisiana Caretaker Faces Charges After Exploiting Elderly Woman

BATON ROUGE, LA (KPEL) —A Louisiana assisted living worker was fired and arrested after stealing thousands of dollars from a disabled patient.

WAFB is reporting that the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office arrested 31-year-old Kelsianna Smith on Monday after an investigation uncovered she had a history of exploiting an elderly resident at Holly Court Assisted Living and Memory Care.

The patient who is paralyzed and suffering from Alzheimer's became a victim when her caretaker began cashing forged checks, racking up over two thousand dollars in stolen funds.

Thankfully, the victim's daughter, who checks on her mother frequently, noticed several checks written from the account to Smith and immediately notified the authorities. 

The checks were deposited into two bank accounts that both belong to the Smiths.

Now, Smith has been booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and is facing exploitation of the infirm, eight counts of forgery, felony theft over $1,000, and two counts of bank fraud charges.

This is a developing story, and the KPEL News Team is working to provide additional coverage for Acadiana.  

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Louisiana Caretaker Faces Charges After Exploiting Elderly Woman 

Casper Caretaker Charged with Exploiting Elderly Woman, Stealing Large Sums of Money

A Casper woman appeared in Natrona County Circuit Court before Judge Nichole Collier on Tuesday, Sep. 12.

Back in July of 2021 investigators became aware of a possible exploitation case.

The alleged victim, a 60 year woman with a debilitating and fatal disease, reported being taken advantage of by her neighbor. 

A year prior, court records indicate that Christine Ann Reynolds offered the woman assistance, volunteering to help with things like grocery shopping and taking her to the doctor.

With permission, Reynolds had access to the woman's debit card, a key to her home, and her vehicle. Eventually the two agreed that Reynolds would be compensated for her assistance; records say the woman agreed to pay Reynolds' rent and cell phone bill.

In December 2020, the woman was admitted to Wyoming Medical Center for nearly a month due to her illness. After being discharged, she began to examine her finances. That's when she says she noticed several unauthorized charges to her debit card:

12/10/2020 Walmart - $71.69

12/12/2020 Walgreens - $37.77

12/16/2020 Dominos Pizza - $16.25

12/17/2020 Petco - $216.48

12/20/2020 N Style Nails - $45.00

12/23/2020 InstaCart - $41.47

12/23/2020 McDonalds - $5.34

12/23/2020 ATM (cash) - $80.00

12/23/2020 Petco - $34.62

12/24/2020 Homax - $12.88

12/24/2020 Homax - $24.09

Investigators began to look at other periods where the victim was in the hospital for long stays and noticed correlations between those dates and other unauthorized charges made using her debit card.

The charges continued well into 2021, adding up to $3,636.79.

Records show that investigators tried to contact Reynolds multiple times but were unsuccessful.

A warrant was issued for Reynolds on January 26, 2022, but she was not taken into custody until this week.

She is being charged with exploiting a vulnerable adult and grand theft; both are felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The judge set bond at $30,000 cash or surety for the first charge and $20,000 cash or surety for the second.

Reynolds' preliminary hearing is set for Sep. 21 at 10:00 a.m. in the Natrona County Townsend Justice Center.

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Casper Caretaker Charged with Exploiting Elderly Woman, Stealing Large Sums of Money