3 care workers charged with fraud of vulnerable woman
Police say victim has ALS and cannot move
Three care workers are facing fraud charges after allegedly removing "large sums of money" from the bank account of a vulnerable woman they were assigned to care for.
Amherst police say the victim, who has ALS — a neurodegenerative condition that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord — is unable to move and needs several hours of care each day.
Cpl. Tom Wood of Amherst Police says the three care workers had access to the woman's bank account as part of their duties.
The 13-month investigation found that the workers allegedly removed the money to cover the hours they had worked, but there were discrepancies between those reported hours and the actual hours they worked.
The victim contacted police in November 2023 to report that a large amount of money was missing from her account. Wood said the amount totalled about $40,000.
Wood would not disclose the name of the agency the women worked for.
Each of the three workers has been charged with fraud over $5,000. They are slated to appear in court next month.
