An employee of Kyakameena Care Center, a nursing home in South Berkeley, was charged with elder abuse Nov. 23 after allegedly defrauding two residents of the center.
The alleged abuse was initially uncovered when the son of a 73-year-old center resident discovered that his mother’s bank account balance was insufficient to cover rent payments, according to a Nixle Alert sent from the Berkeley Police Department on Tuesday. The son discovered that his mother’s debit card had been stolen and reported the incident Sept. 23, the alert noted.
The son reported more than 100 fraudulent purchases and withdrawals with his mother’s debit card between April and August. In all, the fraudulent charges totaled more than $10,000, the alert added.
The second instance of alleged elder abuse was reported Oct. 20 when a man noted many fraudulent purchases made on his 70-year-old sister’s account in the week after her death.
BPD investigators identified the suspect as a 44-year-old Oakland woman working at the center after finding numerous fraudulent online purchases and cash withdrawals connected to the woman, according to the alert.
The police arrested the suspect Nov. 22 outside of the center, the alert added. The following day, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged the suspect with two counts of financial elder abuse by a caregiver and two counts of identity theft.
The suspect was arraigned Monday and is not currently being held in custody. Her plea hearing is set for Dec. 12.
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