Hospice worker accused of exploiting patient, steals $7K

by Skyler Shepard

On March 7, deputies arrested the 57-year-old woman, who now faces exploitation of an elderly person, fraudulent use of personal information, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and uttering a forged instrument. (HCSO)

TAMPA, Fla. (CBS12) — A hospice worker is accused of financially exploiting a hospice patient under her care.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) said deputies responded to a delayed fraud report on March 4 on Clubhouse Circle, where the victim, receiving hospice care, reported being defrauded by a home health assistant.

The sheriff's office said the fraudulent activity reportedly began on January 28. The suspect, identified as Shawn Livingston, allegedly persuaded the victim to use Zelle for service payments and manipulated the transactions to transfer money to her accounts, pay her creditors, and make payments to Carnival Cruises, stealing more than $7,000.

"The actions of this individual are unacceptable and despicable. Preying on a hospice patient, someone who relies on others for care and support, is a heartless and disgraceful betrayal," said Sheriff Chad Chronister.

On March 7, deputies arrested the 57-year-old woman, who now faces exploitation of an elderly person, fraudulent use of personal information, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and uttering a forged instrument.

"We are committed to protecting our most vulnerable residents," said Sheriff Chronister. "Let this serve as a clear message: this kind of abuse has no place in our community, and we will do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice."

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Hospice worker accused of exploiting patient, steals $7K

A 94-year-old befriended her hair stylist. It cost her $300,000.

The 94-year-old woman and her hair stylist had been friends for 20 years.

Such good friends, in fact, that when the Tucson, Ariz. woman’s husband died in 2011, hair stylist Supranom “Addy” Klos was given power of attorney, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

But then, in 2014, money started to disappear from the 94-year-old’s life savings. Eventually nearly all of the woman’s savings — some $300,000 — had vanished, prosecutors said. And it was Klos who was stealing it.

It took Klos only months to gamble away nearly all of her friend and client’s life savings, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said.

And it took an Arizona jury only about two hours to find Klos guilty, convicting the hair stylist on one count of fraudulent schemes, three counts of theft, one count of fraudulent use of a credit card and one count of unlawful use of power of attorney.

Brnovich described the 94-year-old as a vulnerable adult with dementia.

What Klos didn’t spend on gambling, she spent on dental implants and a new car, according to the attorney general.

Klos was taken into custody after the verdict, the attorney general said. She will be sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison.

One in six vulnerable adults is victimized to such an extent that he or she loses a third — or more — of his or her assets, according to the Arizona attorney general. Emotional damage from being the victim of those crimes can shave as much as three years off a victim’s life.

Fraud and exploitation victimizing seniors is an expensive — and expanding — problem.

“Financial fraud targeting older Americans is a growing epidemic that costs seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me.), chair of the Senate Aging Committee, said earlier this year as she introduced a bipartisan bill to protect seniors from fraud.

Law enforcement became involved in the Arizona case when the woman’s bank noticed large sums of money withdrawn from the 94-year-old’s savings account, prosecutors said.

Hundreds of thousands of older Americans fall victim to fraud, financial scams and abuse each year, according to Collins.

Full Article & Source:
A 94-year-old befriended her hair stylist. It cost her $300,000.