In a case that highlights the vulnerability of the elderly to financial exploitation, Boca Raton police have arrested a home health aide accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a 94-year-old patient. Manuela Leonard, 29, was charged with the exploitation of an elderly person, grand theft, and forgery after a family member of the victim uncovered irregularities in the man’s bank account, as detailed in a report by BocaNewsNow.com.
According to the TapInto report, Leonard, an employee of Althea Nursing Services of Boynton Beach, took advantage of her position to write and cash in over $5,000 worth of checks drawn from the elderly man’s account during March; despite the victim closing his account and opening a new one a subsequent fraudulent check was also written, further deepening Leonard’s alleged deceit.
The theft was uncovered when an out-of-state family member noticed missing funds, which were traced back to several missing checks by a local family friend. The investigation by Detective Randa White of the Boca Raton Police led to Leonard after the owner of Althea Nursing Services provided critical information. Surveillance footage, phone records, and other police work pointed to Leonard as the person behind the thefts…