Nursing home worker stole over $20K from 96-year-old resident in Montana, feds say
A 36-year-old woman is accused of stealing more than $20,000 from a nursing home resident in Montana, federal officials said.
Elizabeth Marie Stephenson pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Montana said on March 17.
A defense attorney for Stephenson did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Stephenson worked at Eagle Cliff Manor, a nursing home in Billings.
From June to August 2020, Stephenson is accused of taking money from a 96-year-old resident’s account, the indictment and news release state. In July and August of that year, she made several ATM withdrawals of $700, according to the indictment.
She also used the man’s debit card to buy credit for a Telmate Inmate Service account at a detention facility in Idaho, where her boyfriend was incarcerated, the news release states.
She spent over $400 on Telmate credit, according to the indictment. And she paid $3,500 to a California law firm with a credit card she put her name on from the man’s Wells Fargo account, prosecutors said.
In all, she spent more than $20,000 of the man’s money, prosecutors said.
The 96-year-old was unaware of Stephenson’s spending until his nephew noticed $11,000 missing from his bank account, the release states.
Stephenson faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release on the bank fraud charges and a mandatory two-year prison sentence, consecutive to any other sentence, and one year of supervised release on the aggravated identity theft charges.
She will be sentenced on July 27.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Nursing home worker stole over $20K from 96-year-old resident in Montana, feds say."
