Press Release  Two Indvidiuals Charged in Connection With Thefts From Nursing Home Residents in Brookline and Attleboro

BOSTON — Two individuals have been indicted in connection with allegations they abused their positions as long-term care facility or nursing home employees to fraudulently access and steal from the bank accounts of nursing home residents in Brookline and Attleboro, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Caroline Khan, 54, of Brighton, was indicted by a Norfolk County Grand Jury on one count of the charge of Larceny from a Person Over 60. Khan worked as a unit secretary at a long-term care facility in Brookline, and allegedly used her position to access an elderly resident’s checkbook and debit card. Khan then wrote a check for $2,000 to her husband and deposited it into his account, and later used the resident’s debit card to make over $3,000 in purchases from various businesses such as department stores, grocery stores, pet stores, coffee shops, and Lyft rides. This matter was referred for investigation by the Brookline Police Department and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Khan is set to be arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court on December 6. 

Diamond Deshields, 27, of Pawtucket, RI was indicted by a Bristol County Grand Jury on one count of the charge of Larceny from a Person Over 60. The AG’s Office alleges that in 2020, while Deshields was working as a CNA at a long-term care facility in Attleboro, she used a nursing home resident’s debit card to withdraw $1,000 from his bank account without his permission. The resident, who was being cared for by Deshields, asked her to use his debit card to purchase snacks, and Deshields took advantage of the resident’s trust and stole from him. This matter was referred for investigation by the Attleboro Police Department and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Deshields is set to be arraigned in Bristol Superior Court on December 1. 

All of these charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

These cases are part of AG Healey’s ongoing efforts to investigate nursing home employees who abuse their positions of trust to steal from vulnerable patients. In April 2022, a Worcester nursing assistant was arraigned on similar charges in connection with his unauthorized use of four nursing home residents’ debit cards and the theft of over $30,000 from their accounts.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General William Champlin, Senior Health Care Fraud Investigators Erica Schlain and Mirlinda Sejdiu, and Investigator Vanessa Asiatidis, all of AG Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division, with assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Attleboro Police Department, Brookline Police Department, Wingate at Chestnut Hill and Garden Place Healthcare.

The AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award. The remaining 25 percent is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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