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Prosecutors say three home health aides stole nearly $173,000 from an 84-year-old woman in their care, leading to their arrest on grand larceny and identity theft charges, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said Danielle Guarino, 55, of Coram, along with Teresa Garcia, 53, and Mamerta Gonzalez, 72, both of Ridge, were charged following an investigation into the alleged financial exploitation of the elderly victim. The patient received care from the defendants between October 2019 and January 2022.
Prosecutors said that as the victim’s physical limitations increased, she was no longer able to write checks to pay her caregivers or household bills. The victim’s daughter then began signing blank checks and giving them to Guarino to complete.
Authorities allege Guarino wrote checks to herself, Garcia and Gonzalez in amounts exceeding the hours reported on timesheets submitted to the victim’s long-term disability insurance provider.
Investigators allege Guarino wrote checks totaling $160,712 beyond what was recorded on timesheets, including about $110,000 for herself, $43,560 for Garcia, and $7,152 for Gonzalez.
Tierney said further that Guarino failed to accurately record payees and dollar amounts in the victim’s manual check register in an effort to hide the alleged theft.
Authorities additionally alleged that between September 2019 and January 2022, Guarino used the victim’s credit cards without authorization to make $12,245 in Amazon purchases and then used the signed blank checks to pay the resulting credit card bills.
In total, $172,957 was stolen from the victim’s bank account.
Garcia was arraigned last Thursday before Suffolk County District Court Judge Bernard Cheng on a charge of third-degree grand larceny; she was released on her own recognizance. Gonzalez was arraigned on Friday on the same charge and also released without having to post bail.
Guarino was arraigned Wednesday before District Court Judge Evan Zuckerman on charges of second-degree grand larceny, third-degree grand larceny and first-degree identity theft. She too was released on her own recognizance.
Top: GLI file photo
