Caretaker Arrested In Orange County for Financial Elder Abuse

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Law January 26th, 2013 2 min read

A caretaker was arrested recently on suspicion of stealing more than $35,000 from a 92-year-old woman she had been hired to care for, Sheriff’s Department officials said. The money was sent to the caretaker’s family in Mexico and used to open up bank accounts and other financial accounts, authorities said.

Susana Duran, 38, is being held in the Orange County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to county court records.

Duran had worked for the woman since June, according to sheriff’s investigators. Money started disappearing almost immediately, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Grabbing the woman’s ATM card and personal ID number from her nightstand, officials allege, Duran withdrew $1,000 at a time and deposited the money into her own accounts, Amormino said. Duran is also accused of using the woman’s credit cards to buy things for herself over the phone, Amormino said.

Money was transferred from the woman’s trust funds into the bank account to help hide the withdrawals, Amormino said.

Investigators are tallying the losses, but the stolen amount could be more than $100,000, Amormino said.

When Duran called in sick one day last month, another worker took her place. When the mail arrived at her charge’s home, the replacement showed the client a bank statement. Amormino said Duran had been hiding the woman’s bank statements from her to cover up the missing money.

Upset about the missing money, the client called the company that had placed Duran in her home, Amormino said. The company called the Sheriff’s Department to report the complaint, he said.

Duran was put on three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution after she pleaded guilty in 2004 to misrepresenting herself in order to receive public aid.

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Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.